Sol Motors now taking orders for its pipe-on-wheels Pocket Rocket electric motorcycle

Three years ago yesterday, I broke the news on SOL Motors’ debut of its innovative Pocket Rocket electric motorcycle. We’ve had to wait quite a while for a major update, but now, after a lengthy period of continued development (and one pandemic later), the company is taking orders for its eye-catching electric motorbikes.

The Stuttgart-based company SOL Motors (which stands for “speed of light”) developed the novel Pocket Rocket as a minimalist-looking electric motorbike that hides away just about everything that makes it work inside of a single frame member.

The large aluminum pipe that makes up the majority of the frame encloses the removable battery, controller, lights, wiring, and other key components that are critical to the Pocket Rocket’s operation but that aren’t visually interesting on their own.

What you’re left with is essentially a pipe on wheels – a design that finally offers something wholly unique compared to the litany of similar-looking electric motorcycles reaching the market.

After waiting years for SOL Motors to bring the Pocket Rocket to production, eager riders now finally have their chance to put down a pre-order and become one of the first to throw a leg over the novel electric motorbike.

Riders actually have the choice between two versions of the bike, the Pocket Rocket and the faster Pocket Rocket S.

The two versions are L1e and L3e bikes, respectively, meaning they are classified into different motor vehicle groups with different licensing and operational restrictions.

Both bikes roll on 16-in moto wheels and feature full suspension via dual rear coil-over shocks and a front telescopic fork. Hydraulic disc brakes offer quick, crisp stopping power and the inclusion of a Combined Braking System (CBS) adds extra safety to the Pocket Rocket’s stoppers.

Regenerative braking also contributes to the braking force while adding some charge back into the battery.

The lower power Pocket Rocket has a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) from a 5,000W peak hub motor putting out 120 Nm of torque. With that much power, the higher performance nature of the bike is obvious. To unleash its full potential, upgrading to the Pocket Rocket S boosts the motor power to 6,500W and torque to 160 Nm. It also unlocks a higher top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph).

Both versions weigh 55 kg (121 lb) and feature removable batteries rated for up to 80 km (50 miles) in the bike’s lowest power setting. The 2.5 kWh battery packs should see significantly reduced range when the Pocket Rockets are traveling at top speed.

Pre-orders placed now have an estimated delivery time of spring/summer of 2022. The Pocket Rocket is priced at €5,980 while the Pocket Rocket S is priced at €6,980.

Currently, the only countries available for deliveries are Germany, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Spain.