Move Electric rating: four stars out of five
Sell it to me in a sentence...
Move Electric's Best Electric Motorbike Award winner for 2022, which means it's one of the best you can buy
What does it cost?
Factoring in the £500 OZEV grant, the Super Soco TC Max with alloy wheels costs £4,399 and £4,499 with spoked wheels. For an electric motorcycle, that is seriously good value, especially when you consider that its closest petrol powered rival, the Honda CB125R, costs £4,599.
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What is it?
The more I ride electric motorcycles, the more I become convinced that lightweight, short-range commuter bikes are a better use of battery technology than sports bikes or tourers. And that's something Super Soco does very well.
Now don’t get me wrong, bikes like the Harley Davidson Livewire are a hoot to ride (you can read our full review here), but a limited range, heavy kerb weight and eye-watering price tag mean that they have limited usability. Even Triumph has bottled out of releasing its stunning TE-1 – we suspect the business case for a 220kg naked sport bike with a 100-mile range isn’t quite there yet.
Which brings me to the TC Max, which, on paper at least, looks like it really could tempt beginner riders away from petrol power (since its performance is similar to a 125cc bike, it can be ridden with a provisional driving licence by those aged 17 and over, as long as you've got a CBT and show L-plates) because as a commuter there’s a lot to be said for its near-zero running costs.
With belt drive no chain maintenance is required and with a relatively small 2.7kWh lithium-ion battery battery located under the TC Max’s ‘petrol’ tank, a full charge costs around 50p, which equates to roughly a penny a mile.
Plus it’s relatively easy to charge. You can either charge the battery in situ or unplug it and carry it into your home or office – all you need is access to a three pin plug socket. That said, the battery weighs almost 22kg so just make sure you’re comfortable lifting it in and out of the bike before you buy.
A full charge will take between three and four hours and will get you around sixty miles of urban riding, but you can expect around half that if you’re riding spiritedly.
What’s it like?
The first thing you notice when you sling your leg over the TC Max is just how light it is for an electric bike. With a kerb weight of just 100kg (a CB125R weighs 130kg) you immediately have the confidence to filter through slow moving traffic, make tight, feet-up u-turns and carve through mini roundabouts.
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