By clothing-bag, 30/03/2023

High voltage! Ray 7.7: the electric scooter that accelerates like a 500cc

Beyond the finishing and the occasional touch-up, the Ray 7.7 has not changed substantially compared to the pre-series unit that we tested a few months ago at the Paracuellos Karting. The brand already has it ready and for sale. The final price of this Ray 7.7 is 7,500 euros during the first year of launch and then it will predictably go to 8,500 euros.

As soon as I see it at the Jarama Circuit, its chromatic finish catches my attention, a beautiful matte gray (some 'Black Carbon', 'Classic White' and 'Cobalt Matte' complete the color options) that nuances its profile certain futuristic air, but without excesses. The first thing I do is review the seat again (under which a full-face helmet fits) and its original (and patented) way of adjusting the height. This option -800, 785 and 770mm nothing more and nothing less- was one of the things that most caught my attention the day of the first test at the Paracuellos Karting. The second thing is the kickstand, located in the central part of the floor, which is flat, and on which the Ray 7.7 can easily be raised using reverse gear, lowering it just by supporting the rear wheel and giving a very light punch. Another genius, what do you want me to tell you.

We set off from the iconic speed circuit to ride with it for a few kilometers along the highway to Guadalix de la Sierra and from there to Colmenar Viejo along the M-104, which we motor journalists also know, and we even covered a section along the M-6018, which leads to Hoyo de Manzanares, crossing the Grajal bridge over its winding slopes. The course allowed us a bit of everything, that was the idea, and the Ray 7.7 behaved as it should, as I expected.

In the first section, on the highway, the wind was noticeable, it is logical, it does not have a standard windshield, but the comfort with which it reaches 120 km/h made up for that small detail and the ease when it came to Getting behind one of the cars and overtaking it was a piece of cake.

In the happiest part of the route, the M-104, my Ray 7.7 let its hair down. The comfortable position of the feet and the distance from the handlebars gave carte blanche to enjoy the curves with that center of gravity so low and somewhat set back. The acceleration when leaving them, with that tremendous torque of 290 Nm to the wheel, is, without a doubt, one of the best that has been tested on a scooter, whatever its power, but without being scary. Nothing in a 'panic' way.

If you think I'm exaggerating, I'll tell you. The Ray 7.7 also hides in its last name, not only the nominal power delivered by its battery, as we have already mentioned, but another fact that also places it on that upper rung compared to its direct rivals: its acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is that, 7.7 seconds (0 to 50 km/h in 2.8 seconds) in Sport mode. This figure places it at the level of 500cc sports scooters and even better than one of the 'top' in sales in this regard.

On the other side of the scale, the front suspension felt a bit too stiff, but it's possible that given the lagging battery weight, a slightly softer option wouldn't have made the Ray any better. Also in this sense, two notes that do not detract from the whole of this Ray 7.7, quite the opposite because they are for these benefits: traction control, even if it is not very intrusive, would not hurt (at roundabouts, with step zebra in between, be careful with clenching your fist with desire in Sport mode); and a future ABS, the CBS combined braking is very good for smaller motorcycles, the calipers bite well and locking the rear wheel is not complicated if you look for it, yes.

High voltage! Ray 7.7: the electric scooter that accelerates like a 500cc

In the end there were around 90 kilometers of combined route in which I have to admit that the Sport mode (the most intense in power delivery and with little regenerative braking) took about 75% of the leading role on the route, accelerating a lot, braking little, 20% in the Flow (the most efficient on fast roads, the sensation is very suggestive since it has no regenerative braking, or what is the same, no retention) and only 5% in the mode City (the most appropriate for city with smooth acceleration and high energy regenerative braking with which it is not necessary to use the brake continuously). The idea was to try to squeeze the battery and boy did it respond. The intense expense to which I subjected it that day, far removed from the more 'normal' use that a user will give it, left the indicator at 16%... Bearing in mind that we started from an initial charge of just over 90 %, the result is very good.

The autonomy declared by the brand ranges from 160 km in the city, if we maintain a speed of 50 km/h, and 110 km if we maintain the speed in the line of 100 km/h, that is, outside from the city. And these figures, of course, lead us to the charge, the great workhorse of everything electric and that in the case of this Ray 7.7 has two faces. On the one hand, since it is not removable, it forces us to carry it out to a fixed charging station, be it at home, in a shopping center, charging station or the office parking lot, but its charging times, on the other hand, are good.

Battery charging... programmable!

As always, the charging speed is dictated by the charger (the standard connector is a Schuko that allows it to be connected to any domestic outlet and optional a 'Type 2' that gives access to most of the car charging network) which in this case can be the standard 1.8 kW or a fast 3.3 kW one that is optional. With the latter, the Ray 7.7 charges fully and from 0% in just over two and a half hours, while with the standard it does so in 4 hours and 20 minutes. Connector and charger are two separate concepts and only the latter dictates at what speed we can charge regardless of whether the Schuko or Type 2 connector is used.

In any case, as one of the technical managers of the brand told us (which has also developed its own battery management system -BMS-, the inverter, the DC-DC and even the control unit of vehicle -VCU-, so as not to depend on third-party hardware or software as far as possible) this type of full recharge is not normal on a day-to-day basis. It is true, the most frequent recharges are between 20% and 80% and in this case the time will be 85 minutes with the fast charger. Simplifying the figures even further, Ray Electric ensures that the user, if necessary, can 'charge' up to 16 km of autonomy in just 15 minutes with this same charger.

The user of this Ray 7.7 can -thanks among other things to the fact that the software is proprietary- from an app developed by the brand (which in turn controls the navigation integrated into the 5-inch color 'display', enough connect phone and motorcycle, select the route and it appears on the screen) adjust the charging speed: from 0.6 kW to 3.3 kW (up to 1.8 kW if you do not have a fast charger of course). You will also be able to select up to what target percentage you want to charge your motorcycle and even schedule the start time and place, thus taking advantage of the valley rates of the price range. Of course, to all this is added the knowledge at all times of the state of the battery -charge percentage and estimated autonomy-.

Why is it more expensive than its rivals? High voltage, like James Bond

What makes this Ray a little more expensive than its segment rivals? It's simple, the tension. Not the one that you enjoy when turning your fist, that too, but the one that you keep in your battery. Without going into excessively technical details, as we already told you at the time, the Ray Electric team opted from the beginning of the project for the high voltage of its robust battery pack, called Powerblock, in order to explore the upper rung of the benefits that a electric motorcycle can offer and that, today, with a removable battery is a chimera.

Playing around with comparisons a bit, an example (probably the first one that will come to mind) I think you will find useful. The best-seller S01 from Silence (6,250 euros) or its twin Mó de Seat (similar in price), mount a low-voltage battery that delivers 5.6 kWh, achieving a good 7 kW of nominal power -with a peak of 9 kW- for its motor while the high voltage battery (89V and 87 Ah) this Ray 7.7 (7,500/8,500 euros) delivers precisely 7.7 kWh to provide the motor with 10.7 kW of power, with a peak of 17.5 kW (that is, between 14 and 23 CV equivalent of combustion). These values ​​therefore look more to the future, following this set of comparative figures, BMW CE 04 (12,050 euros) which with its also non-removable battery (high voltage) delivers 15 kW (20CV) with a peak of 31kW (42CV).

Fun, powerful, very well finished, Spanish (82% of its suppliers are national, 6% European and only 12% from Asia, you know, the battery cells) and, taking into account its acceleration and a maximum top speed of 120 km/h, the photo is clear to make a purchase decision. For the city, more than enough, if you live within a radius of 20 km outside of it, the battery can last you the entire work week... and the weekend, to enjoy it on a road trip. Everything is plug in, wait and start over.

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