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Exposed: Thousands of SONDORS Metacycle bikes abandoned in China, bills go unpaid

metacycle motorcycle in factory

The SONDORS Metacycle electric motorcycle, once the darling of the burgeoning commuter e-motorcycle market, has suffered repeated setbacks since its original launch. Deliveries slowed to a trickle earlier this year and by many accounts appear to have since ceased. Reservation holders, some who have been waiting for years, have been left in the dark.

Speculation has run rampant regarding SONDORS’s current precarious financial situation. With the brand seemingly entering radio silence, we’re now getting more details than ever before from an unlikely source. One of the company’s factories in China tells Electrek that the California-based e-bike and e-moto company has stopped paying its bills, abandoning thousands of partially and fully-assembled motorcycles in the factory’s storage warehouses.

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The SONDORS Metacycle first ride: Does this low-cost electric motorcycle meet the hype?

sondors metacycle review

I waited for this day for nearly two years, biding my time until I would finally get a chance to throw a leg over the SONDORS Metacycle electric motorcycle and ride off into the sunset with the twist of a wrist.

I never quite got that sunset, but an overcast LA morning was the next best thing I could wrangle up on short notice. The SONDORS team let me take out an early production Metacycle to get a sense of how the bike rides and whether or not it lives up to the long-building hype.

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Electric bike brand SONDORS files for IPO with new product hints, but details raise troubling questions

sondors metacycle motorcycle

The Malibu-based electric bicycle company SONDORS recently submitted filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicating that it seeks to go public, which would make it the first e-bike company in the US to do so. But in addition to revealing some interesting new future products, the filings shined some light on past missteps and gave customers who claim that the company misleads the public ample ammunition.

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SONDORS prepping its low-cost electric motorcycle for delivery [Update: Deliveries started]

sondors metacycle shipping

This isn’t the first time we’ve reported that SONDORS is ready to deliver its Metacycle electric motorcycle to pre-order customers. But to be fair, it’s not the first time the Southern California-based company has said it was ready for deliveries. But now with photos of Metacycles purportedly in SONDORS’ domestic logistics facilities, the first bikes could finally be heading on their way to riders.

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First $5,000 SONDORS Metacycle electric motorcycles begin shipping this month

sondors metacycle

When the SONDORS Metacycle was unveiled in Los Angeles in early 2021, its highway-ready performance and low initial price of US $5,000 sent shock waves around the internet. After navigating a roller coaster of design changes, production delays, and price hikes, the bike is finally preparing to ship to the first reservation holders this month.

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Sondors gives exact production, delivery dates for $5K Metacycle electric motorcycle

The $5,000 SONDORS Metacycle electric motorcycle received a huge response upon its unveiling, but many reservation holders have been left scratching their heads and looking at an empty space in their garage while they await a delayed delivery. Now we’re getting updated specifics on exactly when SONDORS expects to deliver the first Metacycles to eager riders.

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Low-cost SONDORS Metacycle nearly sold out through 2023, but $5k price set to rise soon

SONDORS METACYCLE

The $5,000 SONDORS Metacycle looks like one of the best bets right now for a low-cost and highway-capable electric motorcycle in the US. But high demand for the bike means new reservation holders may have to wait nearly a year for their bikes.

And anyone still on the fence could be seeing prices rise soon too.

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