14 amcn.com.au
the know
IT HAPPENEDSINCELASTISSUECAKE ISN’T Afamiliarnamein
motorcyclingbut the Swedish firm has
justrevealedacrossbetweenamountain
bikeandan electric motocrosser,called
theKALK.
Designed purelyas a leisure
machine, with no competition
focus, it’safullyelectricbike
that weighsonly70kg,
manages 80km/h flat
out and can run for
80 kmonafull battery
charge. Perfectfor
hurtlingdown trails
while avoidingthe
noise ofapetrol-
poweredenduro.
The aerospace-
qualityaluminium
frame, theswingarm,
the51.8Vbattery made
of 18650 lithium cells,
thecontrolunitandthe
unusual24-inchwheelshave
beendevelopedspecifically
for it. Even the tyres needed to be
speciallymade,andÖhlinsdeveloped
thesuspensiontosuititspart-bicycle,
part-motocrosser characteristics. It’sall
high-end stuff.
Thesuspensionoffershigh- and low-speed
compressiondampingadjustment, plusrebound, while the electronics allow three
ridingmodes andgive tweakable engine
brakingfrom theelectric motor.
Thethrottleistheonlyadditionalriding
control over a pedal-powered bicycle; there’s
noclutchorgears,sincetheelectric
motordirectly drives therear
wheel.Thefront andrear
brakes–22 0 mmdiscs at
each end, with four-pot
calipers – areboth
operatedfrombar-
mountedlevers, as on
apushbike.
The minimalist
bodyworkis all
carbon fibre, at
least onthefirst
50 special-edition
machines,whichof
course, come at a price.
CAKE is asking€ 14 , 000
($ 21 ,600)foreachofthose
first 50bikes, whichwill
be numbered and signed by
its makers to mark the company’s
first creation. Orders arebeing accepted
now, witha€ 1 000 ($1500) deposit, at http://www.
ridecake.com, withdeliveries to start in June.
The full-production version is expected to
be available later thisyear.
In Australia? No word yet. BEN PURVISCAKE KALK
Kalk is Swedish for limestone,
atribute to the company’s own
testtrack,whichhasawhite
limestonesurface
New electric offNewelectricoff-roader revealedroaderrevealed
Upcoming
Chinese
middleweights
CHINA ISHOMEto a bewildering
array ofmotorcycle manufacturers
and an increasing number of
them aredevelopingever-larger
bikes that look less like bargain-
basement transport andmorelike
themachinespopular indeveloped
markets. Here are two that have
turnedup in Chinesedesign patents
recently. BPHENGJIAN HJ500R
HENGJIAN HASFILEDpatent
designs for a new 500cc sportsbike.
Yes, there’s a bit ofHonda CBR650F
inthesidepanelshape,butit’snot
awholesaleHondacut-and-paste
effort. Theconventionalforkand
rather fragile-lookingbrake caliper
are what you mightexpectona
3 5kW,500cc twin.
The engine appears to befrom
Loncin,whichdebutedaCB500-
clone twinlastyear. At 471cc the
Loncinmotorisidenticalincapacity
totheHondaunit,andvisuallyit’s
almost indistinguishablefrom the
Japanese design.LIFENG DD350G
LIFENG IS A Chinese firm to have
made occasional forays into
foreign markets, usually with
cruiser or chopper-style single-
cylinder bikes, but this design is
something quite different.
This is clearly a prototype,
with 3D-printed bodywork, but
confusingly the frame (and
wheels) look like they’re from a
Kawasaki Ninja 300. Lifeng has
made a blatant Ninja 300 copy in
the past and there’s a hint of old-
generation Kawasaki styling.
Power – around 16kW –
comes from a 326cc twin.