Maeving RM2: Could This Electric Motorbike REPLACE Your Car??
Here’s the thing about this energy transition of ours. If we all end up just swapping our petrol cars for electric cars, that’s fine. But it’d be a shame if that was all we did. I think this moment of monumental change represents a lovely opportunity to step back, examine the vehicles we use dayto-day, and ask the question, might I be better with less? Let’s say, for example, that 95% of your driving is short distances around town with one or two people in the car. Might you be better off with no car at all. Might you be better off with something like this? This is the Ming RM2, and it’s a new and improved two-seater version of my favorite electric motorcycle. And today, we’re going to do some real life stuff on it to investigate whether it’s a realistic option to swap your car out for something like this. Welcome to the Everything Electric Show. Our three YouTube channels on EVs and clean tech are funded by our fun-packed Test Drivetastic events in Farra, London, the Southwest, the North, Melbourne, and Sydney. Next up, we’re in Canada for Everything Electric Vancouver. And new for UK viewers, you can now buy a battery EV or more at everythingleelectric.store. Now, back to the episode. It’s good to be back on Amazing. I was insta smitten when I rode one of these for the first time last year. The RM1S that was. And it was two things that really blew me away. Number one, the desiraability factor. Just an object that you want. Such a beautiful looking thing and so meticulously carefully put together. You expect stuff from startups to have a endearing shunkiness. But none of that here. It’s built like a Swiss watch. And there is a reason for that is that a lot of Maven employees are ex Triumph, ex Yamaha. They’ve been building bikes all their lives, which means they know what they’re doing. But it also means that through them, Maven get access to the good stuff, the good componentry that is normally out of reach for startups with no contact in the industry. And you can tell. But the other thing I really love about little electric bikes like this, especially riding through a city like Oxford, as I am today, is the overwhelming sense that you are on the perfect vehicle for your environment. This is an anti-car town. Anything bigger than this, you’re going to have a miserable time. Anything smaller than this, not as fast, not as fun. Now, this bike, the RM2, is based on the RM1s, the faster, bigger battery version. And so we’ve got the same two removable 2.7 kWh batteries. Good for a quoted range of up to 80 mi less if you’re enthusiastic with the throttle naturally, but plenty for a bike designed to be an urban runabout. We’ve got the same 7.2 kW of power, which means 70 mph top speed. Again, plenty. I’m not that interested in the top speed. I don’t want to go 70 on a bike like this. Goodness me. No thank you. What I do want is that acceleration. I want to feel like I can zip away from a green light without the bus overtaking me or, you know, slamming the door on me. And especially now that I have the ability to carry a passenger, that extra bit of shove, it’s going to be appreciated. But actually, the extra seat isn’t the only change. They’ve made some interesting tweaks to the ergonomics of the RM2. The fuel tank is a little bit shorter and wider, which means the gap between your bum and hands is a little bit smaller. That’s going to be great news for shorter riders, cuz the reach isn’t as much. It’s going to feel more comfortable. But the other benefit for all riders, even ones with long monkey arms like me, is improved agility. It just feels a little bit more flickable and nimble, which is exactly what you want around town. I believe the rake is slightly steeper of the front forks as well, which achieves the same effect. Feels like you’ve got more weight over the front and you can just flick it around through traffic. I just love little bikes like this. I mean, truthfully, I love all motorbikes, but these zippy little electric ones, they are the perfect tool for the urban environment, especially as our cities become less and less car friendly. The tragic thing about motorcycleycling is it’s dying out. The average age of motorcyclists in the UK is only going in one direction. And at a time when we should be moving to vehicles that are lighter, more efficient, kinder to the planet, use less components, use less fuel. That’s a disaster. I’m a huge believer in the fact that we should getting more young people onto two wheels. And bikes like this are exactly what we need in order to encourage that. It’s reasonably affordable, especially if you pay for it monthly. Costs nothing in fuel. It’s great around town. But most importantly, it makes you look really cool. I must apologize for the fact that I’m doing this in a t-shirt, by the way. I promise I’m not going more than 20 mph. I can’t. I’m in the center of Oxford. Oh, what a day for it, though. This is the thing about bikes. I’m outside. I’m enjoying the weather instead of in my little metal box looking at it through a window. These things should be prescribed by the NHS. [Music] Hi, good afternoon sandwiches. You are my favorite passenger. Well, excellent opportunity to test our luggage capacity because this is one of my favorite things about the Maying. Little 10 L storage box in there. That’s my phone and gloves and keys. But we don’t even need to use that because I reckon that’s going to go in my clipon side pan. Amazing. Look at that. That’s perfect. And you know what? You could get a little laptop in there. You get all sorts. 100%. And actually, this clip-on pan system, this is for the old RM1s. This new one is going to have a luggage rack, and then you’ll be able to have two clip-on bags. Even more literage. You legitimately could do a small and modest weekly food shop. Should we? Yeah. How you feeling back there? This is good. And I must say I have plenty of room despite your 6’5 stature. Oh, I’m very glad to hear that. This is a small bike. So, the fact that it properly takes two adults, which it appears to, is impressive. Yeah. And so nice to see that that’s not a gimmicky thing. Like, it is a legitimately possible thing. Um, and also might I just add that of course we’re riding reason reasonably slowly as you would in a city, but we are having a conversation. I know that that is nice not having to shout at each other as you would on any petrol motorbike. It’s the thing that’s really rocked my world about motorcycleycling since getting into it a year ago is the menty health stuff. All of a sudden, a journey across town goes from something you dread to something you look forward to because it’s an opportunity to clear your mind. Look at look at this day. Look at this day we’re having. Imagine being cooped up in a little car when we could be taking in the elements, wind in our faces. This is just delightful. That’s the thing, I think, to be out and experiencing the weather, the environment, etc. It’s so incredible and it’s so good for you. And I think the thing is is like even in a city when you’re going 20 m hour in a car that feels annoying and slow and stop starty, on a bike, it still feels exhilarating and you can skip the traffic if you don’t fancy it. Yes. I um I’m less confident at that, but I I hope that you know with a little bit more practice I can weave in and out with a brief. It comes with time. So with our this versus a small car hat on, does it take two people? Yes, it really really does. Yes. Get to skip through traffic. That’s very nice. Yep. You enjoy your commute whereas you used to dread it and sit there swearing at traffic. Downside, well, I guess the weather factor is unavoidable. whatever weather it is, you’re going to be in it. That’s the reality of motorcycleycling and cycling. And I suppose the important point there is in order to be able to trade in your car and get a bike, what we really need is lots of ride sharing schemes that mean on those days where it’s miserable outside, icy, you can jump in a car. I think that’s the thing because when you start walking, cycling, motorbiking to more places, you become really tuned in to the weather and you actually start to realize that there is more often okay weather than there is really, really, really dreadful weather. And on these really, really dreadful days from home, get the bus, get the train. Those other options do exist as well as obviously car sharing as well. And you know what? Getting rained on every now and then, good for the soul, I think. You know, hardy makes you hardy. [Music] How’s that for you then, Bogs? Do you know what? Pretty extraordinary. And I have to say, I’m so excited that this bike exists because I’ve loved all of the Ming stuff previously, but it’s always been holding me back that you can’t get two people on. So, such a joy and delight to know that it works. And I did worry that as a smallish bike, it would feel quite claustrophobic with two on, but you seem quite happy back there. Totally happy. What I’ve also noticed is if it’s just one person and that person is quite large, you can sort of use the back seat as the as a front seat for yourself and have a really roomy small bike, which is rather nice. Well, quite. And I think that is the beauty of this is that it does it still makes sense as a solo rider, but if you have got two people on there, there is so much room. It’s absolutely fine. And I do think it’s interesting that, you know, you and I really represent the outer edges of a normal distribution of person size. So, we’re really pushing this through its limits for the sake of uh content. Yeah, it’s always weird to me that bikes come in one size because people don’t. Bicycles don’t. There’s different frames. I guess it’s a cost thing, but I feel pretty comfortable riding this on my own. I feel perfectly comfortable with you on the back. How is this for you size-wise to sit on, to move around? Well, as with the RM1S, it’s perfect when you’re riding it. And actually, I feel a little bit closer to the handlebars here. So, it does feel like I have a greater sense of control. As ever, maneuvering it, it’s not light, and I do struggle with that. But again, as I’ve said before, I do think that comes down to I’m not overly familiar with bikes. I think I’ve probably got some technique that I need to refine, but I think that is a, you know, a worthwhile caveat mentioning they are kind of heavy, but once you’re on, perfect. Okay, so what else do we need to talk about in terms of how this serves as a replacement to a car, I guess. Cost cost. Not the cheapest electric motorcycle. Give us the numbers. This one is just under 8 grand. $799, which is only, I think, 500 quid more than the RM1 S. And it’s not just an extra seat. They’ve done a lot of fettling with the ergonomics and the shorter and wider and etc. But the most important thing is you can go on their finance calculator and easily get it down to less than 100 quid a month which is yeah and if you start comparing that to and they always sort of quote on their website that you know if you’re in London for example and you were spending a monthly Oyster card that’s about £168. So you can make the girl maths work quite quickly. Yeah. Not not to make this sound like a ming advert, but my gym membership is more than what this bike would cost me to own. And when I think about it, I’m like, do I need to be fit really when I could have a motorbike? Why would I need to be fit if I had a motorbike? Well, the other logic that I’m going to apply to this is that if you were a household of two and looking to have something that’s smaller, lighter, etc., more efficient to ride around a city, you could have been looking at getting two bathing bikes, in which case that’s a little bit more than just a £500 additional cost. So from that sense it’s a huge amount of value. This is an actual discussion that you and your husband are currently having is we need one or two extraordinary insight into our life. Yeah. I I guess the other thing that we have to touch on is theft which is really depressing but it’s a big thing with motorcycles here in the UK. Um it’s not so much of a thing with small electric cars. People don’t pick those up and put them in the back of vans. A twizzy maybe. Yeah. But a reality of owning a bike, certainly in British cities, is they can go missing. Now, there are things you can do. In the last couple of years, the angle grinder proof delock has become a thing that you can buy, which is a great deterrent, but thieves will always get your bike if they really, really want to. I guess it’s just worth acknowledging that it’s quite a pretty thing to be street parking, for example. And if I didn’t have somewhere private to store it, I’d be a bit anxious about owning a bike that looked as good as this. 100%. But I would say something that it has got going for on a safety consideration is that of course little bit heavier, little bit more difficult to steal perhaps. True. The thieves would have to really earn it is what we’re saying. Yeah. In which case, go for it thieves. You’ve earned your earned your loot. [Music] [Music] Coming out here today, obviously the intention was to try and see if this could be a legitimate replacement for a car. And I think safe to say, just given how easy it is for someone to fit on the back, absolutely yes, it could be a replacement for a car. Albeit for those rainy days, you do probably need to be willing to maybe participate in a car share or use public transport or what have you. The other thing that I also just did not expect was how much I would genuinely genuinely fall in love with this bike. It has so captured my imagination. And as you ride past people, they look at you and they smile at you and they’re intrigued by it. And in a setting that’s as beautiful as Oxford, I just think it fits in so blooming perfectly. And that is the thing with all of this because in being outdoors and to find your journeys joyful, that is going to be a sure way to prevent you from binning off social plans when the logistics mean that you just don’t particularly fancy it. And so therefore, if this bike is ultimately going to bring you more joy and prevent you from canceling your social plans, then I think it’s a very very worthwhile investment. Well, there you go. That is all that we have time for. Uh please do like and subscribe and if you have been thanks for watching. Dammer. Now visit electricve vehicles.expert where you can follow everything electric and keep current with clean technica the driven electric and many more.
Jack and Imogen get their hands on the Maeving RM2, a two-seater electric motorcycle. In this episode, they put it through real-world tests to see if it could actually replace your car as a practical runaround. It’s quiet, surprisingly spacious, has room for luggage, and let’s be honest, it’s pretty darn cool.
01:00 Maeving Motorbikes
02:40 Battery
03:10 Acceleration
03:20 Ergonomics
03:45 Agility
04:40 Affordability
05:25 Storage
06:20 Space
10:50 Cost
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