Forget 1000cc+ ‘adventure bikes.’ The real way to have an adventure off the beaten track could be this, the humble 30mph UBCO. Hailing from New Zealand, the utility UBCO has been around for several years, but the maker has just launched a road legal adventure version, aimed at thrill seekers rather than sheep farmers and fence erectors.

Designed as a practical working tool, the electric UBCO’s unique feature is two-wheel-drive – easy to do with a hub motor at each end. It’s also able to act as an energy source for power tools – just plug into the lithium-ion battery and you’re away. The small battery comes in a choice of three sizes (2.1, 2.6 or 3.1kwh), and UBCO claims a range of up to 75 miles, reflecting how little juice is needed for trickling along off-road at low speed. Like its workaday original, the UBCO Adventure is limited to 30mph, but it still looks rugged enough for some serious off-road going, with an exposed tubular steel frame designed to take racks front and rear, offering no fewer than 19 mounting points.

Hate to say it, but the UBCO looks so uber-practical we can see it being treated as an urban accessory in the hipper parts of Hampstead.

Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF, echoed that: “As ‘urban accessories’ go this one’s actually really useful, although I’d have to say Dalston, Hackney and points east are probably the hip areas these days, Hampstead’s very much old Skool. No mention of price, but hopefully, given its workmanlike origins, not too outrageous.”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Images courtesy of UBCO