Emflux One. India’s electric sports bike
169kg, 71bhp, 124 miles of range and a £7k price tag. The coming of age for electric bikes?
FOR the last decade or so it’s been perfectly possible to go out and buy an electric bike.
Whether it’s a KTM Freeride E, a Zero or one of the legion of others that’s have emerged in
that time, they’ve been available.
But when’s the last time you actually saw one on the road? The reality is that the electric
machines we’ve been offered so far are too heavy, too slow, too expensive and too short on
range to be realistic alternatives for most riders.
This new Indian machine, the Emflux One, appears to be aiming to address that problem. On
paper, at least, it’s got answers to virtually all the usual criticisms of electric bikes.
Power from the water-cooled AC induction motor is pegged at 53kW, which is 71hp. That’s
not going to scare many superbikes, but it’s plenty for day-to- day riding. The bike’s 9.7kWh
li-ion battery, using Samsung cells, is reckoned to give it a range of 200km (124 miles) at
speed, dropping to 150km in town. Again, not jaw-dropping, but enough for most trips.
A recharge takes three hours from a normal supply, or far less from a high-speed charger. The
firm claims that with the right kit, it can be given an 80% charge in 36 minutes. Yes, you can
fill a petrol bike far faster, but it’s still a step in the right direction.
The modern tech also includes a touchscreen display, front and rear cameras, built in
navigation and even WiFi, Bluetooth and 4G to allow over-the- air software updates.
The more conventional elements include a steel trellis frame, single sided swingarm and
ABS-equipped Brembo brakes.
All this is expected to go on sale in 2019 for a list price, in India, of just under £7000. A more
expensive version, at around £12,000, will get carbon bodywork, Ohlins suspension and
forged alloy wheels.
Production is planned to start next year, but will initially be limited. Emflux plans to sell 199
of the bikes in the Indian market, with an additional 300 earmarked for international sales. If
the bike lives up to its claims, and hits its price point, those should be snapped up pretty fast.
