Bonnell 40hp and 60hp dirt bikes and e-bikes

[Philip]

These are the new Bonnell 40hp and 60hp dirt bikes.

Here are the Electric dirt bikes:

They also have 1200W mountain bikes that have throttles. These are electric mountain bikes:

Thanks to @DonCox for the news!

 

[HadesOmega]

Looks nice but looks expensive also

 

[Erwin P]

The big bike has some cool pieces and some not so cool i guess.

Pro's:
- The programmable left hand lever is a very nice feature. Clutch, just for panic grip our release downhill, electronic clutches have no wheel pop function. But the programmable rear brake is a great way to get some energy in your battery's on long stretched downhills you will brake on anyways. Also no friction so no wear.
- A real dash, that's a great plus. Even after 1,5 years the Stark phone still kind of sucks. Phone connectivity for all the nice stuff though. Might add a menu to do all the complicated stuff on the bars too for when this gets inoperateble with newer phones.
- Swapable battery is great. But it not being part of the frame does have it loose out of structural strenght. Either compensated for by a heavier frame or accept less performance. But since this is not a ''Full sized'' MX bike this might matter less.

Con's
- It not being a full sized bike rules it out for a lott of people incluiding me.
- The battery is placed high. Loosing one of the benefits the Stark has over ICE competitors.
- Suspension from some small brand. This was a poor choice by Zero and i'm afraid this will be too. My 2013 Zero suspension was obsolete in 2020, let alone now. It will be harder to get parts around the world and suspension tuners will have a hard time figuring it out.
Message to all startup brands that people have to build trust around: GET AS STANDARD AS POSSIBLE. One of the reasons i was willing to gamble on Stark was the used Brembo brakes, KTM sprockets, KYB suspension (wich is a plus on it's own), KTM wheels etc. So if all went south i could at least get the common wear parts.

 

[markhamr]

another play bike
there is still only one mx bike available
THE STARK

 

[HadesOmega]

It is using a EBMX controller very similar to the one I have on my Sur Ron Light Bee and WR250R conversion bike. So I'd imagine it incorporates a lot of features in regards to tuning and the regen throttle.

 

[Theo]

I won't comment about the bicycle, only the motorcycles.

Things I like:
• A controller which is made with EBMX, so maybe it can be bought separately, even if Bonnell can't provide it anymore, and hopefully still work.
• A motor that also looks like one of those that can be bought for conversions. They say that the gearbox is custom, though.
• Linkages for the rear shock, in the 902, at least.
• The fact that they are developing lighter, swappable racing batteries so that there is choice: from the video, it looks like there will be both 4.3 kwh batteries and 6.6 kwh.
• The key shown @6:25 to turn the bike on, provided it won't fall off.
• The fact that it looks like the steering stem is the Stark Varg/KTM type and not the ring nut type.
• The fact that it looks like health data like temperatures are available on the dashboard.
• An aluminum frame: it won't rust.
• The look.

Things I dislike:
• Sirris suspensions: I don't know how good they are, but as far as I know, Sirris is a new company that doesn't sound very unlikely to go bankrupt and whose spare parts are way harder to find than the ones of more known companies like KYB: I agree that such choices should be avoided. Besides, a Ø43 mm fork sounds too thin and therefore flexible for offroad with the weight that you can expect for such bikes. Also, the suspensions of the 805 are custom tuned, but for the 902 are custom made, which according to this logic is even worse. The smaller suspension travel is not convincing either, to me.
• The fact that they are smaller than standard size: I feel too culred up on a Talaria Sting, for example, and I'm not tall. From the video, it looks like if the rider squeezes the bike between his legs while standing, his knees won't touch anything, being above the saddle.

Neutral comments:
• We don't know either a weight estimate, nor a price estimate.
• It looks like they have used forged carbon fiber in the front of the bike.
• I don't see any water cooling for anything.
• The chain of the 805 is unusually in the right side of the bike.

 

[HadesOmega]

From what I hear Sirrus suspensions are very good they are the best of the mini emoto world currently. They are very expensive.

 

[Theo]

From what I hear Sirrus suspensions are very good they are the best of the mini emoto world currently. They are very expensive.

Josh Hill uses them with Surrons and does amazing things with them. Keep in mind that he does amazing things with the stock suspensions, too, though.

The only electric dirtbikes I've ever ridden are Vargs and Talaria Stings. The suspensions in the Stings felt aweful to me; I don't know whether they could have been improved with little modifications like different springs. I see Sirris as the solutions for similar problems, if there aren't other suspensions from the usual reputable makers that fit and work well.
Again, for a new model that should be at higher level than a Sting I would prefer Showa/KYB/WP, which are possibly even cheaper for the manufacturer of the bike.
I mean, unless I am missing something and there are reasons to have specific suspensions for electric motorcycles.

 

[Philip]

Yeah, having a no-name reduced diameter and reduced travel suspension, despite having swappable racing batteries, will relegate these bikes to non-jumping, woods riding, and a few amateur competitive events. This is a very unfortunate product decision.