Is Zeeho the next big name in electric bikes?
Who is Zeeho and why should I take them seriously?
Another day, another unknown brand pops up promising to be the future of motorcycling… or so it might seem. But not in the case of Zeeho. With decades of proven production experience, support from one of Europe’s biggest bike manufacturers, and a trio of finished (and affordable) production models landing in British dealers this summer, don’t mistake Zeeho for just another hopeful electric startup.
Zeeho is the electric sub-brand of CFMoto, a Chinese motorcycle firm that’s been going since 1989, and has grown to have more than 4000 dealers around the world. Zeeho was quietly announced at the end of 2020, and now after thousands of sales in their home market they’re expanding into Europe. That’s thanks to Pierer Mobility, the motorcycling colossus that owns KTM, Husqvarna and GasGas, plus 50.1% of MV Agusta. CFMoto and Pierer Mobility have been in partnership for more than a decade, culminating in January 2023 when Pierer took over distribution of CFMoto bikes in Britain, Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Now they’re doing the same for Zeeho.
In short, while Zeeho might be an unfamiliar name, the companies behind it are serious, credible and established. You won’t catch them trying to raise funds with a desperate Kickstarter plea any time soon.
What does Zeeho’s range look like
Zeeho’s initial European range is made up of three all-electric commuters. They’re equivalent of either 125cc or 50cc bikes, all designed to slice silently through city congestion, and all are intended to be charged up at home (or work) from a standard household socket. The flagship is the AE8S+ (the AE stands for ‘Advanced Energy’), a scooter with an impressive turn of speed, a quality feel and some thoroughly modern features. Beneath that sits the AE6+, a more affordable, simpler and lighter scooter that’s available with either one or two batteries, depending on how much range you need. The third is the C!ty Sport, a moped-class ultra-slim street tracker weighing just 80kg.
We spent a day in Barcelona, one of the busiest and most bike-mad cities in Europe, getting a first taste of Zeeho’s lineup.
Zeeho AE8S+
Let’s start at the top, with Zeeho’s AE8S+. Catchy name aside, this is Zeeho’s most premium model and, in fairness, first impressions quickly dissolve any preconceptions about Chinese-made bikes. The styling’s a bit wacky and won’t be to everyone’s taste, but beyond superficial aesthetics the fit, finish and component standard all exudes a solid quality. The machining on the aluminium swingarm appears high-end, switchgear looks uncannily like it’s been taken from a BMW motorcycle, and a cutout in the front mudguard reveals a Brembo-branded brake caliper.
Tapping a contactless keycard turns the ignition on, lighting up a bright, colourful, clear 5-inch TFT dash. You’ve a choice of three riding modes: Eco (37mph top speed), Street (50mph) and Sport (64mph). There’s also reverse and crawl forwards functions, Bosch ABS, plus cruise control. The 16.8bhp air-cooled motor is mid-mounted and drives the rear wheel via a belt, giving performance that’s fabulously nippy. Zeeho claim it’ll do 0-30mph in 2.6 seconds, making it one of the fastest-accelerating electric scooters on the market. Away from traffic lights it charges off with an addictive (and quite unexpected) eagerness.
Beneath the seat sits a pair of removable 1.86kWh batteries (12kg each), though not much in the way of storage space – perhaps an open-face lid could be squeezed in. Range is a claimed 62 miles, but after 19 miles tearing around town the battery state of charge dropped by 46%, suggesting a real-world range closer to 40 miles. Recharging from 0 to 80% using the offboard charger takes a claimed 5 hours.
Price: £4699
Power: 16.8bhp (maximum) / 6.7bhp (rated)
Top speed: 64mph (claimed)
Weight: 131kg (claimed)
Battery capacity: 3.7kWh (2 x 69V27Ah)
Licence required: A1
Zeeho AE6+
The middle child of Zeeho’s range is the AE6+. It’s lighter, simpler and cheaper than the AE8S+, but requires the same A1 licence to ride. The design is quite different as the 6+ uses a ‘side-mounted’ motor – ie integrated into the swingarm, along with the motor controller –driving the rear wheel through a set of enclosed gears. Unlike many rivals the motor isn’t built into the rear wheel hub, which should make things easier when it comes time to change tyres.
Spec and speed is a step below the 8S+, with a peak power of just 7.4bhp and a top speed of 50mph. There’s no ABS (the brakes are linked instead), no reverse function, and the dash is a white-on-black LCD rather than colour TFT. That said the switchgear feels the same BMW-esque quality as the 8S+, ignition is still keyless, and being a fair chunk lighter it still feels pretty peppy pulling away if you pin the throttle in Sport mode.
You can pick between single or double battery versions. Performance is unaffected – the second battery adds range, not speed. There’s room for both 12kg blocks beneath the seat, but only one can be plugged in at a time. That means you have to ride along until the first battery gets low on charge, pull over, open the seat, swap batteries, plug the fresh one in and carry on. Hardly ideal. Storage is practically non-existent with two batteries too. Zeeho say range is just over 30 miles per battery, while our ride suggested it’s nearer 25. Charging is claimed to take just over 4 hours per battery.
Price: £2899 (1 battery) / £3399 (2 batteries)
Power: 7.4bhp (maximum) / 3.4bhp (rated)
Top speed: 50mph (claimed)
Weight : 96kg (claimed)
Battery capacity: 1.9kWh / 3.7kWh (1 or 2 x 69V27Ah)
Licence required: A1
Zeeho C!ty Sport
Unforgivable spelling aside, the C!ty Sport is quite a funky little thing. Half supermoto without the daunting seat height; half street tracker without the wire wheels. It’s ultra slim and weighs a featherweight 80kg – less than some of the folk who’ll ride it.
Unlike its two siblings, this is a moped equivalent, which in Britain means it can be ridden from 16 years old. It also means it has to be restricted to a top speed of just 28mph (45kph) – though Zeeho say it gets there from a standing start in just over 4 seconds. The 4.7bhp motor is mid-mounted, with a chain running to the rear wheel helping to give it something of a familiar motorcycle look. Cast wheels are 17 inchers, while brakes are independent 2-pot calipers at both ends – no linking, no ABS.
There’s a single battery, different from the AE scooters, which weighs almost 14kg and can slide out the right side of the bike. Zeeho say it’s good for 37 miles at 25mph, and a charge takes around 3 hours from 0 to 80%.
Unfortunately our only opportunity to ride the C!ty Sport was a brief gymkhana-style dash around some cones laid out on dirt. On the basis of that all we can say is that it felt light, compact and ultra-agile, though the dash is small and hard to read, while the front indicators touch your knees on full lock.
Price: £2899 otr
Power: 4.7bhp (maximum) / 2.4bhp (rated)
Top speed: 28mph (claimed)
Weight : 80kg
Battery capacity: 1.9kWh (1 x 60V32Ah)
Licence required: AM
Are Zeeho the next big name in electric bikes?
Zeeho have a lot going for them. CFMoto are proving they can build some impressive combustion machines, with rapidly growing interest from UK riders in their latest 450 and 800cc bikes. Pierer Mobility have the size and scale to do a thorough job when it comes to distribution, spares supply and dealer support. And our initial (albeit limited) taste of the Zeeho lineup is impressive, with a decent air of quality, solid specs and surprisingly speedy performance.
But Zeeho do have some hurdles in their way. The biggest is the bikes’ disappointing two-year warranty. Given the concerns many riders will have about long-term battery durability, about buying from an unknown brand and even about buying Chinese-made machinery, Zeeho could do a lot more to reassure customers and demonstrate confidence in their own products.
Having only a two-year warranty also means none of Zeeho’s bikes are eligible for the UK government’s plug-in motorcycle grant. If they were, it’d effectively reduce the price of the AE8S+ and AE6+ by a whopping £500, which would make a huge difference.
As things stand in March 2024, the size of the UK dealer network is unknown too. It’s expected that a small number of Zeeho dealers will be set up by the middle of summer, made from a mix of existing KTM and CFMoto dealers, plus some all-electric specialists. We spoke to one potential UK dealer who seemed positive, but wanted to try the bikes before committing. Hopefully it’s just a matter of time before things fall into place, but Zeeho have a long way to go to match Super Soco’s network of around 50 UK dealers.
Overall, Zeeho are definitely one to watch. Today, electric scooters; tomorrow, electric motorcycles? Perhaps, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. So far Zeeho seem to have spent their time focusing on designing, testing and building finished production machines, rather than make unlikely claims about what they may or may not build at some non-specific point in the future. In the emerging, volatile and unpredictable world of electric motorcycles and scooters, that should count for a lot.
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