This isn’t the first time we’ve reported that SONDORS is ready to deliver its Metacycle electric motorcycle to pre-order customers. But to be fair, it’s not the first time the Southern California-based company has said it was ready for deliveries. But now with photos of Metacycles purportedly in SONDORS’ domestic logistics facilities, the first bikes could finally be heading on their way to riders.
The SONDORS Metacycle electric motorcycle is one of the first affordable highway-capable electric motorcycles in the country.
That’s what makes the bike so significant, and what helped create a long line of pre-orders when it was unveiled 18 months ago for an attractive $5,000 price. Compared to Zero’s models that start at over twice that price and LiveWire’s entry-level models that more than triple it, the bike was a refreshing offering in an expensive industry.
However, the Metacycle has followed a rollercoaster path on its way through production, racking up design changes and price hikes for subsequent production runs.
But the very first bikes now look ready to roll based on the photos below that were emailed to pre-order customers on Friday.
As with most SONDORS Metacycle updates, even this one has been stingy on the details. We don’t actually know how many bikes are now prepared for shipment, despite the first batch of Metacycles originally being anticipated to be at least 1,000 units.
Only nine bikes are actually visible in the warehouse images, with all of them appearing to be the Naked Silver colorway. A number of shipping cartons that will slip over the steel cage are visible in the background of some images. However, there’s no indication of whether those are empty boxes that have been printed and are awaiting bikes, or whether they represents dozens more Metacycles lined up and ready for shipment.
It leaves a number of questions related to the Metacycle’s winding and sometimes frustrating pathway towards production.
We’ve all seen what the past 18 months have done to supply chains and delivery timelines across nearly every major industry. It shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that the original delivery timelines provided by SONDORS have come and gone.
But even last month the company sounded quite positive about deliveries beginning in June. As far as we know, no customers received their delivery in June. With only a few hours left in July, it now appears that August 2022 could see the first Metacycle deliveries.
When the Metacycle launched 18 months ago, it appeared it would be alone in the affordable electric motorcycle market.
But ever since, several new entries have either launched or at least debuted ahead of production commencement.
We tested out the $6,000 Kollter ES1 last summer, which offers specs that are nearly as good as those claimed by the Metacycle. You can see my test ride video below.
A new startup known as Ryvid recently unveiled the Anthem electric motorcycle, which could offer stiff competition against the Metacycle when it arrives next summer.
Another electric bicycle company, SUPER73, also unveiled a light electric motorcycle this year, though it was more of a concept and doesn’t have any hard estimates for production dates yet.
But if the SONDORS Metacycle can begin deliveries in August, it could become one of the first affordable models on the road along with the Kollter ES1 below.