Sol Motors Pocket Rocket electric motorcycle: a tube on wheels
The Pocket Rocket is available with two power levels for the AM and A1 driving license categories from 6000 euros.
(Image: Sol Motors)
- Ingo Gach
A lot of electric motorcycle start-ups have failed, others are struggling to stay afloat. Competition is fierce and developers have to come up with something if they want their product to stand out from the crowd. Sol Motors from Böblingen has certainly achieved this with the Pocket Rocket. It consists primarily of a thick aluminum tube that fulfills two tasks: on the one hand, it serves as a solid upper frame and, on the other, it provides space for the battery. A V-shaped, thinner tube is welded underneath, to which the swingarm and suspension struts are attached at the rear and the footrests at the bottom. A handlebar is attached at the top, a solo saddle packed on top and two 16-inch wheels mounted at the bottom – The unusual electric motorcycle is finished. If you want to cause a stir, the Pocket Rocket is just right for you.
Zeitgeist
The man behind Sol Motors is product designer Manuel Messmer. It took a few years longer than hoped, but the Pocket Rocket has been available to order since the end of 2024. Messmer rides a motorcycle himself, but felt that combustion engines in the city were no longer in keeping with the zeitgeist. However, he had never discovered an electric motorcycle that appealed to him, so he took action himself in 2018. A locksmith friend helped design the frame, while two engineers who used to work for Porsche developed the motor control unit. The cover of the rear tube for the rear light comes from Messmer's own 3D printer. He sourced the rest of the components from the open market, such as brakes and suspension.
Sol Motors Pocket Rocket I (7 Bilder)
Sol Motors
)2.5 kWh battery
For aesthetic reasons, the battery is located in the tube, where not only do all the ugly cables disappear, but the LEV (Light Electric Vehicle) also looks much lighter. The frame comes from a company that knows a thing or two about fat pipes, an Austrian exhaust manufacturer. During the development phase, Messmer changed the LG battery from 18650 cells to 21700 cells. More range is always convincing. The 2.5 kWh battery can be charged directly on the bike, but can also be removed and plugged into a socket at home. However, it weighs 16.7Â kg, so a certain level of fitness is a basic requirement when towing it to higher floors. The charging process should take around four hours, with a fast charger the waiting time is reduced to two hours.
45 km/h or 85 km/h
Sol Motors offers its electric vehicle in two performance classes. The Pocket Rocket has an output of 4 kW and a maximum speed of 45 km/h, which means it can be driven with an AM driving license from the age of 15 years. It develops 120 Nm of torque, which should guarantee good acceleration at traffic lights. The Pocket Rocket S even has an output of 6 kW and, according to the manufacturer, reaches 85 km/h, which means it can be ridden with category A1 or B196. It achieves 160 Nm. While the somewhat weaker Pocket Rocket is said to have a range of 108 km, the Pocket Rocket S only has a range of 68 km, which is still sufficient for a city vehicle.
Sol Motors Pocket Rocket II (6 Bilder)
Sol Motors
)840 mm seat height
The rider sits at a height of 840Â mm on a solo seat cushion and moves an 87Â kg heavy, or rather light, LEV. The handlebars are cranked relatively high, which keeps the riding position upright. The most important information is displayed on a small instrument.
An LED headlight is integrated into the front of the tube, while the LED rear light doubles as a battery cover. The fork has 60Â mm of travel, almost the minimum on good roads, and only 50Â mm at the rear. For the tires, Sol Motors chose the dimensions 100/90R16 and 110/90R16, with Heidenau as the manufacturer. A hydraulic brake from CBS decelerates by means of a 220Â mm brake disk at the front and 200Â mm at the rear.
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From 5990 euros
The Pocket Rocket is available from 5990 Euro, the Pocket Rocket S from 6990 Euro. Both can be ordered online. The frame is delivered in black as standard, but if you want one of the nine other paint finishes, you pay an extra 190 Euro, for mudguards painted in a different color there is a surcharge of 60 Euro, the Sol lettering in non-black 30 Euro.
