Why Does This €10,000 Electric Motorcycle Have Four Gears?
An electric motorcycle with four gears might sound like someone forgot to remove a few bits from a petrol bike.
But the ScrAmper S1 is a €10,000 e-moto from Ukrainian company Tornado Power, with a 9 kWh battery, up to 20 kW of peak power and a proper four-speed gearbox. Whether its needed or not, there's an obvious question worth asking... Why bother?
For the full ScrAmper specs, go to BCB Bike Compare.
The ScrAmper S1
The ScrAmper S1 has been around in various forms under the EMGo Technology name. The company is now operating as Tornado Power Group, with the motorcycle sitting alongside its work on batteries, power electronics and electric powertrains for everything from drones and robotics to marine and industrial applications.
The ScrAmper S1 starts at €10,000 (around £8,700 / $11,700 converted), with a 9 kWh battery and produces 11 kW nominally and up to 20 kW at peak with 245 Nm of torque at the wheel. That puts it squarely in the 125cc category in Europe, and the numbers don't stop here. Top speed is claimed at 150 km/h (93.2 mph), with up to 200 km (124 miles) of range in mixed riding at speeds up to 70 km/h (44 mph). Actual range will obviously depend on temperature, terrain, load and how much full-grip you're giving the throttle.
Then there's that gearbox. Four speeds. And a clutch. Wrapped up in Tordano Power's proprietary PULSESHIFT technology. That's unusual in an electric motorcycle. Electric motors don't need gears in the same way a petrol engine does. There's plenty of torque available from zero rpm, and motors have a full bandwidth of revs to play with. So why on earth would they give the rider more work to do?
Tornado Power's answer is to keep some of the mechanical feel of a conventional motorcycle. It isn't just the gearbox. The bike uses a tubular steel frame, upside-down forks, a rear monoshock, 17-inch wheels and chain drive, giving it a pretty conventional motorcycle setup around that electric powertrain. It looks like they're trying to hang onto that all-important 'soul' that ICE riders keep yelling about.
The ScrAmper S1 gets Type 1 and Type 2 charging, with the company quoting a 20–80% charge in 1.5 hours and a full charge in 2.5 hours.
As for availability, Tornado Power is currently taking enquiries rather than publishing a country-by-country dealer list. So if you're interested in one, you'll need to contact the company directly to find out whether it can supply and register the ScrAmper in your country.
The BCB Take
You don't need four gears on an electric motorcycle.
Beyond the soul searching, there's actually a practical reason the gearbox might make sense. It lets the rider make better use of the motor's torque, putting the bike in the right gear for the job rather than simply letting the motor do everything. On a scrambler, that could make a fair bit of sense.
If you're pushing hard up rough terrain, having the right gear will help you make the most of that torque when things get steep, loose or ugly. Then, once you get to the top and the trail opens up, dropping down a gear could give you the sharper response you're looking for.
The ScrAmper also has a decent top speed for an 11 kW bike. If that's sustainable for continuous riding, another gear could make a lot of sense here. Think 'overdrive' in your 1980s Volvo. Reserving one of those gears for top-speed cruising could be exactly where the gearbox starts to make sense. Put simply, its about giving the rider more control over that available power.
But that's not what Tornado Power is saying. They think there's something about selecting a gear, pulling a clutch and deciding when to shift that makes riding a motorcycle feel like riding a motorcycle. Whether that actually makes the ScrAmper better on the road is another matter. But if you're an ICE rider who misses that mechanical involvement, it might be an attractive option.
Either way, at €10,000, 150 km/h and 20 kW on tap, this isn't a little electric experiment. It's a usable motorcycle with a deliberately mechanical feel.
You don't need four gears on an electric motorcycle. That's exactly why having them could be fun.
Ride safe, folks.
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