Storm Bee

[bayodome]

Something weird going on with the specs of the Storm Bee. The prototype showed linkage and 48mm forks and a full alloy frame. Now if you go to the site and scroll down, you see 43mm WP Xplor, WP rear shock with a PDS no link setup, a combo steel and alloy frame, it looks like a Freeride clone now.

Chinese Sur Ron 22.5 Kw Boom Bee Electric Sports Bike Dirt Bikes For Adults - Buy Electric Dirt Bikes For Adults,Chinese Electric Bike,Sports Bike Product on Alibaba.com

Check out these Freeride photos, it's a total knock off. The air just went out of the balloon.
2019 ktm freeride exc??

I'd mentioned that before. Being that it's Alibaba and it seems many of their descriptions need to be read with an enormous grain of salt, it seems Jiesute simply copy/pasted the specs and photos from the KTM Freeride E.

I messaged with the seller (Jiesute [a sizable online retailer/manufacturer that also sells the Light Bee]) a couple weeks ago, and they said the Storm Bee will be available in March, despite the page saying the bikes are currently in stock. It's basically just a holding page at the moment and I'm sure will be updated once the production version of the Storm Bee is released.

 

[F451]

I'm thinking until someone has one in hand here in the US, we won't know anything real about it. The more I read about the lack of warranty and parts support, and changing components on the Light Bee, the less excited I am about the Storm Bee. Still hoping it will be a good product and sells well.

 

[jasonjm]

The light bee stock standard is unrideable for real offroad use

 

[bayodome]

Nothing all that new or different, but this latest vid has me frothing. Can't wait to see some footage from a different MX facility or terrain with a pro-level rider.

http://instagr.am/p/B7Z--WgnIPg/

 

[Redwolf]

Still looking like it will be a fun little toy!

 

[bayodome]

News and updates from Sur-Ron seem to have pretty much stopped since the coronavirus outbreak. Really hope this is just a bump in the road for China and that they can get their economy back on track.

 

[jasonjm]

News and updates from Sur-Ron seem to have pretty much stopped since the coronavirus outbreak. Really hope this is just a bump in the road for China and that they can get their economy back on track.

I think that virus is just getting started

 

[Butch]

News and updates from Sur-Ron seem to have pretty much stopped since the coronavirus outbreak. Really hope this is just a bump in the road for China and that they can get their economy back on track.

Not to be political, but China Inc will be back. It is the biggest corporation on the planet.

 

[C5tor]

Just add a quarantine button next to the Turbo button, and get the show back on the road! I am itching to see one of these dang things in real life.

I am looking to get my son a bigger electric bike, as he is pretty much outgrowing the Sur-ron. Alta is still a bit too big and a bit too powerful. KTM E-XC is still unobtainable (old model) or too damn pricey (new model). The Storm Bee looked like it might hit the sweet spot in the middle.

 

[jasonjm]

the light bee is way too small for an adult man for real riding. I found climbing on the light bee to be torture.

The key things not identified on the storm bee yet are 1) what fork 2) what shock 3) is there regen braking? and 4) what is the final capacity of that battery. I personally dont think the specs i saw are gonna give it much run time, if you hammer it, i reckon 60 mins tops - which sucks. needs 2 hr run time with someone really riding it.

I'm not optomistic overall, but hopefully im proven wrong.

 

[Philip]

I personally dont think the specs i saw are gonna give it much run time, if you hammer it, i reckon 60 mins tops

Are you saying it will have twice the range of the Alta? Or does "hammering" mean trail riding with an average speed of 17 mph?

 

[jasonjm]

Yah lol. I stop to smell the flowers every 100 meters. Triples the battery life.

 

[Redwolf]

Hmm, perhaps "hammered" means something different than I expected...

Perhaps another glass of bourbon while I ponder this.

 

[C5tor]

I ran across this video of the Storm Bee. It has some interesting close-up video of the bike, although without the battery. Bike is a bit dirty, but most of the mechanicals are visible. Wish I spoke Russian, but you can basically puzzle most of it out.

 

[enjoythesilenc]

What I puzzled out:

60# battery 96 volt 48 Ah
Kayaba suspension
ASR button is some sort of regeneration feature, an electrical thumb brake?
3 power modes on your right thumb

What is with the heavy clunk every time the bike lands on the rear wheel?

 

[Philip]

22.5 kW = 30 hp
96V 48A battery (4.6 kW)
Three modes: Economy, Sport, Low
Weight 118kg (260 lbs)
The battery weighs 26 kg
The same Sony VTC6 batteries as the MXR
Aluminum forged frame
KYB suspension
They have not decided on the brand of the brakes yet.

It is like an MXR in Map 1.5 with a smaller removable battery. It's a pretty good start.

 

[C5tor]

I was trying to figure out what the two wire “hanger” parts under the seat were for. Something to do with retaining the battery maybe??? I couldn’t really picture what else they would be attached to. If that is all that is holding the battery in, no wonder it clunks when it lands.

 

[Philip]

Their motor is probably 10 lbs heavier than the Alta's motor+the gearbox. The smaller battery is 10 lbs lighter. So you end up with the same overall weight and less HP and range.

 

[C5tor]

I'm not planning on purchasing a Storm Bee, but I am curious if Luna Cycle will be selling them. Luna has been really good about supporting the Sur Ron's, would be good if they did the same with the Storm Bee. I like the fact that they are a brick and mortar retailer that you could go to if you had any issues vs an online retailer that may or may not take care of you after the fact.

I did inquire directly to Luna if they plan to import the Storm Bee. As of now it is a “maybe, but probably not.” They are an electric bicycle store rather than a motorcycle store. But they could change that stance.

Here is the reply I got this morning:


Subject: Storm Bee availability
FEB 21, 2020 | 06:41AM UTC
Gary replied:
Hey Tor, sorry we don’t really have any info on unreleased products.. Plenty of stuff planned for Surron in general but it will be up to Eric whether he wants to bring in that size. He’s not typically into the higher liability of something that is so powerful somebody could get killed on it, especially when it would be a lot harder to say it is offroad only. But who knows, maybe he will change his mind.

-Gary
Luna CS Mgr.

 

[ElectricMoto]

Guys, once more I stress the Storm Bee, cannot in build quality and component choice be comparable to the big 5 or an Alta.
Worked + 10 years in Dirt Bike manufacturing and scrutinized this bike in the flesh at EICMA Milano ( my photos in an earlier post)
My tip buy a used Alta and you know what you get, with the good and bad.