SURRON ULTRA BEE ELECTRIC BIKE REVIEW

Electric bikes aren’t just something in the distant future anymore. They’re here now, and we’ve been having a lot of fun testing them. We are done apologizing to the angry, over-my-dead-body crowd. Get over it, because you might actually come to enjoy them. The guys at KC Powersports in San Juan Capistrano loaned us a Surron Ultra Bee, and as of right now, we are shocked with the overall package.

Surron’s Ultra Bee is as close to a dirt bike as you can get without being an actual dirt bike.

We tested the Surron Light Bee a while back, and the Ultra Bee is one step closer to being a full-size dirt bike in both power and scale. It comes with 19-inch wheels and has a 12,500-watt AC motor. It weighs about 190 pounds. That translates to a 55–58-mph top speed, but with a full battery and perfect traction conditions during testing, we hit 60–62 mph on multiple occasions. Just for reference, this would be similar to a 85cc- or supermini-range dirt bike. The Ultra Bee sits taller than a mini, though. It’s more like an early 125 and fits a full-size adult comfortably.

Just to put things into perspective, electric bike models like Surron’s Light Bee, Talaria’s Sting and Rawrr’s Mantis have about half the power in watts and weigh about 50 pounds less. They generally use components that are similar to mountain bike parts. The Ultra Bee utilizes full-size motorcycle parts in key areas. The fork and shock are made by a company called KKE and have almost 10 inches of travel. The brakes look just like Nissin models found on current dirt bikes, and the axles and brake rotors are the same size as those used on a Honda CR125. The rims are fairly narrow, and both being 19 inches give the Ultra Bee a bicycle-like stance and does take a little adjustment time for the hard-core dirt bike crowd.

 

The stock CST tires and rims are narrow with very small knobs, making traction difficult in some off-road conditions under power full power. In other words, it spins. This is where the Ultra Bee’s adjustable traction-control options come into play. With time and patience, the traction-control settings can be dialed in to drastically reduce rear-wheel spin under power.

The motor has a primary reduction case with an internal belt that connects to a final drive chain. There is no clutch, no shifter and no foot brake, only hand brakes. This was another item that requires adjustment time for the dirt bike crowd. A handlebar switch lets you choose between three power levels—Eco, Daily and Sport. As we mentioned before, it also has a multi-tiered traction-control system. The motor also features its own set of fins for cooling to avoid overheating. The Ultra Bee makes more than enough power for trail riding. The power delivery is actually pretty smooth, but if you grab a handful in Sport mode, you just get wheelspin. We usually ride it in Daily, but you can also use the traction control to make it more controllable in Sport mode off-road.

It’s all about the environment. We rode some of the same tight trails on a modern dual-sport bike, and the Ultra Bee could run circles around it. In more wideopen spaces, on hills and in sand, the dual-sport bike is more in its element, and the electric bike feels more toy-like. The range varies, but if you’re on the gas, you have to limit your rides to 30 miles or so. The saving grace is that the battery can be changed in a couple of minutes, and a full charge takes four hours with a 110-volt outlet.

The Surron Ultra Bee is on the top of our favorite electric bike list currently. The key here is where we ride it. This isn’t a bike for Glen Helen or any prepped motocross track, but it’s awesome on tight trails. To confess, we ride it on local trails in semi-urban settings. Is that legal and responsible? Every community is different, but the Ultra Bee is quiet enough that we haven’t gotten in trouble, and we’ve gone out of our way to be courteous to the people we’ve come across. Stay tuned for a complete project build coming soon.