Until now the electric motorcycle market has been a bit of a snoozefest, hampered by boring designs and limited range but, the Johammer J1 not only looks different, it is different.
This team of Austrian designers claim to have built the first electric motorcycle with a range of 125 miles. They haven’t quite cracked the 200+ mile range of their combustion cruiser counterparts but a 3+ hour ride at a leisurely country road speed is all my butt can handle anyway.
At just over 7ft long, with a top speed of 75mph, this is no little wannabe motorcycle. What is really impressive is that they pack in all that battery power and still keep the bike under 400lbs, which is less than half of what a typical Harley cruiser weighs.
When it comes time to charge the Lithium Ion battery you’re going need 2-3 hours to get fully juiced so, plan on making it home on a single charge or be prepared to spend a couple of hours having lunch near an outlet.
The aerodynamic wrap may put some traditionalists off but the rider, handle bar, and mirror position cues are clearly taken from a classic chopper.
If you can get over the fact that you won’t feel the rumble and you can live with the sound of a buzzing bee instead of the roar of a V-twin, these guys are definitely onto something.
The Johammer is available in two models, the J1.150 which has a range of about 90 miles and the J1.200 which has a range of about 125 miles each of which will run you a wallet shivering $31,783.70 and $34,547.50 respectively.
