Surron Ultra Bee vs Arctic Leopard XE Pro R: We Sell Both, Here Is the Honest Comparison

We sell both of these bikes. That is worth saying at the top, because almost every "Ultra Bee versus" article online is written by somebody who only stocks one of them, and it shows. We have no reason to talk you out of either. We would rather you bought the right one and kept riding it than bought the wrong one and sold it in four months.

So here is the honest version. These two bikes share a battery specification and almost nothing else. The Surron Ultra Bee HP SW is the bigger, heavier, longer machine. The Arctic Leopard XE Pro R is lighter, shorter, has a bigger front wheel and no belt in the driveline. Which one is right depends far more on your body and your terrain than on any number in the spec sheet.

The specification table

Ultra Bee HP figures come from Surron's own published specification sheet for the HP. Arctic Leopard figures come from our own product data for the machine we ship. Where a figure is not published by the manufacturer, we say so rather than guessing.

Green marks a row where one bike has a measurable advantage for most off road use. Several rows are a fit choice rather than a win, and the Ultra Bee HP leads on published fork travel, published top speed and published wheel torque. Please do not buy a dirt bike by counting table rows. Three of them matter far more than the rest, and we will take those one at a time.

The carrying capacity gap is the one nobody mentions

Surron publishes a carrying capacity of 220 lb for the Ultra Bee HP. Our Arctic Leopard page states 302 lb. That is not a marketing number, it is a load limit, and it covers you plus boots, helmet, armour, hydration pack and anything strapped to the bike.

Belt and chain, or no belt at all

Surron's own specification lists the Ultra Bee HP as primary belt drive with secondary chain drive. The Arctic Leopard runs direct drive with no belt and no jackshaft. This is the single most cited reason we hear from riders who chose the Arctic Leopard.

A belt is not a design flaw. Belts are quiet, they need no lubrication, and on a well set up bike they last a long time. But a belt is a consumable with a tension specification, it does not love mud and grit packed into the pulley, and when one lets go on a trail you are walking. A driveline with one less stage has one less thing to check, one less thing to tension and one less thing to carry a spare for. If you ride deep single track a long way from the truck, that matters. If you ride a track or a field near home, it matters a good deal less.

The front wheel, and why it changes the bike

The Ultra Bee HP runs an 80/100-19 front. The Arctic Leopard runs an 80/100-21 front. Same tyre width, two inches more rim diameter. Both run a 100/90-18 rear, so the rear is a wash.

A 21 inch front is the standard full size enduro and motocross front wheel, and it is standard for a reason. The larger diameter meets an obstacle with more of the contact force pointing upward, so rocks, roots and ruts deflect the wheel less and the front tucks less in soft ground. It also means every enduro front tyre on the shelf fits. The trade is a little more steering inertia and a slightly slower turn in.

Size, and the thing spec sheets get wrong

Here is where it gets counterintuitive. The Ultra Bee HP has the taller seat at 35.8 inches against 34.3. It also has a 54.3 inch wheelbase against 51.2, and it carries 20 lb more. So the Ultra Bee is unambiguously the bigger motorcycle, and taller riders tend to find it roomier.

But seat height is not the same as cockpit room, and this trips people up constantly. What makes a bike feel small to a tall rider is mostly the distance from the pegs to the seat and from the seat to the bars. A bike can have a tall seat and still feel cramped, and a bike can sit lower and feel roomy. The Arctic Leopard's 34.3 inch seat is genuine full size height, not mini moto height, but its shorter wheelbase and compact cockpit are what riders over about six foot tend to comment on. Drop pegs and bar risers are the usual fix and they do work.

None of that shows up in a table, which is why we would rather you sat on one.

About the range figures, because they are not comparable

Surron publishes 71 miles at a constant 31 mph for the Ultra Bee HP, measured with a 154 lb rider, 27 degrees Celsius and a dry flat road. We respect them for publishing conditions at all, though their footnote states the test speed as 40 km/h, which is about 25 mph rather than 31, so their own page is not quite consistent about it.

Our Arctic Leopard page states up to 60 miles without stating the conditions. So the two numbers are not measuring the same thing and you should not subtract one from the other.

What is directly comparable is the energy, because both bikes carry an identical 74 volt 60 amp hour pack, which is 4,440 watt hours. Range from here is down to weight, gearing, tyres, terrain and your right wrist. Ride either of these hard on technical trail and the real figure will land well below the published one. Ride either gently on fire road and both will surprise you. Anybody quoting you a hundred miles on a bike in this class is quoting a number measured at a speed you would not enjoy.

Which one should you actually buy

If you are new to dirt bikes entirely, the lighter bike is usually the faster way to get good, and almost nobody regrets starting on something they can pick up. If you already ride a full size gas bike and you are stepping across, the Ultra Bee will feel more like what your body expects.

Full specifications for the Arctic Leopard, including what we will not claim about its top speed, are in our complete XE Pro R specification breakdown.

One thing to check before you shop anywhere

Both bikes are off road machines. Registration for road use depends entirely on your state, and every dirt bike we sell ships with its manufacturer certificate of origin so you have the paperwork to try. Check your own state before you buy.