Another update report
I have enough miles now that I've become pretty aware of this bikes strong points, and also it's weak points. It has a lot more strong points than weak ones, but no bike is perfect.
First the strong points.
Number 1, it's very fast, and powerful. The build quality is battleship. This bike reminds me of a Harley in that it's made to be easily rebuilt, and could last forever. Everything is stronger, and heavier than it needs to be. The suspension has motorcycle quality, and strength. The brakes are 2 finger front and rear. The frame and swing arm are overbuilt and have lifetime warranty. I like that the battery in inside the frame, and there's lots of room for a big battery.
Now the bad.
Number 1 is the lack of range. It's equal in shortness to how incredibly fast it is. Running at speeds above 40 mph you can only expect barely 20 mile range. At 50 mph it eats about 1 ah per mile. Since the battery is 18 ah that's even less than 20 miles. Riding at bicycle speeds 10-15 mph, it get's closer to 5 miles per ah. That would be about 90 miles. That's great but it takes forever to get anywhere. You can expect to get the claimed 50 mile range only by keeping the speed limited to about 25 mph and less. 20 mph would be easier. Pedaling seems to have little effect on the battery consumption, but plays a significant role in acceleration above 40 mph, especially riding against the wind.
The other area of concern is, this bike doesn't like water. The manufacturer recommends giving it a sponge bath for cleaning, instead of washing with a hose. I've washed it one time so far and of course I disregarded this recommendation, only to find it running crappy for a day afterwards. It was cutting off on it's own, and when it ran it stuttered on the throttle. It cleared itself up a day later, but I don't like my chances of getting home if I get caught out in the rain. Luckily I hardly ever ride in the rain. From now on I'll be using a sponge to clean it.
Conclusion,
The Bomber is both greater than expected, and also slightly disappointing. It's speed and power are beyond my expectations. 50 mph is always at your finger tips. It's very stable riding at speed. The problem is it needs a battery with about twice the capacity. Then no matter how fast you ride, it would have at least 40-50 mile range. Where I live everything is 20 miles away. I need a minimum of 40 mile range to get home. I like to do it at 40 plus. I can't do that both directions right now, so that's a little disappointing, but one thing you'll never hear me complain about is the speed and power.
What I'm waiting for now is the day when I can build a 40 ah battery that will fit in my frame. I predict that day will come.
