Remember the Tamagotchi? It was almost obligatory for 90s kids to have one. And as soon as I looked at this Yadea, it reminded me of a full-size Tamagotchi on wheels. Is it just me?
Yadea is a brand unknown to many and yet another Chinese manufacturer entering the electric motorcycle market, but don’t be fooled. Yadea is one of the world’s largest manufacturers in the two-wheeler market, with millions of bikes sold around the world in recent years. So it’s no surprise that the build quality of this G5S has proved to be up to the task for the most methodical of riders.
WITH PERSONALITY
It’s hard for this Yadea G5S to go unnoticed for its “cute” but particular look. It has very round and modern lines that set it apart from many of the electric scooters we see today. And up close, we can see that the components are of high quality and immediately dispel the preconception of a Chinese motorcycle – something we’ve been saying about many of the bikes from this country that we’ve tested in recent editions. The full LED lighting also stands out, especially the rear indicators built into the plastics of this Yadea. The bike exudes uniqueness and personality and, in this case, looking like a Tamagotchi on wheels is a good thing. It looks like something you’d want to have in your garage to look after, just like you would with small pocket-sized electronic devices.
THEORY AND PRACTICE
After looking at it from the outside, we also went to see how this Yadea G5S behaves. We always have to bear in mind that this is an electric scooter approved for an A1 license, which means that it falls into the 125 cc combustion scooter segment. So we’re talking about a 4,100W central motor, which gets its “fuel” from two 72V, 20Ah lithium batteries, one located under the seat and the other (better positioned) under our feet. The advertised range with the two batteries is 115 km, something we found to be ambitious in normal use. We’d say that aiming for 85/90km of range is more realistic, this with a mix of open road and city use, without worrying too much about battery life and without driving several kilometers at top speed. In the event of running out of energy, Yadea promises a charging time of 4 hours from 0 to 100%.
But while the range was lower than promised, the maximum speed recorded was the opposite. This G5S has two driving modes – ECO and Power – and in Eco mode our speed is limited to around 60 km/h and in Power mode, in theory, we have a top speed of 80 km/h, but the G5S proved to be more adventurous and reached close to 100 km/h – and no, it wasn’t downhill. We also have another mode, which is like a parking mode that prevents the throttle from being pressed. This may seem unnecessary, but we’d like to say it’s a good thing, as accidents can happen to those who are less experienced with electric bikes, given that from the moment the ignition is activated, the throttle can be pressed and the response, as we know, can sometimes be quite abrupt. Yadea doesn’t equip this bike with ABS, something that might scare the less experienced, but the CBS and the entire braking system proved to be very effective and we liked it.
THE LESS GOOD
It’s true that the Yadea G5S is cute in appearance, but it also has some not-so-good details. First of all, the lack of space under the seat when you put the second battery in is a big negative for two reasons. You lose the space you’re looking for on a utility bike and, if you want to gain that space, you’ll lose half the range, which means you’ll have around 40 km to go on one battery. Then there are the suspensions, which proved to be too basic and soft for someone of average height – around 1.80 cm and 75 kg – both front and rear. On the Portuguese sidewalk and in the city, as long as the irregularities aren’t too pronounced, it feels like you’re in the clouds – also due to the good seat and legroom – but don’t try going over bad roads, because you’ll quickly run out of front and rear travel and back pain will be a reality. We didn’t expect trail-like handling, but this scooter deserved a better set of suspensions. Finally, the 7″ dashboard promises a lot, but seems to fall short. Even though you can connect your cell phone and identify incoming calls and messages, there seems to be something missing to fill such a large, monochrome space. The information you get when you start the bike is basically what you’ll always get – battery charge information, odometer, speedometer, trip and riding mode. And yes, it’s the essentials and has good visibility, but something seems to be missing.
HONEST OFFER
Make no mistake, Yadea won’t do that to you either. This bike has its qualities and its flaws, but at the end of the day it delivers what it promises. It’s a relatively recent entry into the European market and I’m sure – given Yadea’s power – a lot will change over the next few years, with new updates to these models, in order to correct the less positive aspects while maintaining the quality they’ve been showing since the beginning.