Maeving RM1S Electric Coming to US

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Maeving’s retro-inspired RM1S will come to the US in 2024 with a 65 mph top speed, and claimed 80-mile range. (Maeving/)

Electric motorcycle brand Maeving isn’t a household name in the US yet but it’s heading to the North American market in the third quarter of this year with its first offering—the 45 mph RM1—and the more powerful RM1S you see here will start reaching customers next March.

Maeving is already proving a hit in the UK, where the bikes are designed and manufactured by a team including several ex-Triumph engineers. The RM1 hit the market there a year ago, focusing on an untapped sector for an affordable, city-oriented electric bike that’s more characterful than the bland, Chinese-made scooters that make up most of that market. Relying on simplicity to keep the costs down, Maeving has been able to use quality components including a Bosch motor and Samsung batteries in the RM1, with styling and materials that wouldn’t shame a much more expensive machine.

The RM1S’ battery box. The batteries can be charged in the bike or removed and brought to the charger inside. (Maeving/)

In the UK, the base RM1 starts at 5,995 pounds sterling (equivalent to $7,500), but its 45 mph top speed and 40-mile range mean it’s really limited to city use only. The new RM1S, while looking all but identical to the original, is a much more capable machine with more than twice as much power, a 65 mph top speed, and an 80-mile range as standard. In the UK it’s priced at 7,495 pounds (about $9,400) but duties and sales taxes mean it’s misleading to make direct comparisons between MSRPs in different countries. A clearer guide is that the Maeving RM1S costs about the same as BMW’s new CE 02, which starts at $7,599 in the US market.

The key to the upgrade is a new motor, still mounted in the rear-wheel hub like the original RM1′s but putting out a peak of 14 hp, with a “continuous” rating of 9.5 hp. In comparison, the base RM1′s figures are 5.9 hp peak, 4 hp continuous. The motor is fed by dual batteries, redesigned to use more modern LG 21700 cells instead of the original’s Samsung 18650s (the numbers relate to the physical size of the cylindrical cells inside the battery packs—21700s are 21mm in diameter, 70mm long; 18650s are 18mm in diameter and 65mm long). These cells increase the capacity of each battery by 30 percent, from 2kWh to 2.6kWh. With two batteries as standard, the RM1S has a total capacity of 5.2kWh.

On the RM1S the “tank” has 2.6 gallons of storage, while the lower-powered RM1 utilizes the space for a second optional battery. (Maeving/)

The base RM1 has its main battery in the silver battery case sitting where the engine would be on a conventional bike and an optional second battery that can be placed inside the “fuel tank” ahead of the rider. The RM1S is substantially redesigned—the main battery case is slightly bigger, allowing both its batteries to fit inside it while leaving the “tank” empty to provide 2.6 gallons of lockable storage space.

Despite its increased power and bigger batteries, the RM1S is only 13 pounds heavier than the dual-battery version of the RM1, coming in at a total of 287 pounds including batteries. That should be a recipe for strong acceleration, although Maeving’s strategy with the RM1 was to provide a relatively tame throttle response in the knowledge that most buyers would be newcomers to motorcycling. The RM1 has three selectable riding modes, altering the throttle mapping, and the RM1S is likely to have a similar arrangement.

The RM1S has retro styling with modern components and features. (Maeving/)

Another significant change for the RM1S is its charging arrangement. On the original RM1, the batteries must be removed to be charged, and uniquely Maeving even styled the battery packs with a brushed alloy and wood-effect finish so they aren’t eyesores when sitting on their charger in your house. For the RM1S, Maeving has added the ability for both batteries to be charged simultaneously while still in the bike—although riders who street-park will still be able to remove the batteries and charge them indoors with an optional dual battery dock. A full charge is claimed to take 4.5 hours, although that’s with a standard 240-volt UK electrical outlet so times are likely to differ on a 110-volt US system.

“The RM1S is the bike we have been asked over and over to build by those riders who want a zero-emissions motorcycle that looks like an RM1 but is capable of highway speeds,” said Will Stirrup, co-founder of Maeving. “We’ve worked extremely hard to ensure that everything that has made the RM1 so popular with our customers is carried over to the new RM1S, whilst delivering the greater performance that will mean it can be used in a much wider variety of use cases. The original Maeving RM1 has been a huge success for us and, for many riders who stay within inner city limits, it will remain the perfect motorcycle. Adding the RM1S to the collection provides an electric motorcycle for those that need to cover wider geographies at higher speeds.”

Details of Maeving’s plans for the US have yet to be revealed, beyond the target of entering the North American market in Q3 of 2023. In Europe, the company operates a direct-sales model, with its own fleet of delivery trucks bringing bikes to customers, who order via the brand’s website. For potential customers in the US, there’s an option to join a waitlist on Maeving’s website here.

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