It is likely that the name Felo is not present in your memory when it comes to motorcycle manufacturers, but the emerging brand has revealed a prototype of an electric touring motorcycle with an autonomy of almost 700 km between charges.
With the strange title of “Felo Tooz”, the new motorcycle was presented as a concept at the Bangkok International Auto Show, accompanied by performance and autonomy claims that, if correct, will outperform the competition. In addition to the promised autonomy of 720 kilometers, the Tooz is capable of recharging from 20 to 80 percent of the charge in just 20 minutes through a Type 2 charger and reach a maximum speed of 200 km/h.
In addition to the technological specifications, the motorcycle meets many of the normal requirements of a large tourer. There is an extensive 12-inch TFT instrument panel with all the usual navigation and multimedia connectivity, an 8-liter cooler box, a 360-degree camera system, tire pressure monitoring, ABS, and a six-speaker surround sound system.
At the moment, Tooz is still a showcase motorcycle, and the performance and autonomy values announced are doing their job, attracting the attention of the media. But is it possible that they are accurate? Some calculations suggest it may be an exaggeration. Felo’s official information states that the battery is a 700V, 50Ah unit, with a total capacity of 35kWh. This makes it much larger than any other unit currently used in a production electric motorcycle – the Energica Experia can gather 22.5kWh and the largest Zeros have 21kWh when their main batteries and additional Power Tank add-ons are combined – but it is still difficult to see how it will be able to manage a range of 700 km. For example, Zero claims that its SR/S, with the above configuration, can travel 320 kilometers at city speeds. Felo is clearly larger and heavier, so even with almost double the battery capacity, it is difficult to understand where the 700 km range will come from. The Felo may be a lesser-known name, but it has experience. The company is based in China, but has a collaboration with Smartech, a Thai company with government funding, and last year introduced a range of smaller electric motorcycles that are being offered in export markets, including some European countries.Its initial range includes the FW-06, equipped with a 6 kW motor and a 69 V 58 Ah battery, and the FW-03, with a 3 kW motor and a 72 V 58 Ah battery, and a style identical to the Honda Cub EZ90, manufactured between 1991 and 96. There is also the Felo M1, which is an updated and electric version of the old Honda Motocompo. With foldable handlebars, a maximum speed of 45 km/h and a price equivalent to just $1,610, it is intended to be a rear luggage motorcycle used in the last part of a trip.
