For the past five years, Belgian brand Sarolea has been at the Isle of Man TT honing its electric superbike. The results haven’t always been there for the boutique company, but Sarolea set its best time around the Mountain Course in 2017 with Dean Harrison at the helm, posting a 108.064 mph lap.
Taking what it has learned on “the roads” and applying it to the road, the Sarolea MANX7 has been born. Basically the race bike with lights, the Sarolea MANX7 Limited electric superbike is breaking cover for the 2018 model year.
Carbon fiber everything, and a truly bespoke machine, the overall aesthetic of the Sarolea MANX7 Limited might not be for everyone, but it certainly is a sight to be seen, with very clever details hidden in its retro-modern design.
As you can see from the Sarolea SP7 race bike above, the Sarolea MANX7 Limited shares many attributes of the road racer, though there are some changes.
For one, the bodywork has been smoothed out and refined from the race bike’s original pieces, and the rear shock mounting to the swingarm has been modified, but the basis genesis is still there.
Race-focused ideas remain on the street bike as well, the most notable of which is the chain tightening system, which is based around moving the motor mount forward and back, rather than adjusting the rear sprocket, which is in fixed position on the carbon fiber swingarm.
This is an interesting idea, though it means that tightening the chain also means changing the center of gravity on the MANX7 race bike.
Conversely, it also means there is less unsprung weight on the swingarm since the necessary hardware for moving the rear axle is absent. In racing, there are always tradeoffs.
One of our favorite features though have to be the mounting of the rear brake caliper, which is embedded into the swingarm. The footpeg mounting is also of note, as the footpegs are mounted to the motor housing and protrude from the swingarm, which has cutouts for the arm’s articulation. Very clever.
The motor is a 161hp airc-cooled brushless DC motor, with a battery pack that comes in three flavors: 14kWh, 18kWh, 22kWh. In the 22kWh pack configuration, the Sarolea MANX7 boasts a range of 205 miles.
To help future proof the MANX7 from battery advancements, Sarolea has designed its battery pack to be removable and replaceable. DC quickcharge times are quoted as 80% recharge in 25 minutes.
Suspension is handled by Öhlins, with FGRT-200 forks up front, and a TTX36 rear shock. Brakes are by Beringer, and feature ductile iron rotors, while the wheels are OZ Racing’s Gass-R forged aluminum pieces, mated to Dunlop rubber.
If you like what you see, you are going to have to spend some coin, as the Sarolea MANX7 isn’t cheap. Starting at €42,975 for the 14 kWH model, the 18 kWh model goes for €46,280, while the 22 kWh model bring the value at €48,760.
For that price though, you get a surprisingly light machine, with the 22 kWh version said to weigh 478 lbs ready-to-ride.
Source: Sarolea
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