Hi Riders,
It's time for an update again. Today I have bad news for some of you and good news for others. Let's start with the bad news:
All USA Bikes will be canceled and refunded
You can find the exact explanation here on Indiegogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-tea-motorbikes-electric-is-now-sexy/#/updates/all
After 4 months of fighting with FedEx and other shipping companies, we unfortunately have to admit defeat and are giving up our dream of delivering motorcycles to the USA.
What happens with orders from the USA? We will now cancel and refund all orders.
Bonfire E and Switzerland
The Bonfire E is now street legal for Europe and the first customers are already driving.
Both the Bonfire E and the Bonfire X are not yet approved for Switzerland. Here we are still waiting for the authorities. Unfortunately, I can't pass on any further information at the moment because I haven't heard anything yet.
delivery time
I know it's the start of the season. Everyone wants their bike now. Everyone wants to drive. I have some positive news: Things have been going really well for us since February and are finally exactly how we imagined. We have speed. In May we will have reinforcements in assembly and will build even faster.
If you look on Trello, you will see that we have already built all of the Bonfire S and Bonfire E from 2022, so we are well ahead of schedule, which is super good, but why? The reason is the canceled USA bikes, which we have already built but are now not delivering. Bonfire S & E were mostly there, hence the lead in the plan.
With the Bonfire X we are just behind plan because we converted the USA bikes and there were simply more Bonfire E & S. We will probably not build the orders from May/June 2022 until the first week of May. We have built all orders from March 2022 and we will now build all orders from April 2022 in April.
Delays in delivery times are currently also caused by the shipping companies. The motorcycles have a service life of at least 2 weeks with us. Although we pass on customers' addresses before the motorcycle is completed, the shipping companies are currently taking longer to pick up a motorcycle because their hands are full because of the start of the season.
We're also trying out other shipping companies so that the motorcycles don't stand around as often and reach the customer sooner. Unfortunately without success so far, as no freight forwarder really has any free capacity. So if you are looking for a successful business, motorcycle shipping wouldn't be bad. There is currently enough work.
The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride
On Sunday, May 21, 2023, we want to take part in “The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride (TDGR)” in Munich together with other Bonfire Riders. You can find more information about the TDGR here: https://www.gentlemansride.com/
We collect registrations via Calendly: https://calendly.com/hellride/tdgr
Please note: For insurance reasons, only registered participants will be admitted. Therefore, you must officially register for the ride at https://www.gentlemansride.com/ and pay the registration fee of €5. Registering via our tool is just for us so that we know how many of our riders are coming.
What is it about?
We ride through the city wearing classic clothing (shirts, suits, etc.) on classic motorcycles (Bonfire) to raise awareness of men's mental health and prostate cancer research. Almost 600 drivers are expected in Munich!
Last year we were there in Italy and it was really nice. However, we were the only electric motorcycle there. This year we want to be a little more represented. So come along ;)
Price increase on May 1st
After lowering prices in the winter, we will now have to increase prices one last time. Prices will be raised back to the level of the end of 2022, i.e. by €200.
You can already see the new prices in the shop, but you will automatically receive a discount of €200 until the end of April. Simply select Bonfire and add it to your shopping cart. The discount will be deducted automatically.
Bonfire Y
There will be some changes to the Bonfire Y, it will be slimmed down a little. I'll tell you the reason at the end. We've put a lot of thought into it and this is currently the best solution for everyone. The following changes have been made:
- Same battery box as the other Bonfires
- Same battery as the other Bonfires
- Price reduction by €500 (because of the batteries)
This means that every model, including the Bonfire Y, will look identical from the outside and run on the same batteries. The only difference is in the drivetrain (controller and motor). We decided to do this for these reasons:
1. We were able to test the Bonfire Y with the current batteries really well in Italy and it really impressed us on two points: climbing ability and load. The Bonfire Y can handle incredibly steep climbs (up to 30%) and it can go up these mountains for quite a long time. There's nothing to worry about with the Bonfire Y, it can handle any climb and you can ride it for a long time without the engine overheating.
2. This made it clear to us that the Bonfire Y, even with the current batteries, offers a decisive added value compared to the other models: the security that you will always reach your destination, no matter how high it is or how many mountains there are in between (see above as long as the destination is not too far away).
3. We can also offer you the Bonfire Y cheaper with the current batteries.
4. Another advantage for us is that the certification of the batteries takes a long time and is expensive. By keeping the same batteries, we don't have to certify new batteries and we can develop the Bonfire Y faster and cheaper, which means certifying it sooner and most likely shipping it on time in Q1 2024.
5. The only disadvantage is that the range does not increase without the new batteries. But we are sure that the two advantages (climbing ability and continuous performance without getting hot) are currently more important. You can also travel up to 100 km with the Bonfire Y in Eco mode.
6. And we will address the range problem in the future - We will offer the new batteries from 2026. We want to take some time and see how battery technology develops in the next few years. The next batteries will fit in all models and increase the range by up to 40%. This means that anyone can upgrade the batteries at some point and subsequently increase their range.
We offer test drives with the Y in Munich and in June we will also be in Berlin at Reload.Land.
Anyone who has pre-ordered a Bonfire Y in the last 6 months will of course receive the Bonfire Y at the current price.
We will use the payments for certification costs and material procurement so that we are ready to go from Q1 2024.
Paypal installment payment for 0%
We now also offer installment payments via Paypal. The cool thing is, you don't have to pay any interest and you can finance your Bonfire for a period of up to 24 months.
Simply select Paypal as your payment method and then select installment payment in the Paypal area.
Please note: Currently only a maximum of €5,000 can be financed via Paypal. If your order total is higher than €5,000, contact our customer service. We will split your order into two partial orders, which you can then simply pay for both via PayPal installments.
