First released last year as a limited edition, Cake’s new Bukk electric off-road motorcycle is now ready for mass consumption. And, as we’ve come to expect from the Swedish electric motorcycle company, it looks slick as heck.
Off the bat, the Cake Bukk doesn’t look too different from the brand’s existing premium dual-sport bike, the Kalk. But there are differences—if you know where to look. For starters, the Bukk sports an all-new drivetrain, developed from the ground up by Cake.
Dubbed ‘Jante,’ the mill in the Bukk is a new proprietary interior permanent magnet, radial flux motor, housed in an aircraft-grade aluminum housing. Using a dual-bearing shaft, it’s said to offer optimal efficiency, power output and reliability, with smoother acceleration and more control at low speeds. Which makes a dirt bike like the Bukk the perfect vehicle to showcase it in.
The Jante motor makes a maximum of 16 kW peak power and 11.01 kW nominal power in the Bukk. That’s for the flagship ‘Power Light’ model; there’s a ‘Super Light’ model too, which is rated at 13 kW [peak] and 8.5 kW [nominal]. Torque figures for the Power Light version are 76 Nm at the driveshaft, and 456 Nm at the wheel.
That’s a fair amount of grunt, when you consider that the Bukk weighs just 89 kilos [195 lbs], battery included. It’s built around a forged aluminum frame, and swathed in beautifully designed, lightweight componentry. (We’ve seen the Cake Kalk up close, and if the Bukk is even remotely as tidy, it’ll warrant hours of ogling.)
Powering the Bukk is a 72 Volt Lithium-ion battery, good for an estimated three hours of trail riding (actual performance may vary according to usage, naturally). And if you’d like to stay out longer, the battery can be swapped out in 30 seconds, sans tools.
Most notably, Cake will allow each customer to spec their Bukk to suit their riding. The 19F/18R wheels and Formula brakes are standard, but you’ve got a choice of WP Suspension or Formula forks, and a WP Suspension, RacingBros or Öhlins shock. You can also spec your Bukk as off-road or on-road only, or as a dual-purpose bike.
Geometry-wise, the Bukk sports a 1,340 mm [52.8”] wheelbase, 335 mm [13.2”] of ground clearance, and a whopping 955 mm [37.6”] seat height. There’s a host of electronic rider aids too, and even these can be customized—or upgraded—via Cake’s own smartphone app.
The Bukk Super Light will set you back a minimum of €10,270 or $10,270, with the Power Light starting at €11,070 or $11,070. That’s in standard trim, with prices climbing according to each individual’s spec. It’s also cheaper than the company’s Kalk, which currently makes less power than the Bukk.
If you want to compare it to a gas-guzzling enduro, the KTM 300 XC-W two-stroke comes in at a RRP of $11,099 in the USA… but the Bukk is less likely to upset the neighbors. Which is ironic, when you consider that ‘Bukk’ means ‘Thunder Cloud’ in Gutnish—an ancient language from the island of Gotland, where Cake tests their bikes.
Images supplied by Cake
