Erik Buell’s Fuell Fllow-1S electrical moto now open for orders

Final December, we wrote about Erik Buell’s push to get his Fuell Fllow-1S battery-electric bike by way of two funding campaigns to market. The primary marketing campaign was profitable, which means Fuell took in at the least 3,000 orders. The second marketing campaign is lower than two weeks from completion, order books on the Fuell web site now open for the general public at giant. The worth has come down $1,500 for some early adopters — we’ll clarify who “some” are in a second — from final 12 months’s $11,995 to $10,495, together with vacation spot. This shall be a $2,500 low cost in comparison with the anticipated ultimate retail worth of $12,995 activated when the marketing campaign ends.

What is going to consumers get? The Fllow-1S packs a 10-kWh battery in a structural magnesium casing that powers an axial flux motor within the rear wheel hub. The motor throws a steady 47 horsepower and stout 553 pound-feet of peak torque to maneuver lower than 400 kilos of curb weight. Designed for city commutes, estimated real-world vary is 150 miles, launching to 62 miles per hour takes 3.5 seconds, prime velocity maxes at 85 mph. Engineers eradicated the rear brake pedal because of the regen braking from the rear hub motor, the dealing with programming additionally together with traction and wheelie management. A 15-hp model referred to as the Fllow-1, minus the S, permits European riders with restricted licenses to throw a leg over.

At a 50-kW CCS quick charger, the 400-volt structure can juice the battery from 20% to 80% in lower than quarter-hour, from empty to full in underneath half-hour. Plugged into a typical dwelling wall outlet, a full recharge takes 10 hours. That may be minimize to 2.5 hours with the non-obligatory 3.3-kW onboard charger or 1.25 hours with the non-obligatory 6.6-kW charger.

The LCD display pairs with the rider’s cellphone, accepts OTA updates, and shows using information plus apps for options like GPS and bike monitoring. Fuell says crucial bike {hardware} will be upgraded, together with the battery, energy electronics, rear wheel motor, and charging socket. European consumers who begin with the 15-hp motor, as an illustration, can swap for the 47-hp motor when their licenses enable. 

A compact unit, the Fllow-1S wheelbase stretches 54 inches. That is 4.7 inches shorter than the battery-electric Harley-Davidson Livewire, 1.5 inches shorter than the electrical Zero S. The 30-inch seat top matches the Livewire and is 1.8 inches under the Zero S. The Fllow’s nonetheless made to accommodate two riders — word the rear handles and footpegs — whereas the 10-gallon void the place the fuel tank and ICE motor would usually be is giant sufficient to suit a small bag and a full-face helmet. The helmet within the photograph is Buell’s Veldt carbon unit anticipated to retail for $1,060, final we heard.

Now to that “some.” Anybody putting an order and paying your complete discounted worth directly can get a Fllow-1S beginning at $10,495, minus choices, taxes, and costs. Those that need to break up the fee pays $1,000 extra; an preliminary deposit of $5,495 adopted by six funds of $1,000 made each different month, for $11,495 whole.

This is the small print: Deliveries aren’t anticipated to begin till the tip of 2024, however the funds aren’t totally refundable. The phrases and circumstances state that orders cancelled inside 14 days of putting the order get refunded the quantity of the cost “much less the quantity of the Cost Processing Price.” We could not discover a said determine for the cost processing payment, so simply know that irrespective of if you cancel, you will not get all your a refund.

The larger shock is that those that cancel orders between 14 and 90 days after putting the order get refunded 50% of their cost, minus the processing payment. After 90 days, no cash comes again. Fuell’s phrases clarify, “You acknowledge that the Order Cost is a good and cheap estimate of the particular damages now we have incurred or might incur in transporting, remarketing, and reselling the FLLOW, prices that are in any other case impracticable or extraordinarily tough to find out.” For a motorcycle not as a result of ship till the tip of 2024 and that the engineering group is not completed tinkering with, that is a robust dedication in unsure occasions. The bit in regards to the tinkering is vital as effectively, as a result of the identical phrases state, “Your FLLOW is priced and configured primarily based on options and choices obtainable on the time of Order. Choices, options or {hardware} launched after you place your Order might not be included in or obtainable to your FLLOW.”

We would like Buell to win. However on this case, we advise consumers suppose lengthy and laborious about whether or not it is value paying the additional $2,000 for full retail in 15 months and understanding precisely what Fllow-1S you are shopping for.