Real Motors’ Stunning New Ares Café Racer Reimagines the Bond Between Rider and Bike

The unmistakably modern moto seeks to reestablish a timeless connection by embracing emotion over specs.

Rear section of a blue motorcycle with black seat, suspension, and rear tire against a tiled wall.

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When you first get interested in motorcycles (or probably any type of vehicle, really), it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers.

After all, who doesn’t want the biggest engine, the most power, the highest torque and the lightest weight, for the lowest possible price?

Blue racing motorcycle with number 03 and "ARES" text on front fork, parked on asphalt against black brick wall. — Project: Ares aims to reconnect the rider and the bike, but there’s plenty of grunt under the hood, too.

Yet the more riding I have done (on all kinds of bikes) over the past decade or so, the more I’ve come to appreciate that the most satisfying part of riding has nothing to do with specs.

Rather, it’s the singular feeling of being fully engaged with the motorcycle, almost becoming one as you navigate everything from gnarly off-road terrain to the twistiest two-lane country road.

That’s the sort of emotion that Real Motors seeks to revive with its bold new Project: Ares café racer, which is, believe it or not, electric.

Human after all

“The analog nature of the physical world connects something deep inside us. It’s not precise and sometimes hard to predict. Yet it offers something real, organic, and oftentimes, something pure and powerful.”

“This is where emotion begins. Not from a readout, not from a number, and not from a program, but from the subtle exchange between you and the mechanism. We have learned that the machine we build is not meant to perform but to be felt.”

Person wearing a white helmet riding a blue electric motorcycle with bright headlight on a city road at night. — The aim of fully embracing the experience is only enhanced by the engaged riding position you can see here.

That sort of warm, human language is not typically found in promotional copy for EVs, yet it hits at the “electric analog” ethos Real Motors is pursuing with Ares, which has been in development since 2024.

Even before you saddle up the bike (which I should be doing in the next couple of weeks), you can doubtless feel its blend of organic and mechanical from just a look.

Blue and black modern motorcycle with "ARES" text on the front fork, parked on a metal circular platform. — Though it aims to tap into a bond that goes back to the dawn of motos, the sci-fi lean of the silhouette is unmistakable.

The smooth front bodywork, low bars and compact dimensions beckon, while the exposed rear mechanicals offer the promise of performance that does not necessarily overpower but rather serve as an extension of the rider’s own impulses.

Before I get too woo-woo here, I should mention that the brand itself is built by engineers, and the bike can back it up with stirring numbers, which any serious rider still wants to know (I sure did).

Person wearing a helmet sitting on a motorcycle with "ARES" and "53" on it, in front of a "Modern & Contemporary Art" auction sign. — The seat height of 33 inches and weight under 500 pounds should feel pretty familiar to veteran café racer riders.

Toward that end, I can confirm that the bike boasts a PMSM Drive making 100 horsepower and a pretty bonkers 738 ft-lbs of torque at the rear wheel, which feels high even for an electric moto.

With primary materials including 4130 steel and A356 aluminum, the bike weighs 485 pounds and has a seat height of around 33 inches, numbers comparable to bigger gas-powered café racers.

The Triumph Speed Twin 1200 Cafe Racer Edition, for example, comes in at 478 pounds and 31.9 inches.

Blue and black electric motorcycle with number 03 and "ARES" text on the front fairing. — As warm and inviting as the seamless bodywork is, the exposed rear mechanicals reveal the bike means business, too.

It also boasts on-board level 2 charging, premium suspension and a small screen that appears to deliver critical info about the bike but not too much else.

After all, if the bike’s ambitions are met here, you should be looking at just about everything but a little glowing box between the bars.

Availability and pricing

Real Motors estimates the Ares will be available beginning early next year, with LOT 01 participants able to choose between various liveries.

A total of 250 units will be produced worldwide, with prices starting at $20,000.

Blue and black electric motorcycle with "ARES" and "03" decals against a gray tiled wall.

Real Motors Project: Ares

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About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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