2011 Roehr eSuperSport

We heard a rumor that Roehr was teaming up with Hyosung to build an electric streetbike, and low and behold a press release in our inbox today confirmed the news, as the 2011 Roehr eSuperSport is a spitting image of the Korean company’s Hyosung GT650R..except you know, with batteries, electric motors, and a slightly higher price tag. That’s of course because the new Roehr eSuperSport is essentially an electric conversion of the Korean bike.

Announcing a “closer relationship” with Hyosung (the company then states “Roehr Motorcycles LLC does not express or imply any affiliation with Hyosung Motors USA”), Roehr has taken its electric drive system, and placed it in the GT650R rolling chassis to create a 67hp, 100+ mph electric street bike. Though you might scoff at the conversion bike premise, our favorite part about the bike is the $17,995 price tag, which isn’t terribly expensive for a a machine that should go about 75 miles or so on a charge.

If you’ll recall, Roehr’s electric powertrain consists of an AC induction Motor that makes 67hp and 80 lbs•ft of torque. The batteries are LiFePO4, and 7.7 kWh of them are stuffed inside the GT650R chassis. Using the Hyosung roller, Roehr is able to offer many of the features you’d expect on a standard motorcycle, which makes this a fairly complete package. Considering how often we slog the American company here on Asphalt & Rubber, this is pretty high praise coming from us.

This is because the whole Hyosung partnership/non-partnership intrigues us, as it brings an OEM into the electric fray in a larger capacity (pun intended?). What this also means from what we’ve heard is that Roehr and the 2011 Roehr eSuperSport have actual resources at its disposal. So while the American company didn’t include an availability date with its information, having Hyosung in the mix, and what we’ve heard before this announcement, this will be an actual motorcycle you can buy, unlike some of the vaporware competitors that we’ve seen announced in the past few years.

We like it when companies don’t bullshit around, so kudos to Roehrich and his crew on this one. You can pre-order a 2011 Roehr eSuperSport at Roehr’s website.

Specifications:

Motor

Type: AC Induction
Power: 50Kw (67Hp) peak
Torque: 80 lb/ft

Battery

Type: LiFePO4 high discharge cylindrical cell
Voltage/Ah: 96V (nominal) / 80Ah
Amperage: 650 amps (peak)
Capacity: 7.7 Kwh
Charging: 1000 watt on-board
Recharge
time: 7 hours
Management: LVC, HVC, shunt balancing