Electric Motorsport's GPR-S e-motorcycle available now for $8,000

When we spotted Electric Motorsport last year the company was pushing a high-ish performance electric motorcycle prototype, with a top speed of 100 MPH, 100 mile range, a $15,000 pricetag, and a whole bunch ugly battery strapped underneath. Lucky for us, they've taken a very mass-market approach to their next bike, the GPR-S. Boasting a 60-70 MPH top speed and 35-60 mile range, the sleek little bike just might be the perfect commuter ride, and the $8,000 pricetag is much more palatable. The bike can charge in about four hours, or 1.5 hours with an optional speed charger. Even better, the bike is modular in nature, which means you'll be able to swap in a better power system once one comes along with a minimum of hassle. Electric Motorsport has sold 25 of these so far, but they're up and running and ready for sales at volume -- which is surprisingly still an incredibly rare feat in the electric transportation industry, even in 2008.

[Charlie @ Oct 24th 2008 9:56AM]

Have you seen their prototype? I hear it's gonna be called EDG-E

[Graham @ Oct 24th 2008 9:58AM]

But its coming only to roads provided by AT-T

[thedesolate1 @ Oct 24th 2008 10:10AM]

They have plans for unlimited miles or paying 5 cents/km on top of your electric bill. Oh and those darned iCar users cause huge traffic jams during rush hours. I'm not sure that is a path you want to tread. I would wait for the LTE version.

[Patriks7 @ Oct 24th 2008 10:21AM]

And I bet the next one will be THREE-G

[Valicore @ Oct 24th 2008 11:42AM]

LOLOLOLOL the THREE-G is awesome lol. You forgot to add that by unlimited they mean limited lol.

[Rocketboy @ Oct 24th 2008 3:59PM]

Will it come with a GPS?

[rock99rock @ Oct 24th 2008 9:57AM]

Looks kinda weird, like those engine covers... and the bicycle wheels. Still, the modular build for swappin out parts is a verrr nahce. The "optional" quick charger should be included.

[Deeznuts420 @ Oct 24th 2008 10:01AM]

i would buy it in all black or black and grey

[Mikey @ Oct 24th 2008 10:37AM]

Spray paint?

[thedesolate1 @ Oct 24th 2008 10:01AM]

At that price=WIN and it doesn't look spectacular but its not hideous witch is a feat in itself before 2012 with all those ugly electric vehicle prototypes we have seen.

[BEN! @ Oct 24th 2008 12:45PM]

Happy Halloween!

[Pete @ Oct 24th 2008 10:05AM]

Those tires are tiny...

[Stefan @ Oct 24th 2008 11:00AM]

And you dont need any bigger for 60-70 mph.

[JohnM @ Oct 24th 2008 10:13AM]

I think I'll wait for the Wima-X version. Something with a little more umph!

[PCIV @ Oct 24th 2008 10:17AM]

This seems very tempting. 60-70 is more than enough to hit the speed limit in Canada highways. Very tempting to use to go to school and back. Now, I just need to convince my mom to let me get a motorcycle license.

[fieldcar @ Oct 24th 2008 10:20AM]

While its not too shabby of a design, and the price isn't in the unaffordable range, a 2009 kawasaki 250R @ $3999 MSRP is a much better choice. It gets somewhere around 60MPG, and tops out at 105MPH. With $8000 you could get a last year 1000cc/litre bike with 150+HP at the wheel that gets you down the quarter mile drag strip in the high 9's stock. I guess this bike would sell well in "progressive" cities where image, saving the environment, and sniffing your own farts are priority.

[TS @ Oct 24th 2008 10:48AM]

"I guess this bike would sell well in "progressive" cities where image, saving the environment, and sniffing your own farts are priority."

Awesome South Park reference. You sir, have just won the internets. Please schedule a time to pick up the all of the tubes at your convenience....

[fieldcar @ Oct 24th 2008 11:04AM]

Oooh goodie! Do I have to sit in that room with the yuma yuma guy though?

[phanbouy @ Oct 24th 2008 12:32PM]

i have a '80 250R and it's a sweet ride. however, given that it's pretty cold blooded and still carbeurated (and, even as lean as they're tuned, you can tell that pound for pound the emissions are not so hot) -- this electric bike is a significant step forward in tech. Once the price comes down by half it'd be a good trade off I think.

[phanbouy @ Oct 24th 2008 12:43PM]

whoops, meant i have an '08

[cwj @ Oct 24th 2008 3:34PM]

better = subjective

In addition to not paying at the pump, there are far fewer maint. costs in a year for this, ease of use, far quieter, much better smelling... Something like this makes great sense in a dense urban area. In suburbia where one is traveling longer distances per trip, an ICE bike can make more sense. Besides, I imagine that people who are buying this are thinking in terms of being an early adopter, the way many of us do with the kind of tech featured on endadget.

Besides, of the electric motorcycles/large scooter that have come out, this one is the most affordable by about HALF.

Hopefully, what some intrepid bizness person will do is start a venture using something like this in a shared use/ownership model; lower the cost per customer further.....

[Jonathan @ Oct 24th 2008 3:12PM]

Yeah, people need to stop equating mpg to how good a vehicle is for the environment. The mpg might be good but often on bikes and scooters, the emissions are terrible.

In Ontario, Drive Clean Centers (where you get your emissions test) wont even test scooters because the high emissions damage the machine. But boy, their mpg is incredible!

[LarryLarryLarry @ Oct 28th 2008 6:28AM]

Imagine I'm driving a huge pickup truck that gets 10 mpg with a ton of emission controls on it. I strip off all the emission controls, break every law in California, and woooooooooohoooooooo I'm getting 20 mpg. That is easily possible today, I have friends who have done it.

Which is worse: Before or After?

Before: I was burning twice as much gas with maybe 30% pollution reduction.
After: Getting decent milage but full pollution per gallon.

Winner: AFTER because my milage is so much better, my total pollution is less and I save thousands of dollars per year.

2008: Saving the Earth by wrecking it faster.

[deslock @ Nov 7th 2008 9:44AM]

Any low volume motorcycle is going to be pricier than mass production bikes. Also, to be fair it should be compared to domestic bikes, which are far more expensive than their Japanese counterparts. Lastly, for some people there is some value in the lower noise level (though I personally see that as useful in an electric bike rather than a motorcycle).

Having written all that, I agree this bike is still too expensive for what it offers. Give me a 100 mile range @ 60 MPH in a bike that can hit 90+ MPH and I'd shell out $8k for it. What would be even better would be an electric bicycle that weighs less than 40 pounds (and could be pedaled if the power runs out), could maintain 30 MPH uphill, and could go 50+ miles @ 30 MPH. I'd happily shell out $3k for that, but there need to be some serious advances in battery technology before those features are offered at that cost.

For now I'll stick with my SV650.

[andy @ Oct 24th 2008 10:20AM]

Aren't the smaller displacement motorcycles (ie. 125, 250 c.c.) fairly economical when it comes to gas mileage, something like 50-70MPG if you are just riding them as basic transportation instead of racing them down the highway? Thats why I see little advantage owning an electric "super bike", a little oxymoron in my opinion.

[cory yalowicki @ Oct 24th 2008 10:56AM]

Theres nothing "super" about a 60-70 mph top speed.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Oct 24th 2008 1:03PM]

Yeah, plus 35-60 is a huge range. My commute is 45 r/t. Oh yeah, and it needs to go faster than 70; I'd say 90 is an okay top speed.

I'd love one, though, because the electricity in my garage is not billed to my apartment... yay free energy!

[fieldcar @ Oct 24th 2008 10:21AM]

Forgot to post a link for your convenience.
http://www.kawasaki.com/products/detail.aspx?id=359&content=introduction

[Paul Miller @ Oct 24th 2008 10:27AM]

Stop trying to confuse this buying process with facts, fieldcar!

[Stefan @ Oct 24th 2008 11:40AM]

So i have until next summer to get one .Thanx fieldcar

[eggothewaffle @ Oct 24th 2008 10:33AM]

Does it support SLI or does it support CrossFire?

[Deeznuts420 @ Oct 24th 2008 10:52AM]

it supports VROOM

[Fred @ Oct 24th 2008 10:43AM]

If I had the balls to ride a motorcycle I'd be all over this.

[fistpittingnork @ Oct 24th 2008 11:20AM]

Vaginas ride, too. Ever heard of Dykes on Bikes?

[rock99rock @ Oct 24th 2008 11:57AM]

Yes, but their balls dont get in the way.

[LiqwidZero @ Oct 24th 2008 10:46AM]

Oh, man. I wish I had $8,000 now. Someone lend me some money!

[Samboini @ Oct 24th 2008 12:32PM]

Sure, but the interest will be charged at 3,000%.

[t obi gsh oes @ Oct 24th 2008 11:02AM]

confused..... why would you spend $8000 on this? get a real bike for $6000

I ride everyday to and from work in chicago (where gas is not cheap), get 30 mpg, fill up for $16 every two weeks... on a REAL motorcycle... small amounts of $$



anyone else think it looks like a cross between a buell blast with ninja 250 tires?

[Brett @ Oct 24th 2008 12:56PM]

Do you have any idea how much cheaper electricity is than gas? My car gets around 35mpg, and I pay about $20/week in gas. If I were to ride this thing instead I'd probably be looking at closer to $2/week.

[fistpittingnork @ Oct 24th 2008 11:21AM]

A Buell with 2 front tires, yes.

[Chris Are @ Oct 24th 2008 11:48AM]

I didn't realize REAL crotch rockets were so cheap- 6000$?? That's half the price of my Jetta. I don't know if I'm cool enough to get a yamaha or whatever. Plus I live in Colorado, so I'd be able to use it like 4 months out of the year.

[steve @ Oct 24th 2008 12:09PM]

Its a shame that the ideal target market ( city and urban dwellers with short commutes) don't have easy access to external electric power, either at their place of residence, usually high above the city streets, or at their place of work, similarly high above the city streets. That is unless you can afford a parking garage, in which case you probably aren't all that concerned with the price of oil/gas

[StalematE @ Oct 24th 2008 12:10PM]

i thought the whole point of a street bike was the WAAAAAAAAH-clickWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH.. this thing'll be all quiet... boring...

[meggman @ Oct 24th 2008 12:29PM]

not only would it be boring. it would be dangerous as hell. a lot bikers actually make their bikes louder so people driving cars can hear them coming. this thing would be even more invisible to motorist. no thanks....

[phanbouy @ Oct 24th 2008 12:34PM]

" a lot bikers actually make their bikes louder so people driving cars can hear them coming" the only way they'll really hear you is having an open exhaust Harley noise machine. not worth the trade off -- just wear high vis gear, use your brights, and have the HORN ready to use. Illegally loud exhausts are a nuisance and unnecessary.

[Joseph @ Oct 24th 2008 1:34PM]

I would rather have my son drive a moto w/ a loud exhaust then not have him at all.

[phanbouy @ Oct 24th 2008 1:41PM]

"I would rather have my son drive a moto w/ a loud exhaust then not have him at all." then have him take an MSF course instead of showing off his 120dB pipes

[Othello @ Oct 24th 2008 2:23PM]

I have to say, I think the sound is important, both for motorcycles and cars. Even if most people can't hear you all the time, it adds an extra level of protection. But besides protecting yourself from other vehicles, a lot of blind people are concerned about the silent nature of electric vehicles, and I wonder how it would effect seeing eye dogs. But it's not just the blind, a lot of people rely on the sound of a vehicle to help keep them aware in every day life, since it's not possible to have your eyes everywhere at once. Suddenly taking sound out of the equation is going to confuse a lot of people at the very least.

It would be pretty simple to have an adjustable sound system for this.

[Aaron @ Oct 24th 2008 2:30PM]

I used my brights on my motorcycle. A hell of a lot of good it did -- the 18-year-old driver thought I was "flashing" her to proceed, which she did and T-boned me.

[phanbouy @ Oct 24th 2008 2:49PM]

she t-boned you because your brights were on? you weren't flashing them? either way sorry to hear. 'course, not even the fartingest Hog can protect from stupidity