Essence Motorcycles builds a torque monster

Got torque? You might think your motorcycle has stump-pulling torque, but chances are it has nothing on the Version Survoltee of the E-Raw from Essence Motorcycles.

Essence Motorcycles is based in Lyons, France, and before this week, we’d never heard of them. Although many of the major North American players have been pushed out of the game (Mission’s gone, Alta’s gone, Brammo’s gone), there are still many indie electric bike builders all over the world creating their own unique products.

However, Essence’s bikes are definitely more interesting than most, due to an emphasis on power and a lack of safety electronics.

The standard E-Raw model is no slouch. New Atlas reckons the machine is good for 109 hp and 155 lb-ft of torque. Those numbers put it close to the top in the electric superbike rankings, and that torque number would compare with any litrebike as well.

However, it’s the upgraded Version Survoltee that’s really grabbed our attention, as it’s rated at 205 hp, with 295 lb-ft of torque. Staggering numbers indeed, and if those figures are correct, this bike would have horsepower that’s on par with any production superbike in the world, with torque that far eclipses any other current production motorcycle.

As with many electric motorcycles, those numbers would only hold up for a brief period of time, and then power would be downgraded to lesser levels, to conserve the componentry, but we would guess the full-power experience would be highly entertaining.

Both versions of the bike are supposed to weigh 194 kg, and that weight can be dropped to 187 kg if you want to add race-grade accessory bits.

You can also upgrade the battery to 20 kWh, supposedly good for 220 km of range (probably mixed highway and urban riding).

While those numbers are all very exciting, perhaps the most entertaining (or terrifying?) thing about this machine is that Essence has included none of the usual safety electronics systems on this bike. No traction control. No wheelie control. No launch control. It’s just you and a throttle, the way things used to be …

Pricing for the E-Raw starts at €29,000 (roughly $44,000 CAD). Will we ever see them sold here? Probably not.