All Tests – Electric motorcycle test: H-KER Electric Racer – Contact with the French E-Cafe Racer

Posted on by admin

Electric motorcycle test: H-KER Electric Racer

All Tests - Electric motorcycle test: H-KER Electric Racer - Contact with the French E-Cafe Racer

Never short of electrifying ideas, the friendly French team H-KER is riding the vintage wave with its Cafe Racer type motorcycle produced in only three copies. Special feature of the Electric Racer: its electric motor ! First contact.

Contact with the French E-Cafe Racer

Just approved by the Technical Union of the Automobile, Motorcycle and Cycle (UTAC), then registered and insured immediately (some insurers have specific price lists for electric two-wheelers), the Electric Racer is rather proud pace as he gets off the H-KER truck in front of MNC’s offices.

And immediately, its charm operates: several bikers and scooter riders stop to ask questions, while onlookers on the grand boulevards turn around tirelessly..

Taking up the 35 hp and 61 Nm powertrain of the First, this bike has something of a puzzle in its design. Modestly, his progenitor even describes himself more as an assembler than a builder.

Thus, the front of the "homemade" tubular trellis frame connects to a piece of Yamaha YZF-R125 chassis, from which also comes the swingarm and the suspensions..

The plates enclosing the engine of Chinese origin are manufactured by ADM, a precision mechanics company based in Chartres, while the battery comprising two rows of 36 lithium-ion cells is "made in Korea and assembled in California", assures Adrien Huille. As for the brakes, they come from France at the front (Beringer) and from Italy at the rear (Brembo): damn cosmopolitan, coffee !

The aesthetic rendering is successful and the pieces from different sources blend together rather well visually. To avoid spoiling anything, this union benefits from a relatively good quality of realization, with the exception of a few wandering cables behind the steering column, the perfectible adjustment of the plastics or the not very discreet screws used to fix the fairings..

The overall proportions prove to be consistent and make the silhouette pleasing to the eye, although the very low placement of the engine results in a moderately flattering line breakage. A casing to conceal it – at least in part – could have been advantageous, especially as this mill is not very sexy with its large cooling fins, its drive belt like "table saw" on the right and its big orange sheathed cables on the left !

In the saddle, the position is quite radical: the half-handlebars are slightly apart and set low enough, the seat is high (865 mm) and the footrests significantly bend the legs. However, the ergonomics remain bearable and will not really disorient the regulars of the Cafe Racer style. Only downsides: the "beads" of the pretty curved saddle are in solid oak, while its imposing "tank" (where the battery is hidden) is wider at the crotch than on its sides..

Results: despite a rather flexible suspension calibration, the Electric Racer H-KER quickly tans the buttocks, while the knees try in vain to wedge themselves. One turn of the key, one press on the traditional ignition switch, then on the tensioning button (compulsory for homologation) installed on an elegant aluminum plate on the triple clamp and … nothing !

Not a sound, no vibration comes to greet the starting of the electric motor, causing with the accustomed of the "thermal" a certain frustration doubled of a small concern: is it really starting this engine ?! The answer to this question takes the form of a green indicator light on the instrument panel, indicating that the motorcycle is ready to be driven. So gas … or rather "watts" !

Obediently, the "E-Cafe Racer" fits into the traffic, accompanied by a kind of discreet and not unpleasant hissing which ceases as soon as the engine is no longer used. At first, it is not uncommon to think that you have stalled during a fire stop !

Then, we start to smile by "listening" to this relative silence from which pierces the rolling of the tires on the road, the chain driving the wheel but also the brake pads on the front Beringer caliper! Conversely, some gear noises are much less harmonious, especially at low speed. According to Yves Kerlo, these would be "magnets that rotate inside the motor".

As a good potentiometer that it is, the accelerator offers a perfectly calculated power distribution. Turn the grip a quarter and the Electric Racer’s motor spits out 25% of its 35 hp, then twice as much power when the throttle is halfway through, etc..

Even more pleasing: the jolts and hesitations felt on the "watts net" last year with the have completely disappeared.

Related articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *