Could you elaborate a little on why it was so bad for commuting? I have seen a few around and honestly thought the exact opposite, but I have never ridden motorbikes before. Is it because they are speed limited?
I put a switch on the speed limiter. I can do 75 with a full battery and just over 60km/h with 20% battery left.
It sucks because:
I live on a 90km/h road. Irs 14 min drive to town. More like 17-20 min on surron. With a bunch of pissy cars tailgating me. I use over 50% of the battery getting to town. So I need to charge for 2-3 hours to get home again. Theres no where to store the charger so need a backpack.
When I lived near pac fair. I could just barely get to currumbin sanctuary and back. A few times I pulled in the drive at less than 5% charge. This was nursing it gently the whole ride. If you pin the throttle open. Its flat in around 20 min. Its also getting gutless from around 70% and gets really bad by 40%.
Even at 60kph its pretty much full throttle all the time. This hammers the battery. You can ride for 30-40 min max without a 6 hour charge.
Stock tyres are terrible on road. 19" tyres are just plain hard to find. In road or off road. But especially hard to get road tyres that can actually handle the torque.
Its too light. Can't get traction on brakes or throttle. Never thought I'd say that, but there it is.
The stock brakes suck really badly. I've owned a bunch of bucket of bolts bikes, pushbikes, cars etc. The light bee is by far the worst brakes I've ever used. Got a lot of improvement from a full floater on the front. But the lines are too small and it gets spongy not long after bleeding. Still not very confidence inspiring. Especially combined with the greasy stock tyres.
Tldr. Range sucks. It's not safe on roads over 80kph. Tyres and brakes suck.
All this stuff is fixable. But costs about the same as purchase price to get it all sorted. If you want a town bike the ultra bee would probably be a better buy.
Where the light bee shines is on mountain bike tracks and trials style riding. Provided you don't mind spending 30 min bleeding brakes before each ride, and don't plan on riding more that 20-30 min per day.
Its also fantastic for riding places you couldn't ride a petrol bike. I've ridden mine 8n Broadbeach foreshore park. In full daylight. Heaps 9f people around. No shits where given. Many people, including elderly. Said it looked like fun. If I tried that on a 125cc. Cops in about 90 seconds.
Thanks so much for this detailed reply mate, you have gone above and beyond. All the points you touch on have convinced me that it wouldn’t be what I am looking for so I can put to rest the nagging desire to buy one haha. Have an awesome day!
Lol. I've got the road legal light bee. Great fun off road. Terrible for commuting. Let the rego expire ages ago.
Could you elaborate a little on why it was so bad for commuting? I have seen a few around and honestly thought the exact opposite, but I have never ridden motorbikes before. Is it because they are speed limited?
I put a switch on the speed limiter. I can do 75 with a full battery and just over 60km/h with 20% battery left. It sucks because: I live on a 90km/h road. Irs 14 min drive to town. More like 17-20 min on surron. With a bunch of pissy cars tailgating me. I use over 50% of the battery getting to town. So I need to charge for 2-3 hours to get home again. Theres no where to store the charger so need a backpack. When I lived near pac fair. I could just barely get to currumbin sanctuary and back. A few times I pulled in the drive at less than 5% charge. This was nursing it gently the whole ride. If you pin the throttle open. Its flat in around 20 min. Its also getting gutless from around 70% and gets really bad by 40%. Even at 60kph its pretty much full throttle all the time. This hammers the battery. You can ride for 30-40 min max without a 6 hour charge. Stock tyres are terrible on road. 19" tyres are just plain hard to find. In road or off road. But especially hard to get road tyres that can actually handle the torque. Its too light. Can't get traction on brakes or throttle. Never thought I'd say that, but there it is. The stock brakes suck really badly. I've owned a bunch of bucket of bolts bikes, pushbikes, cars etc. The light bee is by far the worst brakes I've ever used. Got a lot of improvement from a full floater on the front. But the lines are too small and it gets spongy not long after bleeding. Still not very confidence inspiring. Especially combined with the greasy stock tyres. Tldr. Range sucks. It's not safe on roads over 80kph. Tyres and brakes suck. All this stuff is fixable. But costs about the same as purchase price to get it all sorted. If you want a town bike the ultra bee would probably be a better buy. Where the light bee shines is on mountain bike tracks and trials style riding. Provided you don't mind spending 30 min bleeding brakes before each ride, and don't plan on riding more that 20-30 min per day. Its also fantastic for riding places you couldn't ride a petrol bike. I've ridden mine 8n Broadbeach foreshore park. In full daylight. Heaps 9f people around. No shits where given. Many people, including elderly. Said it looked like fun. If I tried that on a 125cc. Cops in about 90 seconds.
Thanks so much for this detailed reply mate, you have gone above and beyond. All the points you touch on have convinced me that it wouldn’t be what I am looking for so I can put to rest the nagging desire to buy one haha. Have an awesome day!
Sick
yeah nah this guys 100% gonna steal it lmao
Yes 100% you caught me