Lions say no to the innovative Novus e-motorcycle from Braunschweig

For more than ten years, the inventors from Novus in Braunschweig have been working on a completely new motorcycle with electric drive, which they presented to DHDL on Monday. There are many impressive things about the Novus, including the price.

What would a motorcycle look like if it didn’t exist yet? That describes the working thesis with which the industrial designers René Renger and Marcus Weidig started the Novus project during their joint studies.

The two of them threw overboard all the design approaches that are almost inevitable, above all due to the presence of an internal combustion engine. The result is a fully electric motorcycle that looks very close to a bicycle, but also puts its specific design conventions aside.

Exists since 2019 Novus as a company. In the same year, the Novus, as the designers call the company and the bike, was presented to the public for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Since then, a lot of development work has been done. The Novus can now be pre-ordered. Delivery is scheduled for 2022.

Compared to other e-motorcycles, the most notable distinguishing feature, in addition to the appearance, is the low weight. The Novus weighs a mere 75 kilograms. At 1.84 meters in length, 94 centimeters in height and 76 centimeters in width, the bike is not necessarily more delicate than other motorized two-wheelers.

The low weight is mainly due to the fact that, on the one hand, the comparatively bulky combustion engine, including the exhaust system and fuel tank, is missing. On the other hand, it is also due to the fact that almost all components are made of carbon fiber. The frame of the Novus, for example, weighs only seven kilograms. But the rims, the mono fork with their nine centimeter spring travel or the swing arm are also made of the ultra-light material.

The entire technology of the e-bike is invisibly integrated into the frame, which is why nobody will immediately recognize the Novus as a motorcycle. For the lighting, the bike from Braunschweig relies on form-fitting integrated LED headlights at the front and rear.

The actual motor sits – also almost invisibly – on the rear wheel hub. With an output of 30 kilowatts and a torque of 200 Newton meters, the Novus should accelerate from zero to 50 kilometers per hour in three seconds. The manufacturer specifies the maximum speed as 130 km / h.

To do this, however, buyers would need a class A2 motorcycle license. That is why Novus also offers the bike in two other performance classes, in which the top speed is electronically limited. With a limitation of seven kilowatts and 45 kilometers per hour, the Novus can be driven with an AM driver’s license or a car driver’s license. In the eleven kilowatt performance level, it is one of the light motorcycles, offers a top speed of 90 kilometers per hour and can be driven with an A1 driver’s license.

For the battery, Novus specifies a maximum range of 100 kilometers for the 30 and 11 kilowatt variants and 130 kilometers for the seven kilowatt model. The battery has an energy content of 4.3 kilowatt hours and should be recharged to 80 percent of its capacity in 30 minutes.

The maximum payload must not exceed 110 kilograms. This means that even relatively heavy users can ride the bike. It should be noted that the Novus is designed as a single-seater anyway.

The user interface is fully digital. It starts with the keyless start-stop system. All functions of the Novus can be controlled and configured via the associated app – including the three-stage power setting with which energy consumption can be kept under control.

Access to statistical data is also carried out in this way. A navigation system is integrated. Optionally, your own smartphone can be installed over the integrated central display so that the former takes over the function of the latter. Any updates to the motorcycle operating system are carried out as over-the-air updates.

All in all, the Novus can convince in many ways. There is, however, a serious problem that will make it much more difficult for the e-bike to enter the market. That’s the price. Buyers have to put at least around 46,000 euros on the table. And for this they get the version throttled to 45 kilometers per hour. The Novus costs around 49,000 euros as a light motorcycle and around 51,000 euros as a motorcycle.

This puts the Novus well above the Harley-Davidson livewire. Already at Harley, however, hardly anyone is willing to pay the required 30,000 US dollars. For the price of the Novus, there is Tesla’s Model 3 and even the new VW ID-4.

Even with “Die Höhle der Löwen” (September 20, 2021 from 8:15 pm on VOX), the creators of their futuristic vehicle were able to attract a lot of attention and praise, but not an investment. As the founders said, even Elon Musk had shown interest in the Novus in the meantime. However, he didn’t want to invest either, just buy the prototype.

Fittingly: Too expensive: Harley-Davidson e-motorcycles become slow-moving

(The article first appeared on October 5, 2020 and was updated on the occasion of the DHDL pitch on September 20, 2021.)