Hi Rider,
Now that most of you have survived the first Wildfire, I have some good news for you. The first renderings of the second prototype are finished and are now online. After receiving a lot of feedback, I have brought the design of the Wildfire closer to the Bonfire . More about this and the delay of the air-cooled kit in the following video and update:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khmpgEYzdyE
Wildfire Update
The first feedback from the Wildfire was clear: remove the beak, slim it down, make it rounder and bring it more in the direction of Bonfire . No problem. The community has spoken and this is now being implemented.
Initially, the focus of the first prototype was on testing the rivets and the sheet metal construction as a motorcycle frame and on accommodating the components (Type 2 on-board charger), larger batteries and larger controllers. We managed this well and still had a lot of unused space.
The second prototype was all about incorporating your feedback and having a drivable prototype from mid-April. We will be offering test rides with this prototype not only in Munich, but also in Germany in April/May, so that everyone can test the Wildfire again. You can book test rides in our new office from mid-April here:
I didn't go to any particular trouble with the renderings of the purchased components; these renderings will only be on the website for a few weeks, after which we will have the second drivable prototype here in Munich for photos. Then we will also be able to show the final photos of the color combinations. The main point of the renderings is to get a feeling of where the design of the Wildfire is heading.
These are the most important changes based on your feedback:
- There will only be one 6 kWh battery, the same capacity as initially promised for the Bonfire Y. Instead of 2 x 3 kWh batteries, there will be one 6 kWh battery. The advantage is that it is lighter (yes, it really is a few kg lighter than 2 batteries), you only need one charger and only ever have to connect one battery. The only disadvantage is that you have to carry a heavy battery.
- The performance version is now also available on request for the Wildfire with a battery. The surcharge is 300 € and for this you get the 600 A controller with the air-cooled kit. With the normal Wildfire you won't need the air-cooled kit as you won't really get the engine hot.
- The ABS brakes are now also available for the Wildfire with a battery. The surcharge here is €500 compared to the CBS brakes. Please note that you cannot retrofit the ABS brakes.
- Charging speed, type 2 connection and all other innovations from the Wildfire remain unchanged except for the storage space, which we have halved to 5 liters.
For all Bonfire Y pre-orderers we have the configurator here, you are welcome to wait until we have the final photos with the right colors online from mid-April:
All Bonfire Y pre-order customers who would like the ABS brakes: You need to let us know and we will change your pre-order to a Wildfire ABS.
If you have already used the configurator, please contact us again if you would like to change your previous configuration.
Updated specs
- Standard: Rated power and peak power: 8 kW/ 10 kW
- Performance: Rated power and peak power: 11 kW/ 20 kW
- Torque: 280 Nm
- Top speed: 115 km/h
- Range: 80 - 130 km
- Battery capacity: 6 kWh
- Charging time: 2 - 3 hours depending on the charger
- Battery removable
- Storage space: 5 liters
- 2-person permit
- Driving license : A1 or B196
These would be the disadvantages of the Bonfire Y
The frame of the Bonfire Y is smaller and unfortunately also more inefficient, as it is a Vebrenner frame, so that the battery box of the Bonfire Y would not be as narrow as in the current second prototype. The battery box of the Bonfire X is 236 mm wide, it would be 280 mm wide on the Bonfire Y and 260 mm wide on the second prototype. It would even be possible to go down to 250 mm, in which case the Wildfire would be just under 1 cm wider than the Bonfire.
It would also not have been possible to have both storage space and an on-board charger, you would have had to choose between charge and storage tank (both would have been extra) and the charging speed would have been significantly slower. And it would also not have been possible to use the controller of the Performance variant in the Bonfire Y.
The front fork of the Bonfire Y is very thin and therefore very spongy at high speeds. The passenger footrests are attached to the swingarm and the passenger would have taken all the hits. Repairs on the Bonfire are not as easy as on the Wildfire. And the Bonfire Y is made of Chinese painted steel, whereas the Wildfire is made in Germany and is built from a mix of stainless steel, aluminum and steel.
Delivery time
As already mentioned in the last update, we would not have been able to deliver the Bonfire Y within the planned delivery time. The reservation of the TÜV tests took a little longer and the most important thing is that we don't have any motors, controllers or batteries here. This means that the entire powertrain will probably not arrive until May/June. We will start production of the first Wildfire in June and the TÜV tests will also be completed by then. We are currently planning to test the electrical safety including EMC.
I can understand that some customers will now be disappointed, but we will use the 2 extra months to remove teething troubles and put the bike through its paces so that the first bikes delivered will not cause any problems for customers. We didn't have this time with the Bonfire and we always had to make subsequent improvements for our first customers. This is of course very time-consuming and annoying for the first customers. This should not happen now, as we have a little more time and can therefore not assemble everything quickly under time pressure, but can build high-quality motorcycles with concentration and efficiency.
https://blackteamotorbikes.notion.site/Lieferzeiten-fbf2f48e4e854fe0884d8c8a9f61f099?pvs=4
Air-cooled kit
Unfortunately, I don't have any good news here, because I really can't say when we will have the air-cooled kits here. We were promised by our supplier that it would only take a month and that we would receive the kits by the end of January at the latest, but it's now the end of March and there's still nothing here. Our supplier only ever promises that it will be next week and has been doing so for a month now. For this reason, you will unfortunately have to continue to be patient, but as soon as the kits are here, they will of course go out immediately. Apart from that, there's nothing else I can do at the moment except ask.
