The Cake Bukk is an electric enduro you can ride to work... wherever that work might be

This, apart from a rolling manifestation of minimalism, is the Cake Bukk. And it is, as its shape and form suggest, the kind of motorbike that suits riders who know what arm pump and whoops are. And no, neither has anything to do with an oversteering M3 leaving a Cars and Coffee. 

So, about the name. ‘Bukk’ sounds easy enough; run it though your favoured Swedish-to-English translator and... ah. It’s actually from an old language called Gutnish, which has been around since the days of plate armour and halberds, and it apparently means ‘Thunder Cloud’. Which, given where the part of the world the Bukk is from, makes enough sense for anyone with a passing knowledge of Norse mythology. Or Marvel movies.  

With that said, a single electric motor and a 2.9kWh battery aren’t exactly rolling thunder in terms of noise – especially compared to your average thumper. And with between 17 and 21bhp, the Bukk won’t exactly buck you off with each twist of the wrist. Yep. Here all week. 

But then, as these pictures do an outstanding job of demonstrating, 21bhp is certainly enough to put yourself directly in harm’s way. Helpfully enough, there’s a choice of three off-road-ready suspension setups from the likes of Formula, WP and Öhlins so you can neatly sidestep the consequences of being many more metres in the air than is generally survivable. The WP and Öhlins options cost more – $3,200 USD for a blend of Austrian and Swedish suspension and exactly the same amount for a full setup from off-road maestros WP – but Cake’s configurator backs the standard setup for most riders and offers the XACT Pro kit for the kind of riders who could do Finke with their fingers crossed. 

The only other options include a $200 ‘Advanced bike settings’ app – where you can dial in throttle sensitivity and response, the amount of traction control, power level, braking regen and so on – and a $700 on-road kit that grants the bare minimum needed for legality: lights, indicators and a number plate holder. Want frippery or farkles? Look elsewhere. 

With every box ticked – including the 21bhp version of Cake’s new Internal Permanent Magnet (IPM) motor – you’ll arrive at a total of $15,170, or £12,140 in King’s English. Not exactly free, of course, but then your road tax will be. That is, if you ever bother riding on it.