Last weekend at McCain Valley, we did what our family does best: turned one overnight camp into two full days of riding, eating questionable snacks, and arguing about who moved whose gloves. I rode about 11 miles of tight, rocky singletrack on the eRide Pro SS 2.0 over roughly two and a half to three hours. We stopped, sessioned obstacles, waited for the kids, doubled back, and generally refused to ride in a straight line. I came home with about 60 percent battery remaining.
That ride made the next-bike question sharper. The eRide is already stupid fun. I do not need a motocross weapon for the two- and three-foot jumps I actually hit. What I want is maybe 25 to 50 percent more usable power, a larger front wheel, and suspension that stays calm when the trail gets rude. Which is exactly how the Sur Ron Ultra Bee sneaks into your browser history and starts eating your evening.
This is the honest version: I do not own an Ultra Bee, and I will not pretend a parking-lot impression equals a long-term test. I am deciding whether it fits our family riding better than my eRide—or whether its weight would ruin the playful thing I love.
The Quick Answer
The Ultra Bee fits an experienced adult rider who wants an off-road motorcycle that is quieter and simpler than a gas enduro. It is not a spicy mountain bike, a neighborhood toy, or a logical kid upgrade. Think compact electric enduro with serious power.
The MY26 Ultra Bee Is a Different Animal
The official MY26 Ultra Bee HP X specifications list 24.5 kW in Turbo mode, 21.5 kW in Sport, 520 Nm at the rear wheel, and a 59 mph top speed. Sur Ron says it runs a removable 74V 60Ah battery, weighs 88.5 kilograms—about 195 pounds—and rides on a 19-inch front and 18-inch rear wheel. It also gets wheelie control, traction control, auto hold, and adjustable regenerative braking.
Those are motorcycle numbers. They are also why you must confirm exactly which Ultra Bee you are shopping. The earlier 12.5 kW bikes on the used market are not the same machine as the current 24.5 kW HP X. A suspiciously cheap listing may simply be an older model, an import with murky paperwork, or a bike modified by someone whose electrical engineering credentials came from a comment section.
Ultra Bee vs. eRide Pro: Weight Changes the Ride
The eRide earns its keep by being playful. On tight McCain singletrack I can change lines, dab, turn around, and recover from a dumb choice without needing a winch or a motivational speaker. That light-bike character matters when the kids stop every few minutes to inspect a rock, discuss snacks, or replay the same climb until somebody cleans it.
The Ultra Bee trades some of that playfulness for stability. Its longer-travel motorcycle suspension, larger wheels, real brakes, and added mass should make chopped-up terrain, braking bumps, and faster open sections feel calmer. The MY26 bike lists 240 mm of fork travel. That is the part I want—not because our family is launching a freestyle career, but because rough desert trail can punch through small-bike suspension long before the jump gets impressive.
If you love hopping logs, threading tight lines, and loading the bike alone, weight deserves more attention than peak power. Nearly 200 pounds is manageable until the bike is lying downhill in a cactus. If your current e-moto feels limited only occasionally, the Ultra Bee may solve a problem you mostly enjoy having.
Our Sur Ron Light Bee to eRide Pro upgrade story explains why I moved toward stock performance instead of rebuilding another small bike one expensive part at a time.
What Our McCain Weekend Actually Taught Me
Eleven miles and 40 percent battery use is not a laboratory test, but it reflects our real riding: technical sections, repeated attempts, kid pace, and occasional bursts of terrible adult judgment. The eRide had plenty left. Range was not holding me back.
The limits showed up in chassis feel. A bigger front wheel would roll through square edges more cleanly, while better-controlled suspension would reduce deflection and fatigue. More power would be fun, but doubling the number on the spec sheet is not twice as useful on our trails.
That is the central Ultra Bee question. Are you buying it for the power headline, or for the complete motorcycle underneath? For me, the second answer is the honest one. If I make the jump, it will be for wheel size, braking, suspension, and stability. Turbo mode is dessert, not dinner.
How Much Range Should You Expect?
Sur Ron advertises up to 71.5 miles at a steady 31 mph for the MY26 HP X. That controlled maximum is not a promise that you can hammer sand, climb rocks, use Turbo all afternoon, and coast back from 71 miles away.
Real range changes with rider weight, elevation, soil, temperature, tire pressure, speed, and throttle use. Your smartest first-month move is boring: record starting charge, distance, terrain, and ending charge. Build your own trail log, turn around with a healthy reserve, and stop letting strangers on the internet argue about one magic mileage number.
Is the Ultra Bee a Family Bike?
Yes, if “family bike” means the adult's bike in a properly spaced group. No, if it means letting a young rider try 24.5 kW because the motor is quiet. The MY26 bike can reach highway-like speeds and accelerate hard enough that electronics do not replace judgment.
The useful part is versatility. I can select a calmer mode behind Kyler, then take a solo loop without bringing a kid-sized chassis to an adult trail. Full-face helmets, boots, gloves, knee protection, clear passing rules, and conservative spacing remain non-negotiable. Silent does not mean harmless.
Where Can You Legally Ride It?
An Ultra Bee is not automatically a Class 1, 2, or 3 e-bike because it has pedals nowhere and a battery somewhere. Treat it as a motor vehicle and verify each destination. California State Parks publishes current OHV laws, registration information, and electric-motorcycle bulletins. For federal land, the Bureau of Land Management OHV page is the starting point, but posted route designations and local rules still control.
Match the VIN to the paperwork and confirm the bike can be registered for your riding. Check the current map before every trip. Quiet trespassing is still trespassing, and motorcycle use on bicycle-only singletrack is how access disappears for everybody.
New or Used: The Checks That Matter
- Model identity: Verify year, exact trim, VIN, battery capacity, controller, charger, and whether it is an off-road or homologated version.
- Battery health: Ask how the pack was stored and charged. Confirm normal charging, no error codes, clean connectors, and no swelling or impact damage.
- Frame and chassis: Inspect the frame, swingarm, steering stops, skid plate, subframe, and footpeg mounts for cracks, bends, or suspicious fresh paint.
- Wear parts: Check wheel and steering bearings, fork and shock leaks, rotors, pads, tires, chain, and sprockets. Electric torque is wonderfully rude to neglected drivetrains.
- Electronics: Test every ride mode, display function, cutoff, regen setting, traction-control setting, and charge port.
- Modifications: Get a complete list. “Upgraded” can mean carefully improved or attacked by a teenager with wire cutters.
If you are also replacing a plated gas bike, our KTM 500 EXC versus electric dirt bike guide covers the tradeoffs that spec charts ignore: noise, maintenance, transport, legal access, and whether you actually enjoy wrestling a full-size machine on tight trail.
What We Were Wearing
On the bike: full-face helmets, goggles, gloves, boots, knee protection, and real riding pants. Cotton is not armor, no matter how heroic the graphic looks. Around camp, the E-Moto Urban Assault Group Ride shirt fits the exact flavor of chaos: quiet bikes, a dusty van, and a family that somehow turns one loop into six separate missions.
You can find the rest of our rider-drawn gear in the E-Moto and electric dirt bike collection. The designs come from real rides, questionable upgrade decisions, and the stories that happen between the trail and the camp stove.
The Honest Verdict
The MY26 Sur Ron Ultra Bee HP X is tempting because it solves the exact complaints serious small-bike riders eventually develop: wheel size, suspension, braking, stability, and stock power. It could be the sweet spot between a playful e-moto and a full-size gas enduro.
But “more bike” is not automatically more fun. On tight family singletrack, the eRide remains easy, light, and hilariously capable. If I buy an Ultra Bee, it will not be because our rides need 59 mph. It will be because the complete chassis lets me ride longer, smoother, and with less compromise while the kids keep progressing.
Buy the version you understand. Respect the weight. Verify the paperwork. Make sure your trails actually allow it. Then decide whether you want a faster number—or a better day in the dirt. That second one is the only upgrade that matters.