If you’ve ever wondered, and surely you have, what it might be like to own a World War II BMW sidecar outfit similar to the ones that thundered around Europe checking everyone’s papers were in order, then you’ve come to the right place.
ReVolt (yes, really) is a firm conceived by 'Merica’s Alternet Systems, Inc to, and we quote, ‘apply its portfolio of lithium battery technologies to empower commercially-viable, environmentally-sustainable alternatives to existing consumer markets’.
ReVolt has partnered with a manufacturing company to first produce a motorcycle based on the 1930s BMW R71 motorcycle with sidecar, as utilised by the German Army in WWII.
The 'ReVolt Classic Electric Motorbike with Sidecar' (classy name) will be powered by an electric motor with an Alternet Systems designed lithium battery setup.
The first model is under construction now and expected to be complete early this summer for evaluation and testing. ReVolt plans to have a limited production final product ready for the ‘holiday season’.
That could be the summer but it might be Christmas, which the Americans often call ‘holiday season’ for fear of offending someone.
The notion of adding a sidecar to carry loads of batteries is a good one on the face of it. But, of course, you then have the problem inherent in all sidecars, in that you now have a vehicle with no roof that can't filter through traffic, so have all the drawbacks of a bike, plus all the drawbacks of a car, in one ill-handling vehicle. It's also unlikely to be able to wheelie very well...
