After months of waiting, the Surron Storm Bee electric off-road motorcycle is now available in Canada, offering battery-powered dirt bike thrills.
Surron’s Light Bee was one of the better-regarded electric off-road machines available here for the past few years, but the Light Bee was very … light. It was one of the new breed of e-bikes that’s a lot more advanced than a bicycle, but not quite the equivalent of a gasoline-powered enduro or playbike.
The Storm Bee is a lot closer to a traditional dirt bike size, and it has plenty of power on tap. Surron rates the liquid-cooled, brushless motor at 22.5 kW peak power, which works out to roughly 30 horsepower. The press release claims 520 Nm of peak torque, which is about 380 lb-ft. If that number is accurate, this bike will be a wheelie monster! There are three riding modes (Sport, Rain, Eco), which means not all this power is on-tap all the time. Surron says there’s a “turbo button,” which is becoming more common on electric motorcycles, allowing the rider to temporarily extract max power from the motor, but preserving it for longer riders. Traction control comes standard (and is probably necessary, with that much torque).
The Storm Bee has regenerative braking, which pumps electricity back into the 104V/55Ah li-ion battery when you hit the binders. Max range is 120 km at 50 km/h speed, says Surron. Range numbers often vary in the real world, but that sounds usable for most off-roaders. When you’re out of juice, the Storm Bee will take three-four hours to recharge through a standard wall socket. There doesn’t appear to be any quick-charge capability at this point.
The Storm Bee rolls on a 21-inch front wheel and 18-inch rear, just as a proper dirt bike should. The front suspension is adjustable for compression and rebound. The shock is fully adjustable, with 290 mm of travel at shock and fork.
There’s an LED headlight as standard, but that can be switched for a numberplate if you wish.
Seat height is a lofty 940 mm, or 37 inches. Curb weight is 127 kg, more than the sveltest Euro dirt bikes and even play bikes like the Honda CRF250F.
And MSRP? You’re looking at a $10,999 price tag here in Canada.
I notice no manufacturing country of origin was mentioned….This device should also come
as standard with a ten mile extension cord for those awkward moments when you realize
you are out of range of an electric receptacle. Not ready for prime-time yet.