If design of most electric motorcycles that leave you cold, a pair of young engineers from Hamburg may have the answer. Meet Motorcycles; pint size cafe racer that can surpass a classic motorcycle, both in looks and sound.
The idea of the Metorbike was conceived by two friends Michael and Marvin when they were still in school together. Both loved café racers, and both wondered if an electric powertrain could be as elegant as a classic internal combustion engine. So they decided to build a prototype to test their idea.
After hours of tinkering in their grandfather’s garage, the duo put their mechatronics and mechanical engineering studies into practice. And when they encounter a task beyond their collective capabilities, they simply upskill.
Working with an old Puch X40 motorcycle chassis as a base, they built the first Metorbike prototype themselves… and then things escalated. Michael and Marvin decided to turn their hobby into a business and took the Metorbike from a proof of concept to a real small-scale production bike. It took them three years to get there, but it paid off in the end.
Limited to 50 pieces, the first version of the Metorbike is now available to order. It’s made to specification, meaning you can choose not only the color of your Metorbike, but also the trim—to the wood, leather, and gear lever. All for the neat amount of €7,749 [around $8,510]plus extra features.
Every Metorbike starts with a repurposed Puch X40 motorcycle frame, sourced from a number of suppliers. The frame was modified to match the layout of the Motorcycle, then stamped with a new frame number. (Yes, Metorbike is registered as a motorcycle manufacturer.)
Next, a refurbished Aprilia RS 125 fork is fitted to the front end, via a custom set of yoke. Custom YSS shocks are at the rear, and the car rides on 17-inch spoke wheels, with Aprilia disc brakes up front.
Powering Metorbike is 7 kW [peak power] brushless motor, housed in milled aluminum housing. It’s a stunning design and we bet many passersby will mistake it for an old Puch engine on the road. Power is transmitted to the rear wheel via a traditional chain drive.
While the e-bike doesn’t need a gas tank, this bike does have a gas tank—and it has a purpose, too. The carbon fiber housing actually houses the battery, which comes from a partner company that specializes in recycling used Volkswagen batteries. It’s also designed to be interchangeable, if you’d rather keep a spare on hand than wait to recharge each time.
Completing the bodywork is a solid wood cafe-style tailgate, with a leather upper. Each unit starts out as a set of planks in a choice of three different woods. They are bonded together to form the billet, which is then cut on a five-axis milling machine and the final form is hand-finished to perfection.
The Metorbike’s trim is as good as what you’d expect to see on most high-end custom motorcycles. There’s slick LED lighting throughout and the cockpit features leather-wrapped grips. Many of these are also customizable.
The speedometer is another neat detail. Embedded in the upper yoke and built specifically for the Metorbike, the rounded dash is fully touch-activated. You can even use it to choose the bike’s soundtrack.
Yes, you read that right—this electric scooter makes noise. What looks like a compartmentalized exhaust under the engine is actually an audio system, preloaded with a bunch of motorcycle engine noise. It is wired directly to the bike’s controller so that the sound responds to the throttle input in a realistic way.
For the numbers to be counted, the Motorcycle weighs 75 kg [165 lbs]topped with a speed of 50 km/h [31 mph] and has a range of 50 km [31 miles], give or take. So it won’t go far, or get there particularly quickly — but again, neither does an old Puch motorcycle.
That means it’s legally ‘small’ enough to work with just one car license in Germany. So potential Metorbike owners don’t need to go through the rigorous process of getting their bicycle license, making this tiny scooter not only adorable but also accessible.
We won’t say no to it for Sunday morning walks at the local coffee shop. you will?
