SONDORS Metacycle - $5,000 (now $6.5K) Electric Motorcycle

[OgNasty]

I've been looking at getting into electric vehicles for a long time, but it seems like the technology is now making it a feasible reality.  SONDORS Metacycle is once again taking orders for their Metacycle (I'm in), which is due to be shipped in Q1 of 2022 (originally planned for Q3 of 2021).  With all the delays in trying to get your hands on an electric vehicle, this might be a good way to scratch the itch while having some fun and not breaking the bank.  I'd highly recommend it for someone who needs a new toy or maybe someone in a position like myself, where you no longer want to drive a gas powered vehicle, but wait times for a Tesla are too much to bear.

SONDORS Metacycle
https://sondorsx.com/pages/metacycle

Price of Metacycle when posted (November 25, 2021): 0.08474576 BTC
Metacycle price if ordered July 4th, 2022: 0.31365988 BTC

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[OgNasty]

It appears as though the latest Bill passed by our government to give out free money will be going to electric vehicle purchasers.  I don't think even the politicians have figured out all the details yet, but if I'm not mistaken you may receive a 30% tax credit for the purchase of one of these vehicles.  Add that to the fact that the company emailed me and said the price will be elevated to $6,000 as soon as this batch is sold out, and this might even be an attractive speculative investment for resale.  Not what I plan to do, but I'll be surprised if I can't sell this thing for a $1750 profit the day I get it.  Although I plan to have a lot more than $1750 worth of fun on this thing so I won't be selling.  With the current inflationary environment, there's the real possibility of getting to play with fun toys like this and then sell them for a profit to buy more fun toys and repeat.  This sort of environment doesn't come along very often, so you wouldn't be completely irresponsible to speculate on some toys at the moment.  Especially if the government is going to help with the bill and they can't figure out how to fix the supply chain issues... 

[hephaist0s]

Silver or black? Normally I go straight for black, but the brushed silver looks pretty great.

[DaveF]

You can get a zero or energica today. No waiting. Well, it's Sunday night you may have to wait till tomorrow.
Yes they are way more expensive, but they have dealer networks, long term support and are proven designs.

With that being said, I am also in line for a Sondors, but I don't think it's going to be as good as the hype and doubt I'll see it before the middle of next riding season.

-Dave

[OgNasty]

Silver or black? Normally I go straight for black, but the brushed silver looks pretty great.

The silver does look great and that's the image that got me to make the purchase.  After some thinking though I went with black.  The thinking was that if you're going to buy a silent motorcycle so people can't hear you, you might as well make it black so they can't see you either. 

This will make a great quote for when I'm killed in a motorcycle crash.

You can get a zero or energica today. No waiting. Well, it's Sunday night you may have to wait till tomorrow.
Yes they are way more expensive, but they have dealer networks, long term support and are proven designs.

With that being said, I am also in line for a Sondors, but I don't think it's going to be as good as the hype and doubt I'll see it before the middle of next riding season.

-Dave

The price is definitely a motivating factor.  When you figure in tax credits (if these end up being included) and the fact that the price is being raised, it isn't much of a risk.  If you don't like it, you can claim the tax credit and then sell it at a profit (maybe). 

I would agree with you about it having some likely issues due to the hype.  There's no way you're getting 80 miles on the freeway on a charge for example.  Probably closer to 35.  That battery pack is also 50lbs, so it's not the great carry around to charge experience they make it seem.  They are supposedly releasing an addon battery for the hollow space between your legs (giggity) but that will add more expense and make charging even more difficult (or maybe faster to charge 2 at once) so it's a fine line.  If you just want an electric bike for quick 10 minute trips somewhere though, it will be tough to beat by any motorcycle in my opinion.

[hephaist0s]

It feels like a crossover, something hard to categorize -- a moped you can take on the highway, maybe? But with the low-end electric torque, even that tame 11-20 HP might feel amazing at the start... hard to be sure. I look forward to trying one. I think it's a new sort of thing, that might seem obvious in retrospect.

[DaveF]

IMO it's looking to compete with the city bikes that are cropping up from everyone. Kawasaki Z125 / Honda Grom type ones.
The biggest issue I see is the price. Once all of us early adopters get them. And the green people get them. They are competing with gas powered bikes that are 1/2 the price and "real" electric bikes that although are 2x the price are a lot more bike.

There is going to be a lot of competition in this space lets see how they do.

-Dave

[Erumo]

This might be an off-topic, but you wont get any respect from hogs when riding motorcycle like that.

This moped looks ugly. Bet it wont bring any joy riding, compared to a motorcycle.

If you are looking for something electric, why not get a scooter ?

[OgNasty]

This might be an off-topic, but you wont get any respect from hogs when riding motorcycle like that.

This moped looks ugly. Bet it wont bring any joy riding, compared to a motorcycle.

If you are looking for something electric, why not get a scooter ?

I think it looks badass and if you’re using things you purchase to try and earn respect you’re doing it wrong.

I wouldn’t want to ride on a scooter personally. I wanted a badass electric bike to play around on. I’m not a hardcore motorcyclist and the idea of taking a long motorcycle trip ain’t for me. That’s what Tesla’s self driving system is for. Quick trips around town though, how could you think this wouldn’t bring joy? For me it was between this or an electric drifting go-cart for an EV toy. I think I made the right decision. This will look great next to my cybertruck.

[DaveF]

Over 2x the price of the Sondors but: https://www.fuell.us/products/fuell-fllow-e-motorcycle
It's from Erik Buell who has been into motorcycles forever and Frédéric Vasseur who has been a motorsports engineer forever.
And they are NYC based so I have seen their demo.

-Dave

[OgNasty]

Over 2x the price of the Sondors but: https://www.fuell.us/products/fuell-fllow-e-motorcycle
It's from Erik Buell who has been into motorcycles forever and Frédéric Vasseur who has been a motorsports engineer forever.
And they are NYC based so I have seen their demo.

-DAve

Ya, that’s a sick bike. If you’re willing to spend over $10K then there’s that or another company I saw that makes mostly $20K motorcycles but does have one that starts at $12K. Those bikes are definitely better, but at more than double the price there’s a bit more financial risk. Part of the allure for me is knowing that if I don’t like the bike when I do receive it, or decide to upgrade to something else for more power, I’ll likely be able to sell it for a profit.

[OgNasty]

Sondors announced that the Metacycle price is increasing by $1000 on January 16th. That leaves only a couple weeks to lock in a $1000 savings if you were interested in getting an awesome bike for relatively low financial risk. We all knew this was coming but it’s nice to see it happen. I’m sure with inflation in the US quickly approaching 10%, this won’t be the last price increase we’ll see before these things hit the streets en masse.

[OgNasty]

The production Metacycle has been spotted out in the wild and a video has been posted on YouTube. Seeing so much black on the silver mode makes me regret my decision to go with the black model less. Something will definitely need to be done about those mirrors though.

https://youtu.be/WE7dFS8ymn8

[OgNasty]

Looks like these bikes are indeed going to become a reality.  Sondors claims they're still going to make shipping to customers this month.  I am personally slated in their next production run, which is expected currently to ship in September.  Still, it is great to see that they are real and customers will have them in their hands soon.  You can get an update from the professionals in this youtube video, but I'm excited to have my first electric vehicle incoming in the next several months. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQXT6CiHOmk

[DaveF]

Nobody I know has gotten a notification even with early orders. Wonder if they are doing more local to the factory deliveries 1st to work out any issues.
I have gotten more communications from my bank about the payments then Sondors with updates or anything about the delivery.
Hope to get at least some riding on it this year.

-Dave

[OgNasty]

Nobody I know has gotten a notification even with early orders. Wonder if they are doing more local to the factory deliveries 1st to work out any issues.
I have gotten more communications from my bank about the payments then Sondors with updates or anything about the delivery.
Hope to get at least some riding on it this year.

-Dave

It looks like the shipping notifications have started going out as of last week.  The first batch of orders are required to pay a $700 white glove delivery service fee, which is said to be discounted.  That means the rest of us will likely have to pay $1,000 or thereabouts.  With these vehicles on the way to customers now, it will only be a matter of time before we can see what they are actually capable of.  So far they've proven to be a good Bitcoin investment.  The day I made my order and posted this thread, BTC was trading at $59,000.  Today it is trading at $19K and the cost of the Metacycle has increased by $1000.  That means if you followed my purchase, you bought your Metacycle for 0.08474576 BTC and today it costs 0.31578947 BTC.  This is why I said it, "might even be an attractive speculative investment for resale."  If you're one of those people who does accounting on the Bitcoin Standard, that's a nearly 273% gain in BTC (or a 20% gain in USD).  This doesn't even take into consideration the tax rebates for an electric vehicle (still not 100% on that).  It will be interesting to see what the final numbers are when I receive it.

[OgNasty]

The Sondors Metacycle is real and it's on the road!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8fkCzvfWTY

From this video you can see a guy cruising around on it and talking about his thoughts on the bike from his ride.  Some things to note.  The bike can indeed travel a maximum of 40 miles on the freeway.  This is if you dropped it on the freeway with a full charge.  Clearly this is not a bike meant to ride at such high speeds even though it is capable.  The rider also complained quite a bit about the thin bike seat and wishing it was 1 or 2 inches wider.  I'm not sure how big the rider is, but this is probably the first thing I'll check out when mine arrives. 

Nice to know it isn't vaporware.  That price seemed too good to be true.

[DaveF]

The Sondors Metacycle is real and it's on the road!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8fkCzvfWTY

From this video you can see a guy cruising around on it and talking about his thoughts on the bike from his ride.  Some things to note.  The bike can indeed travel a maximum of 40 miles on the freeway.  This is if you dropped it on the freeway with a full charge.  Clearly this is not a bike meant to ride at such high speeds even though it is capable.  The rider also complained quite a bit about the thin bike seat and wishing it was 1 or 2 inches wider.  I'm not sure how big the rider is, but this is probably the first thing I'll check out when mine arrives. 

Nice to know it isn't vaporware.  That price seemed too good to be true.

From the other comments I have seen it's 40 miles if it's downhill. Which is odd, since it does seem to be getting 65ish in the city in those same reviews. Most likely is going to need some software tweaks on the motor controller. But as a city / commuter bike it's more then enough. Still have not heard on my order so I guess I am not getting it for this riding season As for the seat, if the range really is that low it's not important to my ass. Not like you are really going to be on it for that long.

-Dave

[OgNasty]

From the other comments I have seen it's 40 miles if it's downhill. Which is odd, since it does seem to be getting 65ish in the city in those same reviews. Most likely is going to need some software tweaks on the motor controller. But as a city / commuter bike it's more then enough. Still have not heard on my order so I guess I am not getting it for this riding season As for the seat, if the range really is that low it's not important to my ass. Not like you are really going to be on it for that long.

-Dave

I called them and was told that my order was in batch 2.  They told me that I could expect it to be shipped in September.  I also noticed that they were about a month behind on their recent delivery estimates, so I'm not expecting mine before October.  A lot will depend on which color you picked and the availability though.  I went with the all black, so hopefully that wasn't a popular choice.  It's worth giving them a call though.  It was a quick and easy conversation that only took a minute and it's nice to know that they're expecting to ship it so soon.

[DaveF]

What number did you call?  I tried 323-675-2711 back in June and was more or less told 'don't call us, we'll call you' I have had 0 contact from them as has someone else I know who ordered even before me.

But, since I ordered WAY before you I am surprised that what they call batch 2 is going to be in September when earlier people have not gotten theirs or even a notification.

Really starting to wonder if they are doing west coast / big cities 1st and working their way out.
Not a bad way to do things from the business end get the closer to factory and more population dense areas 1st and then move out to where you need to spend more travel time (read money) to get to the customers.

-Dave