Monday Motorbikes Gen 7 Review — 45mph Class 2 eBike Motorcycle
This is the Monday Gen 7 electric bike, a class 2 e-bike with the design of a motorcycle, with a top speed of 45mph in Sport mode, and has a massive battery with up to 100 miles of range.
The Gen 7 is built by Monday Motorbikes, based out of San Francisco. They have been around in the electric bike market since the early days. Back in 2015, they launched an indiegogo campaign for the Bolt M1, one of the first electric bikes of their kind.
Since then, Monday has been developing many new ebikes, including their newest fat tire bikes like the Presidio and the Anza, so be sure to check out our review of the Monday Presidio and Anza bikes as well.
Monday Motorbikes let us borrow one of their Gen 7 bikes so we could review it and put it through some tests. It’s one of the early Gen 7’s they built, so it’s about 2 years old and has been used as a demo and test bike. Monday told us it most likely has over 7,000 miles on it, and the battery itself has been used extensively and cycled or re-charged over 2,000 times.
Looking at the design of the Gen 7, it’s a steel tube moped style frame similar to old moped style frames, with a top tank design that houses the large battery. The battery is a large 72 volt, 31.2 amp hour battery that weighs 29 lbs and is housed in the top compartment. You can charge the battery from the port on the side of the bike, or the battery can easily be removed by opening the compartment and disconnecting the 2 plugs. There’s also a physical on/off switch on the battery, along with lights that will display the battery charge.
The Gen 7 has a wheelbase of 46”, and a seat height of 27”, which makes it a bit tall but still a lot lower and more manageable than most motorcycles. The handlebars are 32” long, which feel shorter than a traditional motorcycle, but longer than a bicycle.
The seat is 19” inches long and somewhat skinny, it’s not the most comfortable seat we’ve sat on but it does the job. It’s also just barely long enough to fit 2 passengers, but keep in mind pegs are not included so you’ll need to add them.
For lights, the bike features both front and rear lights, with the front headlight featuring a blue halo daytime running light, and a LED low and high beam light. The Gen 7 does feature turn signals, and on the rear they are built into the LED lights under the seat.
The gen 7 uses a key FOB to activate the bike, open and close the main battery compartment, and disengage the anti-theft feature or alarm function. The sensor is located on the battery compartment, just above the seat cushion. To turn off the bike you simply tap the emblem. If you double tap, it will also engage the alarm. The alarm will sound if it notices a disturbance, such as trying to move it. The motor also locks, making it harder to move the bike around.
Turning on the bike, you simply tap the key fob on the sensor. The throttle is disabled to safety, until you press the red ignition button.
The main display of the bike is large and round and features an LED screen, and while it’s easy to see at night, it can be hard to see during the day. Monday will be offering a different display in the future and Gen 7 owners will be able to swap out. The current display shows speed in mph, a Battery level gauge, which Riding mode you’re in, and a digital throttle acceleration output at the top.
On the left hand side of the handlebar you have the brake, high/low beam headlight switch, the turn signals switch and a horn button. The horn is loud and sounds like a motorcycle horn.
On the right handlebar is the headlight on/off switch, the ignition button, and the mode selector switch. The Gen 7 has three running modes: mode 1 or Walking Mode which is limited to 5mph and meant to help you walk it up a hill, Economy Mode or mode 2, with a top speed of 20mph, limiting the motor to 750watts and Mode 3 is Sport Mode which unlocks the top speed to 45mph and up to 5,500watts.
The motor is a patented and custom designed drivetrain with a direct drive brushless motor that puts out a massive 10 kilowatts of power. The size and quality of the motor is impressive, and Monday told us it’s capable of even more power than what the software limits. The acceleration in mode 3 is quick and steady, with the powerband hitting right from the start and bringing you all the way up to a top speed of 45mph.
The wheels on the bike are 17” mag wheels that have a black finish. The tires on the Gen 7 are 70 by 90, which work great but do start to feel a little bit small, especially when going at top speed.
Because the Gen 7 is a top tank design, having the battery up top does make it top heavy and when riding it does affect the riding position, especially with your feet on the pedals.
Speaking of the pedals, they are just there to classify the Gen 7 as a Class 2 e-bike. However, the pedals are not very functional, with only a single speed and can barely get you moving from a stop. You can’t count on them to get you very far or use them to get you home if you run out of battery. The pedals also affect the ride feel, since they are not locked in place like pegs. However, you could modify the bike to remove the pedals and add pegs.
For suspension, the Gen 7 features dual front fork with oil damping, and 2 rear spring shocks. The front suspension on the demo bike we’re testing does feel a little bit soft, but that should also be expected for a demo bike with over 7,000 miles.
For brakes, the Gen 7 has dual piston front disc brakes, and powerful regen braking in the rear using the electric motor, along with a small drum brake. This allows the bike to stop with a similar amount of braking power as a traditional motorcycle.
Testing the range of the Gen 7, Monday advertises a range of up to 100 miles if riding in economy mode. Riding in Sport mode, you should expect a range of around 50–75 miles depending on weight and other factors.
We were actually surprised at how good the range the battery on the demo bike had, especially considering the high number of discharges it’s had. We were able to easily go 20–30 miles on a couple rides, and just barely took down half the battery. This is the only ebike we’ve tested so far that has this kind of range.
For accessories, the demo bike we’re testing already has passenger pegs, but the bike does not ship with them. It also does not come with rearview mirrors, but it’s standard size holes, so you can easily get a pair on Amazon.
Alright, that’s it for now. Don’t forget Monday is giving all of our watchers a special coupon code off any of their bikes, including the Gen7 and also their newest fat tire lineup so be sure to use coupon code “TECHWEWANT” to save $300 off any ebike at MondayMotorbikes.com
Next, be sure to read our other reviews of similar electric bikes like the Onyx RCR, Super 73 RX, Sur Ron and more.
