While there is a significant increase in sales of combustion engine motorbikes in the “125 class”, the field of light but electric all-rounders has been rather weak to date. E-mopeds with a top speed of up to 45 km/h dominate on the one hand, and much heavier electric machines on the other.
The Austrian-Chinese manufacturer HORWIN now wants to change this. And they are doing so with the CR6 model, where the abbreviation CR stands for “cafe racer”. This type of motorbike formed a popular conversion concept a few decades ago with low sports handlebars, little to no mudguards and usually a dainty one-man bun as the pilot’s seat – a class of show bikes that rarely made it to OEM honours at the time.
Even the nostalgic naked bike from HORWIN doesn’t have much of a “CR” to it; the terms “retro” and “naked bike”, which are also used, fit better. Be that as it may, you can’t deny the CR6 a classically clear appearance.
If one wants to speak of a market for these products in this country, US start-ups dominate, whose models are difficult to obtain in Europe and can only be put on the road with individual approval. Or Chinese products, which, as HORWIN Europe spokesman Hanspeter Heinzl points out, do not meet European market requirements in terms of quality, size and driving safety. If they meet the legislative requirements in this country at all. In this respect, HORWIN cannot claim a unique position, but it can certainly claim a pioneering role.
The technical data are convincing, at least on paper: 105 km/h top speed, up to 150 km range and a charging time of about 3 hours at a normal household socket as well as an integral braking system stand for good usability. The payload capacity of just under 200 kilograms also contributes to this.
The price is 5,890 euros.
The model will be available from the end of November 2022.
www.horwin.eu
Text: Werner Köstle
Images: HORWIN Europe
