Cool electrical motorcycles for the urban modern biker

A story about my test drive of the Scrambler 1.5 made by RGNT Motorcycles

Today was the day that I would silence my curiosity for how it feels to drive an electric motorcycle. I have had this curiosity since I saw the RGNT motorcycle at The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride 2020 in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was one of the guys in Rockers Göteborg who had borrowed a bike from RGNT to use on his ride to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer research and men’s mental health.

Didn’t get the chance to test drive it then. Now I’m pretty happy about that since I today had one bike all for myself to drive more in the countryside around Anneberg.

I found out that you could sign up for a test drive at the RGNT Motorcycle website and I chose to take it at the plant in Anneberg, at the west coast of Sweden, where they make the motorcycles since it is not far away from me.

I must admit I was a bit nervous before this test drive; even if I afterwards can’t really understand why. Maybe it is the feeling that you do not want anything to happen with the bike or that it is very different from what you’re used to driving and it feels odd.

Anyway, I got to the plant and met up with Jonas Brimse, who is the After sales coordinator at RGNT. He has worked all his life with motorcycles; he sure knows how to take good care of customers and curious people like me for test drives.
Thanks Jonas for a great introduction on how to drive the Scrambler 1.5 before I drove off and afterwards showing me the plant.

Guys, I loved the indoor skateboard ramp you got at work! That kind of breaks the level for fun at work besides working with motorcycles and electric tech I guess.

Wow, look at that red Scrambler SEL! Can you see what type of bike it reminds you of?
It starts with an H I can say as a hint. That would be fun to drive in the future.

Introduction

And that brings me back to how my test drive was of the RGNT Scrambler 1.5. Click here to get all technical info at RGNT Motorcycle website if curious for that. I got an introduction on how to manage the motorcycle by Jonas and already there I notice how different the electric bike is to a regular motorcycle.

No gear pedal! only foot pegs – neither more nor less. And instead of the clutch lever, you got the rear brake lever in the same place. The rear brake was very strong, I can say from try and error later on the roads when test driving.
You got the read on and off button on your right side at the handlebar to get the bike started. Then you hold the front brake handle on the right side at the same time as pushing a black button for some seconds – this takes the bike from parked to drive mode. Now you are ready to turn the throttle and off you go!
The control panel has all the info you need and you also get a map of where you are all the time in front of you when driving. Also info about the battery status so no need to keep track of that by yourself.
You can choose two different modes of power for using the battery – power or range – depending on if you will drive just short city drives or longer distances. The scrambler 1.5 can travel up to 120 km in range; depending on riding conditions and driving behaviors.
All bikes can be charged at home without a special charger but on the new editions it will be a regular charger used as on electric cars as well.
Also all bikes can be updated by getting info directly sent to the bike by RGNT Motorcycles so no extra programs or need to get into service for this matter. Very practical I think.
You decide for yourself what information you want to share with them or not and what updates you want to receive. This is set when you start the bike the first time.
Of course you can design some things on the bike yourself when buying it; salde, handlebars and colors.
All bikes are delivered to you in a wooden box and ready to drive after you screw on the side mirrors. Bon Voyage!

The test drive

I took it very slow at the start to get my mind set for a drive on a completely different type of motorcycle than I’m used to. Lucky for me it is only 40 km/h just outside the plant on the roads so no need to feel stupid for not trottle up the first I did;)

Soon I got out on regular roads with speed signs for 70 km /h and up. It accelerated nicely and soundlessly, which I found to be very nice actually.

It’s stabil to drive even if it is a very windy day like the one I drove it on. The suspension on this model was a bit hard for me to get used to after being spoiled with my Triumph Tigers comfortable riding but not in a way that irritated me at all. Also I could have different handlebars instead of straight ones to have a better riding position for me. But overall a nice bike to drive as a rider and it fell smoothly into the curves as it should on the country roads.

I drove both on nice smooth newly made country roads and less nice roads with asphalt, I think it worked out very well on both. Maybe I would look at another smoother suspension if I bought a bike. I heard when I came back from Jonas that the next edition of Scrambler 2.0 will have a changed suspension so problems solved I guessed on that matter.

It was a silent drive; the only thing heard was the wind in my helmet and sound from the surroundings. I drove by horses that calmly continued to eat and didn’t even wave their ears when I passed them. You, who know me, know that I like the sound of engines and that I get goosebumps when real engines start like the V6 or V8.

So this was a totally new feeling to drive a motorcycle in total silence. I can say that I’m happy to have experienced it.

The only thing that I didn’t get together on my test drive was that the rear brakes were on the left handlebar and after a turn I set off to accelerate, tried to shift gear and pulled the clutch lever …. or let’s be honest I hit the brakes like never before! I had got a warning from Jonas before I drove off but hey somethings needs to be done to learn it the hard way, don’t they!

Except that it was a very fun and comfortable test drive that I would recommend others to take if the opportunity comes your way, or if you just book it here at RGNT Motorcycle website. You can try it out in many different countries already and more dealers are signing up to keep these test drives and sell the bike all around the world.

I think that this motorcycle has what it takes to be a good competitor to electric bicycles. It is definitely a bike to have as a second bike to drive in the cities and for shorter drives in nearby countryside roads. Looking forward to test driving the new editions as well because they sure got the looks I think.