Lito Motorcycles is a Montreal-based electric bike outfit founded back in 2009—two-years prior to the company unveiling its Sora concept model. Touted as the "first electric superbike", the Sora was a high-end ($40K+) fully electric motorcycle that took design cues from both the bobber genre as well as the contemporary street-fighter segment. Now, five years after first version went into production, the Canadian firm has just released the second generation of its elite ebike.
Unveiled at the 2019 Quail Motorcycle Gathering, the Sora 2.0 is powered by a liquid-cooled, three-phase, permanent magnet AC motor paired with an 18 kWh battery. The improved powertrain now affords a (maximum) range of 180-miles—which is a 50% improvement over the first gen Sora—while also charging 50% faster than the gen 1. This means that a full charge now takes 5-hours. Despite the added range, the gen 2 Sora weighs in at 25 pounds less than its predecessor, clocking in at 550lbs. With the system's 108hp and 66ft-lbs of torque on tap, the Sora 2.0 is reportedly good for a 0-60mph time of three-seconds and a top-speed of 120mph.
The Sora 2's chassis is made from 6061-T6 aluminum while its running gear is comprised of some of the finest components on the market today. Fully adjustable 48mm inverted Ohlins fork and monoshock constitute the suspension, while braking duties go to dual floating 320mm discs pinched via four-piston radial-mount calipers up front and a single floating 230mm unit bit by a dual-piston caliper in back. The high-end braking hardware was developed in collaboration with Beringer specially for the Sora. Playing a substantial role in the Sora 2.0's diet was the addition of carbon fiber rims (shod in Michelin rubber) from Slovenia's Rotobox.
Like the first generation Sora, the newest electric bobber features full carbon fiber bodywork. That includes the "control center" (aka faux tank cover), as well as the transmission cover, belt and sprocket covers, and the model's redesigned headlight cowl. Other noteworthy features include a reverse gear, a 5.7-inch LCD touchscreen (with full wifi/Bluetooth connectivity, onboard monitoring, GPS, etc) a Motogadget speedo, and top-shelf LED lighting throughout including an active headlight. In addition, the indicators, bars, levers, and mirrors are from Rizoma (fancy schmancy - JM) and the bike now has a swanky electronically adjustable seat that offers four-inches of movement (from a 29.5" seat-height to 33.5").
The second generation Sora comes with a two-year warranty on the motorcycle itself plus another 5-year warranty just for the battery. This includes free pickup and drop-off of the motorcycle from the customer's work or home (so long as said customer resides in California or Florida). Built as a limited edition model and restricted to only 20 hand-assembled units, the Sora 2.0 has a price of $82,250 (plus freight). You could buy a new Harley-Davidson Livewire, a Zero SR/F, and a Lightning Strike Carbon Edition, for that kind of money and still have a few grand leftover.
Pre-orders are currently being taken on the manufacturer's website with deliveries slated to commence this summer.
