Cake’s electrical motorcycles look exactly like you’d expect high-end products from Swedish designers to look: slick, utilitarian and minimalist. So who better to customize one than Germany’s Hookie Co.?
The Dresden-based custom house is known for their sharp eye and fresh style—and they’re familiar with Cake’s drivetrains. Their otherworldly Tardigrade moon rover concept is Cake-powered, and they’ve produced a bolt-on kit for Cake’s Ösa electric utility bike. Now they’ve taken the second concept further, with an Ösa-based drag racer.
The idea of a silent drag race might sound weird, but that’s exactly what’s happening this September. The massive Glemseck 101 festival is finally back after a long pandemic-induced hiatus—and it now includes an electrics-only race. Hookie Co. will be lining up on this sharp little whip, dubbed the ‘Silver Ant.’
Hookie Co. picked the up-specced Ösa+ model for their build. Cake pitch it as being equivalent to a 125 cc petrol-powered scoot, with a 10 kW motor and a top speed of 90 km/h [56 mph]. But this one’s a little quicker.
Hookie have ripped into the controller software to eke out as much power as possible. They’re still tuning it, but they know what their goal is; 160 km/h [100 mph].
It’s not just about top speed though. The acceleration curve on this Ösa+ is way different from stock, and the engine braking’s been adjusted to the point that the bike only needs one brake. It’s a whole new world of performance tuning.
Out the box, the Ösa+ is made for commuting and hauling cargo, with ergonomics to match. Hookie needed to tweak its stance for the drag strip, so they swapped out the forks for a lowered set from the Ösa Lite. They kept the OEM swingarm, shock and 14” wheels, but added a set of Michelin City Grip 2 tires.
The rest of the frame is bone stock—which was a key aspect of this project. Hookie Co. are well-versed in the science of building plug-and-play kits, and the Ösa+ is made to be modular. So other than a fresh coat of wrinkle black on the swingarm and the main frame’s backbone, nothing’s been fettled on the chassis itself.
Hookie simply unbolted the stock trimmings, and slapped on an alternate version of their ‘Ant‘ body kit. The one-piece aluminum cover bolts onto the bike’s existing mounting points, with a little more coverage than Hookie’s original Ant design. There’s no seat on this one either—just some grip tape to keep the rider from sliding off the back.
The Cake’s digital dash has been moved from its traditional perch, to on top of the body kit, just behind the bars. A cut-out on the left side of the main panel offers access to the charge port.
The riding position is as dedicated as you’d expect for a bike that’s designed for straight line sprints. Clip-ons are mounted ultra-low up front, fitted with Hookie’s own translucent ‘Frozen’ grips.
The controls are about as basic as they come. The right side features the starter switch and throttle, and the left features a Magura hydraulic clutch control that’s been repurposed to operate the front (and only) brake. The foot pegs and their perches are custom, and sit as far back as possible.
Hookie built their own head- and taillights too, each with a grid of small LEDs. Both lights are governed by a Arduino controller, allowing Hookie to customize the ‘display’ at each end.
And if you’re wondering what the antenna at the back is for, it’s a wireless receiver. Hookie are developing a system that offers remote access to the engine and battery software, but they’re still figuring out some range and reliability issues.
Visually, Hookie’s Silver Ant is a knockout. It’s compact and pixel perfect, with the sort of bold graphics that we’ve come to expect from this crew. But it also looks like it’d be wild to ride—especially when they manage to hit the numbers they’re aiming for.
We can’t wait to see what other electric oddities will line up at the Glemseck 101.
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