Video: 1974 electric motorcycle is better than you'd expect

Host Jonny explains that Auranthetic built the Charger using an imported ICE bike, modified with batteries, a motor, tank-mounted displays, and other add-on parts. The end result has a claimed maximum range of 50 miles, a curb weight of 210 pounds (!), and a top speed of 25 to 30 miles per hour. It produces about one horsepower. Hang on! I have to think that claimed range is a little exaggerated. Other sources put the range at 20 to 30 miles. The Popular Mechanics article referenced in the video listed the Charger at $500, or around $2,700 today.

Jonny’s review covers just about everything you’d want to know about the Auranthetic Charger, now that you know it exists. He even includes an interview with Auranthetic enthusiast Charley Boorman. 

Two points in this video have me thinking. First, Jonny discusses Auranthetic’s interest in regenerative braking around the four minute mark. Regen, on an electric motorcycle in 1974! The more I think about it, the more the Charger resembles small electric bikes today. Controllers and weight seem like the biggest differences from modern ebikes, since an off/slow/fast throttle is not ideal, and those big honkin’ batteries weigh 110 pounds alone! But controllers and batteries aside, a restored Charger could almost pass for a newer machine from a trendy pop-up brand.

And second, why might new ebikes catch on when the Charger clearly never did? Auranthetic’s creation could handle a short commute to work and back on slower roads, just like new electric scooters, boosted bicycles, or small EVs. It could tag along on the back of your camper, or bop around as a pit bike, or teach Junior to ride in the yard. It plugged into a regular outlet and sold for about as much as today’s small ebikes when adjusting for inflation. Yet most of us have never heard of the brand or the bike. Don’t get me wrong; I think the Charger is rad. I’m just wondering if or when this class of motorcycle will stop struggling to fit in.

Head over to this enthusiast site for all the Auranthetic information you could ever want.