Cake electric motorcycles are the hottest mode of transportation, for good reason. Electric cars and scooters have received a ton of great press, but it seems high-performance electric motorcycles have been left behind. Motorcycles are the ideal mode of transportation to go electric. They are lightweight and provide plenty of range, and the high torque offers a ton of performance making commuting actually fun.
Test Ride
I first came across Cake motorcycles at the Outdoor Retailer show and have since missed test ride opportunities in LA. Fortunately, I’m here in NYC for a couple weeks and Cake offered a test ride at Pier 76, so I jumped over there to take their off-road motorcycle, Kalk OR, for a spin.
They just announced their street legal electric motorcycle, the Kalk&, but they only had the off-road version available to ride. They are essentially the same bike with the same suspension and motor, but the street legal version has a speedometer, lights, turn signals, and mirrors. It’s also rated at about 10 mph faster at 56+ mph.
Willie Ford was there to greet me and quickly showed me the ropes. There’s not much to riding a Cake motorcycle, just grip it and rip it! Well, you actually don’t want to rip it too much as the responsive throttle will put you into a wheelie, but riding the Kalk OR is super simple. A twist throttle and front and rear hand brakes are the only controls. There are three riding modes to choose from based on top speed. Once you get comfortable you’ll probably leave it in 3 which is the fastest mode.
Speeding down the bike path on the West Side Highway on an electric motorcycle has been a highlight of my trip. The rainy conditions cleared out most of the bicyclists, so I had a clear path to open it up. I cleared about 5 blocks in what felt like a matter of seconds, and could imagine hauling through the desert on one of these bad boys. I reluctantly turned around and drove the Kalk OR back to the Pier. That 5 minute ride had instantly raised my spirits and I can’t wait to get one of these out to our ranch. I just need to come up with the $13,000 to make it happen.
