Howdy folks, welcome to Ride Review! It's an exciting day: This is our first full review of an electric dirtbike! Today's subject is the XQi3 from NIU, a global titan manufacturer of two-wheeled electric vehicles. NIU has an extensive dealer network which is a major boon for the XQi3, especially compared to other dirtbike brands that operate more fly-by-night and only exist at random dealerships here and there (we're looking at you, Sur-Ron). It's great to be able to test ride something before buying, not to mention having an expert available for maintenance and repair tasks.
Beautiful design, solid build quality
The XQi3 is a sleek and eye-catching machine, especially if you opt for one of its more vibrant color options. It has premium components across the board, with a sort of minimalist partly-covered design that lets you see the internals while still providing bash protection. I've had the XQi3 out on a few trail rides now, and it is sturdily built, handling extremely rough trails and the occasional wipeout. It's got some battle scars now in the form of scratches and scuffs, but a dirtbike looks a little silly without a few of those!
Street or Wild? Eco, Sport, or ULTRA BOOST? A wide range of power modes to suit many riders
You'll notice that NIU advertises two variants of the XQi3, "Wild" and "Street". The first difference between them is that the Street version includes all the goodies you'll need to register it for legally riding on the street; lights, signals, license plate holder, and so on. The second difference is that the Street edition is locked down when it comes to power output. Motor peak wattage is drastically reduced even in Sport mode, and while you can still get up to around 40mph, it takes a long time to get there. Fortunately, you can have the best of both worlds; If you get the Street model, just contact NIU support and they can help you fully unlock the power.
The Wild edition of the XQi3 is, well, wild. With 8,000 watts of peak power, accidental wheelies are almost frighteningly easy, and you've got enough torque to climb up a vertical wall! There's a toggle switch on the left grip to go between Eco and Sport mode, with Eco limiting motor output by roughly half. I honestly ride in Eco quite a bit because Sport is just a massive amount of power for someone like me who is relatively new to dirtbiking.
Racing features and other smart integrations are a nice touch
The XQi3 has some smart features which will be useful for competitive riders, with built-in route mapping and a dedicated lap timer switch. There's also a switch for ULTRA BOOST mode, which gives you about 5 seconds of maxed-out power so that you can really fly! I've been able to get up to 50mph in this mode.
There's also some built-in security features. This dirtbike has an anti-theft alarm that reacts to motion and is quite sensitive, and as a nice bonus it even works if the primary battery is removed from the bike! The one downside is that it's a little too active... it seems to always be armed when the battery is removed from the bike, even if you use the NFC key to "unlock" the bike. Every time I load it in my truck the alarm just goes off the whole time 😂 but I'd rather have the alarm be too aggressive than the other way around.
Speaking of the NFC keys: You get two of them with the XQi3, and you can pair other ones (like your phone). You also don't have to use them; there are two physical keys which can be used for operating the bike and removing the seat, but it's far more convenient to use the NFC keys for everything. There's also a companion smartphone app, which I've only used a couple times. I found it to be a bit clunky and non-intuitive to use... but that could be just me needing to spend more time with it. Stay tuned for a future video where I'll do a deep dive into the app, display, and control system!
Amazing battery, flexible motor
The XQi3 is rocking a 72 volt, 32 amp-hour battery, providing great capacity and power. It's fully UL certified and weighs in at 34 pounds. I love that it's easily removable! It takes just a few seconds to pop the seat and get out the battery, thanks to its padded carry handle. Removing it drops the dirtbike weight down to about 130 pounds, which is light enough that I can just lift it into the back of my truck without needing a ramp. That's quite a bit heavier than some competing models, like the Sur-Ron Light Bee which is 110 pounds with the battery. I prefer the increased weight of the XQi3 as it translates to more stability at speed, while it's still light enough to feel very agile (at least compared to a gas-powered dirt bike).
The motor peaks at 8,000 watts, though it's probably capable of more with modding. Interestingly, its base wattage is just 3,500 watts; for comparison, the Light Bee has a nominal rating of 6,000 watts. This is actually a point in NIU's favor, because the lower nominal wattage means the XQi3 can ride a lot more efficiently, with a lot more range if you're riding in Eco mode.
Premium full suspension feels like riding on a cloud
I still haven't gotten over how good the XQi3's suspension is. It just rolls over everything, rocks, logs, whatever, and smooths out the bumps to an amazing degree. The front suspension is an inverted fork with about 8 inches of travel, while the rear suspension features a linkage system to improve performance and range of travel. Both suspension components are fully adjustable so you can dial them in for your weight and the terrain.
The hydraulic disc braking system sports a 220mm rotor up front, with 203mm in the rear. The layout is unique, as both brakes are operated by hand levers, with the right lever activating the front brake, left lever rear brake. This is the one part of the XQi3 that I don't love, because I'm struggling to get used to it compared to other two-wheeled vehicles I frequently ride:
The vast majority of motorcycles (including gas dirt bikes) have a right foot brake for the rear wheel
Mountain bikes have two hand brake levers, but they're reversed: right brake rear, left brake front
This means that no matter what two-wheeled vehicles you're used to riding, the brakes of the XQi3 are most likely mapped differently, and may be confusing at first. It will be worse if you switch vehicles a lot; if the XQi3 is your main ride, it should be a relatively easy adjustment. I'd personally opt for the rear brake moving to a right foot position, to fit with motorcycle standards.
It doesn't have regen... I think it should!
Most electric motorcycles have regenerative breaking, for two reasons: 1) frequent stopping in cities provides lots of opportunities to use it, and 2) they are heavy enough for it to actually work well. Some e-bike (read: electric bicycle) companies have tried to incorporate regen, but it's never been more than a gimmick because they're simply too lightweight, and don't travel fast enough for regen braking to make an appreciable difference.
The XQi3 is just heavy enough for regen braking to provide benefit. I think it also has the perfect use case, because on dirtbike trail rides you always have downhill sections, and frequently they're quite steep and/or prolonged. This would be a perfect application for regen braking, allowing you to re-capture a significant amount of battery power and extend your riding time.
Another reason why I'd like this is because it would mean hammering on the brakes less on downhill sections. Gas dirtbikes have a significant advantage here, because you can shift down to first gear, let out the clutch, and the motor will add a lot of resistance and keep the bike from accelerating too much. Lacking those friction-generating components, the XQi3 coasts very easily, meaning that on downhill sections you quickly get going WAY too fast without touching the throttle. Thus, anytime you're going downhill you'll be riding the brakes pretty hard. These are great brakes and I haven't had any issues with overheating... but man, regen would sure be nice in those situations.
I should acknowledge that while it's easy for me to sit here and ask for regen, it's not that easy to implement. Regenerative braking adds expensive components and increases complexity; for example, what if you try to use it when the battery is full? Incorporating this feature would push the price tag even higher... but I'd still like to see NIU take a swing at it.
