Riding an all-Brit electric motorcycle
“It’s an electric bike, which is exactly why you should ride it,” Rob said.
Road Dirt Motorcycle Media’s owner, editor-in-chief and head bottle washer Rob Brooks knows me. He knows I love the smell of gasoline, loud exhausts and have more carburetors on one bike than kids. Personalities of old motorcycles and the feel of ancient cars feed my soul. When British electric motorcycle manufacturer Maeving offered up their RM1S to Road Dirt for a long term test, I questioned Rob assigning it to me.
An electric motorcycle? Are you sure about this, boss? Shouldn’t you give this test to someone who was born with a cell phone in their hand instead of lawn darts?
Side attaching satchel is optional and can be quickly and easily removed for carrying to your workplace. A laptop fits easily and I used it constantly.
Maybe not. It turns out that Maeving co-founder Seb Ingis-Jones and I have a lot in common. “I first caught the bug with cars,” he said. “My love of motorcycles definitely comes from cars. I had posters of old cars, classic cars, and modified cars all over my room. My love of metal, propulsion systems, bike building and maintenance – automotive products generally – came from cars. I could list a hundred cars I think are stunning. My journey into bikes came a little later.”
Svelte and silent nature of the Maeving means it can be parked anywhere. Don’t underestimate this advantage.
His creation, the Maeving RM1S reflects this love. At first glance you notice what it lacks: it has no fairing, no exhaust tubing, no rear seat, very few wires, a single dash bezel and open space everywhere. Get closer and you notice attention to details: blacked out spokes, blacked out braided steel brake lines, quality switchgear, gorgeous stitched leather seat, carbon fiber fenders, Maeving logo engraved on the headlight and on the bamboo inlays on the batteries. It is quite possibly the most stunning, most photogenic bike I have ever tested, and no bike I have ridden draws a crowd like the Maeving.
“My love of British ’50s and ’60s classics ultimately underpins the style we’ve leaned into” Seb said. “That’s perhaps unsurprising if you’re starting a motorcycle brand in the UK. That’s the rich heritage you’re drawing on. All our team come from Triumph. Our first hire was Triumph’s head of product, Graham Gilbert, who was basically responsible for the last 25 years of Triumph motorbikes.”
Makes sense. If a 1967 Triumph Bonneville T120 had an illicit affair with a Tesla Roadster after too much Guinness, the Maeving RM1S would be their wonder child.
Narrow, light, flickable, comfortable, and just plain fun.
Throw a leg over the Maeving RM1S and the first impression is narrow lightness. It weighs in at a feather above 300 lbs and the fake gas tank is actually 10 liters of storage space, adding to the narrow feel. Rider triangle is compact yet comfortable. I am 6’ 2” and the reach to the bars is close, the billet aluminum footpegs fall naturally under foot and the svelte, floating bobber-type seat feels good. It feels like a bicycle draped in power.
Turn the key and the red baton on the analog speedo rewards you with a giant sweep, a perfect vintage touch, but it also has a small digital display for odometer, dual trip meters, battery charge and the three ride modes.
Dash bezel is part analog, part digital and fits the theme of the bike: compact, simple, elegant.
“The naked style, the metalwork, and all the exposed components also come from something I’m sure you haven’t missed,” Seb told me. “A lot of electric brands and car manufacturers make electric products look futuristic to differentiate them from their gas counterparts. They cover them in screens. I’m really allergic to that. What I love about bikes is the simplicity, the metalwork, seeing and feeling everything, and not having too many rider aids or disruptions from the ride. I like simplicity. Our bikes are quite British, quite café racer, quite naked, skinny, and simple because we want to retain that style and heritage as we step into electric. There’s no reason to lose it.”
Grab the front brake lever to select a ride mode, twist the throttle and the Maeving pulls away silently. No motor hum, no whine, nothing, so silent all you hear is the slight moan of the tires on the pavement and the occasional whisper of the front brake. Sometimes I ride the bike without earplugs. I never ride a bike without earplugs because all of my motorcycles rattle neighboring windows when they start.
Compactness means universal appeal. It is a perfect introduction to motorcycling, but veteran riders also appreciate the café racer lines.
Silent speed is addicting on the Maeving. Economy mode is good for over 100 miles of range, but limited to 32 mph. Normal mode pulls more and up to 52 mph with about 80 miles of range, and Sport mode gave me 52 miles before batteries were down to 20%. I could charge the batteries on a household outlet from 18% to 62% in 2 hours and to 85% in 3 hours. Batteries can also be removed from the side compartment of the bike and taken to your workplace, apartment or wherever to charge remotely then dropped back in, a feature that changes your thoughts on range anxiety.
Seb was very intentional about this feature. “Removable batteries mean Europeans living in small apartments in Paris, Milan, Barcelona, or London can take their batteries out and charge them at a standard socket. In the UK, and broadly across Europe, average commutes are about seven miles. For most of our riders, you’re getting a whole week’s riding before charging the bike.” It makes sense no matter where you live.
Twin removable batteries mean you can take the batteries to the charger, changing the range anxiety game. Each one is a work of art.
In the city environments the Maeving was designed for, Sport mode is the only way to fly, giving the most acceleration, or you can ride in Normal mode and thumb into Sport mode for a quick sprint, then back to Normal with no interruption. However, acceleration is king for commuting. Sport mode gives adequate response to beat cars away from a stoplight, make those assertive passes or hit that once-in-a-lifetime opening in traffic. Seb’s knows commuting and his experience was the genesis for the Maeving.
“When I was about twenty-three,” he said “I had a job that meant commuting for an hour and a half outside the city: cycling to a train station, taking a train to another station, and then a company shuttle bus. It was a big corporate company. I realized that if I got a motorbike, I would save twenty-six days a year in commuting time. I just wanted a bike, but that was my rationale. I bought a 125cc scrambler. What I wasn’t prepared for was that every single day, when my alarm went off and I had to commute, I was so excited. When work ended, it was the best moment of the day.”
Seeing this out your window at work improves your outlook.
Riding the Maeving feels like that. Leaving for work or coffee, it has become the best part of my day. Handling is nimble thanks to the feather weight but heavy cornering can stress the knobby-ish Dunlop K70 tires. They are a beautiful statement, but smoother rubber might give a better ride. Brakes are strong, but the front lever is a bit of a hard pull for my taste, and bit surprising given it has little to stop. Front fork is good but rear shocks are too stiff considering its city commuter intent and most cities are rife with potholes, construction, concrete step ups and pavement seams.
However, somehow, it all fades away because riding the Maeving feels like flying. There is nothing in the way of the wind in your face, no noise to drown out your environment and no barriers between you and the road. After months spent riding the Maeving, every chance I get it still makes me smile. Sometimes I ride it to work, sometimes to get coffee and just watch it’s beauty turn throngs of people into motionless, staring zombies and sometimes I just ride it around the neighborhood for fun, no helmet, maybe a shirt, sometimes shoes, definitely sunglasses and always a giant face splitting grin.
It became difficult to get pictures of the Maeving at my local coffee café. I had to wait for the crowd to die down.
“When I’m driving my car,” Seb said, “I love heated seats, a radio, and climate control. On a bike, I don’t want any of that. I just want the ride, and I want it to be simple. Small and midweight bikes are having a bit of a revival because people are remembering what it’s like to ride things like (small bikes) around cities and small places. They’re so nifty and easy.” Seb has that right.
Rob was right too. I was the perfect person to test this bike not because I love gas on my hands, carburetors and loud exhausts, but because I love motorcycling, something the Maeving does beautifully, artistically and with soul. Maeving’s RM1S is $9,995 and can be delivered to your garage, but it won’t stay in there for long.
Co-founder Seb Inglis-Jones has perfectly wiped away all the pretentious barriers to motorcycling. The RM1S is not big, noisy, intimidatingly fast, riddled in plastic, covered by fairings, bound in mysterious wires or burdened with expectations. The true beauty of the Maeving is not what it is, but what it isn’t.
Ted
For more on the Maeving RM1S and their other offerings, visit them here:
Video review forthcoming…
Less is more.
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