Sondors is stress-testing its $5,000 e-motorcycle as it nears delivery

The Metacycle is probably one of the most anticipated electric motorcycles in development, thanks to its affordable $5,000 price, hot-swapping battery, and the bike’s overall sleek design. Deliveries are supposed to begin by the end of September, and Sondors has come out with an update that it’s undergoing stress-testing to validate the bike will hold up under continued use.

Electrek earlier reported on the accelerated durability testing, which entails using various methods to speed up the normal wear-and-tear process of the bike to see how long it will last. Basically, Sondors is running the Metacycle continuously under different testing environments, like high speeds and temperatures. Even if riders wouldn’t typically experience these conditions, Sondors needs to ensure there’s a certain amount of built-in tolerance.

According to the company, the Metacycle’s drivetrain has racked up more than 300,000 miles of testing without any major issues. It’s unclear if that’s one individual bike or multiple being tested in parallel. Sondors adds that the bike’s battery — which can quickly be swapped out with a fresh one stored in the Metacycle’s open cavity — has undergone over 1,000 successful charge and discharge cycles.

Mass market electric — A California-based maker of electric bikes, Sondors is perhaps one of the most well known in the industry for selling well-designed, off-road type bikes. The Metacycle is more of a true motorcycle than an e-bike, with top speeds of 80mph and a range of 80 miles on a charge. And at $5,000 it’s priced comparatively to a combustion-engine motorcycle, unlike electric motorcycles from the likes of Zero, which can easily run in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Yes, but — Granted, the Metacycle isn’t perfect. That top speed of 80 miles per hour is good, but it can’t compete with electric performance bikes like those from Zero Motorcycles. Still, the Metacycle could be interesting for commuting and fun trips in and out of the city.

Electric scooters and motorcycles have boomed in popularity in the past year as people seek to spend more time outside and more vehicles come onto the market. Shared services like Bird and Lime also helped introduce electric micro-mobility to the public, which took to them quickly because they’re enjoyable to cruise around town on.