UBCO goes street legal

UBCO is now street legal with the release of a road-registerable model of their award-winning utility electric vehicle (UEV) – the 2018 2×2.

The Tauranga, New Zealand based electric motorcycle company has its own custom line of accessories too and is expanding off-shore as well.

Using the 17 accessory lugs located across the bike and standard M8 nuts and bolts, riders can customise their rides.

The new range includes a pannier backpack and bag, pannier frames, front and rear cargo decks, and an adapter pack of fittings to attach anything from a hunting rifle to a surf board. A tow ball mount bike rack has also been introduced so the 2×2 can be carried on the car or RV tow bar.

The bike has received a major upgrade with 130 of the 150 components either new or renewed, improving strength, ride, performance and with a higher capacity portable power supply to charge up tools. It can reach 120km on a single charge.

The new 2018 model can be registered for on-road use in New Zealand, Australia and the United States with the addition of all the road-worthy components. These include brake lights, indicators, reflectors, a motor cut off switch, steering lock, speedometer, odometer and a combined high and low beam LED headlight.

Its classification as an LA moped with a top speed of 50km/h, means that no motorcycle licence is required for the 2018 2×2 in New Zealand. While the 2018 2×2 is also classed as a LA moped in Australia, and a motor driven cycle or moped in the US, licensing requirements vary depending on local country and state laws.

“I think one of the biggest benefits of the 2018 2×2 is it’s dual-use capability. There aren’t many 2-wheelers out there that are equally at home both on and off-road, especially ones that are as easy to use and quiet as the UBCO,” product manager Stuart Munro says.

The new UBCO Cerebro Engine Control Unit (ECU) allows users to interact with the 2×2 and control features. An Apple app enables updates, fault diagnosis and choices between various modes. An Android model is due soon.

Regenerative braking has also been added, switched on via the app.

“The 2×2 was built on the concept of a vehicle as a tool,” UBCO chief executive officer Timothy Allan says.

“With the launch of the accessories we can now really illustrate one of the core concepts behind the creation of the 2×2.”