Swedish company, CAKE, has developed some e-moto offerings that caught our eye at Sea Otter this past spring. We got a chance to take a quick spin on their off-road version, the Kalk OR, and have a bunch of pictures inside as well if you’re interested in learning more about them.

CAKE (www.ridecake.com) caught the attention of many attendees this year and it’s no surprise given their eye catching design. With a minimalist look, muted colors with gold suspension accents, it’s hard to not catch your eye.  They have the braking modes and three riding modes to control the way it brakes and delivers power. Starting at $13,000 these are not cheap but it will be interesting to see this brand and genre grow.

Sam Pilgram recently got a hold of one and put together this fun video

The name Kalk is derived directly from kalksten, the limestone bedrock of the Swedish island of Gotland, where CAKE’s test grounds are located. The addition of the & (and) signifies the next phase in the evolution of the Kalk. Engineered for both the outback & allowed for your daily commute, the Kalk& (and) offers customers the best of both worlds.

Cake brought both a Kalk& (road version) and their Kalk OR which is their offroad version.  They share a similar look and feel as you can see from the pictures below. The Kalk& as you can see is sporting a light, mirrors, and turn signals below.

Kalk OR $13,000

Kalk& $14,000

Taking a closer look to their E-motos you can see they have been influenced by the mountain bike world quite a bit. Many of the parts can’t be mountain bike due to the strength needed but installing moto specific parts would make these heavy.  As it sits here they weigh in at about 137 pounds (62kg) for the road legal version and 52kg for the off-road version without the 17kg battery.

The frame is made from 6061 aluminum and the road version has a top speed of 61MPH due to gearing, while the KalikOR is 50MPH.  Power comes from the 10kW motor that draws from a 50AH battery (2kWh).  Recharging takes 2.5hours and range is said to be ~3hours depending on the mode you are in.

The upside down fork is air/oil sprung and features 38mm stanchion tubes for extra rigidity and strength, with 204mm travel, specially developed by Öhlins. Adjustable for high-speed compression, low-speed compression and low-speed rebound. The forks are equipped with Öhlins advanced 3 stage air springs with individual setup for ride heights and bottoming resistance.

205 mm. Öhlins TTX22 with CAKE internals and specific spring. The rear shock has a linkage.

Looking at the central cockpit you can see the three option dial for braking and three option dial for the three riding modes.  Braking modes allow you to fine tune the engine braking to feel like a 4 stroke (heavy braking when you let off the throttle) or a free wheel (coasts when you let off the throttle) or in between (2stroke).

Controller & Display

3 riding modes:

1. Explore: The ultimate mode during exploration. Limited speed to 45 km/h and 3-4h+ battery range
2. Excite: Enduro or active trail riding. 1-2 h riding time
3. Excel: Track and race mode, maximal torque and speed, riding time up to 1h

3 brake modes:

1. Free wheel
2. 2-stroke like
3. 4-stroke like, maximum regeneration of electricity to battery

We got a chance to throw a quick leg over it at one of their demos and boy are they fun!  The power can be modulated well between the modes and wheelies are very easy in Excel mode.

To keep things charged up they used the Goal Zero battery and solar panels during the demo day which you can see below.

Overall these electronic motorcycles are quite powerful and quiet!  They ride much lighter than a dirt bike or street bike and are urban weapons. If you’re in the market for something like this be sure to check them out.

The Kalk OR is engineered to promote performance, trail/enduro and free riding in the back country, leaving nothing at chance. The kinematics, size and geometry, together with construction, use of materials, making and more serve for an agile, light, torquey, snappy, flighty and exciting experience.

Check back daily throughout the month of December as we post more content in our 25 days of Sickness!