Do you remember when POC’s founder launched Cake, a brand of mountain bike-inspired electric motorcycles? From the beginning their e-bike to e-moto concept was about reducing emissions and getting outside. Plus, they kept teasing more practical models. Now the new Cake Osa is here, a cross between an e-cargo bike & an e-SUV, and it could be a fun way to ride to the trailhead.
Cake Ösa e-moto/e-bike electric SUV cargo motorcycle
This new Cake Osa is even more of an oddball than the original off-road Kalk. To be fair, as a life-long mountain biker & motorcyclist, I loved riding the Kalk. Its $/€13K pricetag would have been a big obstacle for my budget, and it totally wouldn’t replace any bicycles in my garage. But if I were looking at buying a motorcycle, it would have been top on my list. Especially now that its zero-emission, quiet-running has gone silent with new Gates belt drivetrains.
But now this wacky looking new modular Osa starts out at just half the price of the Kalk, with much more versatility. The Osa is still off-road capable, but with the same general motor output & battery capacity, plus an integrated power station and modular accessory mounts, this one is meant to be zero-emission utility vehicle.
Osa – Tech details
The heart of the little e-SUV is a modular battery – pick from the base Medium 1.5kWh version or this optional Large 2.5/2.6kWh battery. Either one includes a pair of 5V USB power outputs and a 12V output for more heavy-duty electrical devices.
Cake says that a mobile workbench was the inspiration for the utility of the Osa. And with its optional DC-AC power converter, they see it as a platform for working anywhere you can ride.
The backbone of the Osa is a light & strong 6061 aluminum frame, with a large upper gray “uni-bar” toptube that lets you clamp on the desired seats, racks, baskets, etc. to customize it for your needs.
I’m not really sure that bike rack at the top is the best way to transport your mountain bike, as a wheel off version would be much easier to manage I think, and not so crazy tall!
The Osa is powered by a max 10kW electric motor that sits low in the frame, and a Gates carbon belt drive that should mean nearly silent operation. Cruising range is over 100km/65mi with the big battery for mixed city riding, or as little as 21km/13mi for highway driving on the small battery. Yes, this throttle-powered thing is much more of a motorcycle than a bicycle!
The e-moto sports 120mm of front suspension and 260mm of rear suspension and rolls on custom 14″ x 4″ dual-sport tires. Like the Kalk, Cake developed almost every component on the Osa to be optimized for the light electric motorcycle application. In the end the final weight comes out to 65kg/143lb, presumably with the smaller 12 kg battery.
Cake Ösa availability & options
With the modular Osa your options are limitless. It actually comes in two basic variants: The Ösa Lite starts at $6500€ and gets classified as a moped in most places so that it doesn’t require a special license with a top speed of 30mph (45km/h). The Ösa+ is a bit more at $8500€ with a top speed of 63mph (100km/h) and requiring a proper motorcycle license.
Both versions can be pre-ordered now for March 2020 deliver, then be customized with bigger batteries, a second seat, or any other attachment you need.
You can be anything you want: a sub 24 hour overnighting camper who needs to blend his cocktails, your dad just trying to rebuild a shed, a Swedish rock hopefully who stays electric even off the grid, some trustafarian on a ski trip, or a hipster at the farmer’s market hawking free-range organic kale. An e-motorcycle SUV limited only by your imagination!
