Electric really is becoming a thing in SA. We samples the latest offering from Tromox, the M05.
By PeterP
The team at Tromox gave us the more cost effective M05 to ride. It’s a new Cafe’ racer styled electric in their arsenal.
Not a bad looking bike at all, stylish and well equipped. The contours and engineering detail compliment it so well.
The leisure market in this awesome Petrol Head country of ours may not be ready for a full on electric bike yet but it does not mean it won’t come. More and more Electric motorcycle manufacturers are making a name for themselves proving that the electric motorcycle has its unique place in the world.
Let’s talk practicality vs need. First off, would you consider buying an electric bike and what would the reason be? To work or College and back or maybe to zoot around the Estate. All at virtually zero cost. The last figure we were quoted for electric is 12c per kilometre travelled with the equivalent in petrol power with the current price of fuel at around 30c a kilometre.
In our case, because we are off grid and completelly solar, the cost is even less.
The display is clearly legible and the controls are all pretty logical.
Like most electrics, the M05 has 3 rider modes, Sport, Drive and Eco. The modes determine your performance and range, Sport, obviously is a bit frisky, Street is pretty solid and Eco, is like a limp mode – better range but you’ll be going slowly…
Just like any motorcycle, your throttle hand also dictates your range – just like fuel, your battery only has a certain amount of charge.
This baby comes with blind spot indiators built into the mirrors, cruise control and a reverse gear. Cool huh!
Switch between ECO , Drive or Sport mode and at 46km/h in Eco giving you the highest range of 80km, then 76km/h top speed on either Drive and or Sport giving you roughly 70km and 60 km range respectively.
Again it all depends on how you ride it.
She has a 3Kw hub mount motor with a 48 volt 48 amp hour battery. The hub mount does have it’s advantages, no more chain lube or chain adjustment, no elt. Direct drive to the rear wheel.
The whole bike weighs in at just 91kg’s. She sports 16 inch wheels front and rear with a rather impressive ABS brake system. There is a grab handle out back, but there are no rear footpegs, so this one is designed for solo travel.
Looking cool while you do it is important too.
The Tromox M05 is pretty sleek and stylish with LED lights all around, and an easy to read TFT display. The soft Leather Seat and a gloss and satin paint job really compliment the M05.
Charging up this bike is simple, she comes with a 220 volt charger that plugs into a normal wall socket and does the trick. The bike takes 8 hours of charging should to give you a “ Full tank”.
Security on this little Tromox is something we really like.
Unlock it by either swiping a tag, or using the remote.
If she is stationary whilst the immobilizer is activated and you try to get on without key, an alarm sound comes on and the hub locks the rear wheel hindering your ability to just simply push the bike off. The brakes lock and she will continue to sound off until the immobilizer is disarmed. It’s a cool feature to have indeed. Unless your dog bumps it when he’s dashing out to chase an intruder away… It happened a few times in our office. Kept us all wide awake though!
Check our riding vid below.
Ride impressions:
We had the bike for more than a week and probably put more than 100KM’s onto her. We zipped to the shops and back, zooted to the gate for deliveries and Deon took her home and back a couple of times – a round trip of 25KM’s
The bike is small, light and zippy. She handles really well and has great brakes – the ABS system works perfectly, but purists will need to get used to the lack of any footbrake. It’s like a bicycle with brake levers on the handlebars.
The suspension is planted and firm, exactly what this little bike needs. We hit various speed bumps and had no issues or any bottoming out.
It’s a cool little machine to zoot around on and it doesn’t lie. After charging her for a good few hours (She was not fully charged), Deon jumped on for a big loop through our area. The bike showed that it had a 34KM range. He rode in Street mode and ran out of steam at 37KM’s.
They tell us that at full charge in drive mode, the bike does 80 Kilometres
Why did we not charge it fully?
Well we couldn’t get the teenager in the office off the thing. He was up and down to the gate and off to visit his chommies at every opportunity. He’s one of the people that this bike is squarely aimed at.
Top speed in sports and drive mode with a 95KG rider in the saddle is 77KPH on the clock.
We worked out that Zero to sixty in street happens in around 8 seconds.
Sports mode is very slightly faster.
In Eco mode, she tops out at 46KPH and is a lot less zippy, but you will get better range.
At 55k, complete with battery and charger, this is one of the most cost effective leisure electric road bikes that we’ve come across to date.
It’s a lot of fun.
Q & A Time
- What is the Tromox M05? An electric motorcycle with café racer styling, designed for convenient urban riding.
- How much does it cost? The Tromox M05 is priced at R55,000.00.
- What powers theM05? It uses an electric motor with an output of around 3kW.
- How is the battery charged? Via a supplied 220 volt OEM Charger, plug and play.
- What features does it offer? Features include a digital display, keyless access, cruise control and reverse assistance, alarm and immobiliser.
