RIDE REVIEW I 2023 SURRON ULTRA BEE
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cense plate holder. It also includes
a dash that displays the speed,
distance and all the various power,
traction control and ABS settings,
as well as the battery level. Under
the seat, where the air filter would
typically be, there is a storage area
large enough to transport the char
-
ger or other items.
How Capable Is It?
We put the Ultra Bee to the test
during several days of riding at the
Trials Training Center in Tennes
-
see. We were helping lay out the
2023 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout
(TKO) Hard Enduro course and
used the bike to get around, mark
the course and test-run the entire
11-mile amateur race loop. The
terrain includes everything from ac
-
cess roads to some of the gnarliest
hard-enduro rock sections and hill
climbs you can imagine. Rain early
in the week added to the difficulty
of the terrain. Ninety-six percent
of the 500-plus TKO racers chose
300cc two-strokes for this AMA
Grand Championship of Extreme
Off-Road course. And for the sec
-
ond year in a row, the TKO included
an electric bike class with nearly 50
participants taking on the course,
including Cycle News co-owner
Jesse Ziegler, who swapped out
the wheels and tires and raced our
Ultra Bee test bike to a sixth-place
finish.
The incredible
torque of the electric
motor makes up for
the relatively low
horsepower. It will
torque its way up
gnarly hills, and the
traction control
can be adjusted to
keep the wheel
from spinning.
