Image Credit: Beachman.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you slap a motor on something and give it two wheels, I will immediately be interested. If that motor happens to run on invisible, happy little electrons instead of the usual liquid dinosaur sludge, you've got my attention - and possibly my credit card number. This whole electric revolution is truly fascinating, especially when it gives us machines that are more charming than practical.
And speaking of charming, Beachman has just unveiled the '64 Street Spec, and if you've been missing the days when motorcycles looked like they were designed by somebody named Nigel who was definitely wearing tweed, this one's for you. It's an electric café racer, which is a glorious contradiction, like calling a supermodel "gently plump." The original café racers were light, stripped-down bikes used to zoom between London coffee houses - hence the name.
Image Credit: Beachman.
Beachman has managed to capture that lovely vintage vibe without making you worry about oil leaks or finding a mechanic who specializes in pre-digital ignition timing. It looks, quite simply, delicious. It has a beautiful bubble-shaped windscreen and the kind of street tires that whisper, "Let's just pop down to the seaside, shall we?"
This stylish little thing is going to make the urban commute way more enjoyable than sitting in a massive SUV built for crossing the Sahara. The '64 is built on a "modular platform" that I call a regulatory headache waiting to happen. Depending on the trim you pick, this machine can be classified as an e-bike, a moped, or a light motorcycle. Beachman does this mostly so you can scoot past the various local laws designed to stop you from having fun.
Image Credit: Beachman.
In its most humble E-Bike Mode, your top speed is capped at 20 miles per hour, making it entirely suitable for bike lanes, though you'll look utterly ridiculous wearing Lycra on it. Kick it up to Moped Mode, and you hit 30 mph, which is perfect for general street cruising, whilst enjoying a delightful ice cream cone. But if you've got a slight glimmer of hooliganism in your soul, you'll want the Light Motorcycle Spec, which opens the stable door to the bike's maximum cruising speed of 50 miles per hour. There's even an Off-Road Mode, which caps you at 45 mph, just in case you decided your commute needed a detour through a lovely patch of mud.
All this speed comes courtesy of a 3000-W, 72-volt brushless hub motor. If you speak in internal combustion engine language, that's about 4 horsepower - not exactly setting the world on fire, but trust me, when you only weigh 230 pounds yourself, 4.0 horsepower is plenty zippy. In fact, if you switch it down to E-Bike Mode, the power is deliberately limited to about 1 horsepower (750W), making it feel as gently enthusiastic as an elderly golden retriever. The point is, this thing is light and maneuverable. It can carry a maximum load of 350 pounds, meaning you can absolutely bring a friend along for the ride, or just an obscenely heavy picnic basket.
Image Credit: Beachman.
The battery… The standard configuration comes with a removable 2.8 kWh (40 Ah) lithium pack, which is good enough to get you about 55 miles of range. If, like me, you suffer from range-related anxiety, you can opt for the upgrade: a 3.6 kWh (50 Ah) pack that will stretch your journey out to a perfectly respectable 70 miles. Seventy miles is more than enough for urban meandering. If your commute is longer than 70 miles, you probably need to have a serious talk with your real estate agent.
The best part about the battery, which weighs about 35 pounds, is that it's removable. You can literally take it out, carry it inside (it comes with a handle), and charge it up like a massive laptop. Charging is handled via a standard wall outlet, hitting 80% capacity in about three hours, which is quite nice. If you're the impatient sort, an optional fast-charge upgrade cuts that down to a breezy 90 minutes. It also has regenerative braking - when you slow down, the energy you save goes back into the battery, giving you a few extra winks of juice.
Image Credit: Beachman.
This handsome, zero-emission slice of nostalgia has a starting price of $5,750. As prices go, this is spectacularly good. For the cost of a very used car - one that likely smells vaguely of gym socks and regret - you get a brand-new motorbike that guarantees you'll be the coolest person at the Saturday market.
And since we're talking about being cool, the Canadian manufacturer has also generously given us some optional extras. $550 gets you hand-stitched leather seats and hand-applied striping. If you're a true artiste, bespoke paint matching is available for $1,000.
Is the Beachman '64 Street Spec the electric future? For the urban adventurer, the casual commuter, and anyone who appreciates a classic design, absolutely. It's nimble and fast enough to keep things interesting, and it's got just enough range to remind you that adventure is usually closer than you think. It even avoids the complex software integration that plagues so many modern vehicles, keeping the interface beautifully simple. It's simply a stunning, slightly sarcastic nod to the past, powered entirely by the future.
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