WEIRDLY the EICMA show in Milan unearthed a bit of a strange occurrence last week, as KYMCO used the Milan show to update the SuperNEX and RevoNEX electric motorcycle concepts.
The normal route with announcing a new motorcycle is to release a concept and then, generally sometime later, announced a toned-down, and much more conservative production version to the world. It’s a tried and tested method although Taiwanese manufacturer KYMCO seems to have gone the other way.
We first set eyes on the SuperNEX at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show in 2019 when we were invited out there for the official launch. Not long after that, the RevoNEX naked bike appeared, although no official public launch was confirmed.
Now, the automotive giant that is KYMCO is cranking up the crazy dial, and has given both bikes a complete aesthetic makeover, yet still no launch date!
The two electric motorcycle concepts stay fairly true to the original concept, with both bikes boasting a manual transmission and clutch, just like a petrol-powered bike, although the more sporty SuperNEX comes equipped with a chain drive and the RevoNEX with a belt. Stats and specs for the bikes are very thin on the ground, and when I spoke to the KYMCO CEO, Mr Alan Ko, at the Tokyo show, he was remaining tight-lipped on what the important numbers were.
So what is new with the KYMCO electric motorcycle concepts?
Basically, it’s the styling. With there being such a long lead-time between the concept being released and (as yet un-) announced officially, the original design of the bikes was starting to look a bit dated. Both have been given a bit of nip-an-tuck, with the SuperNEX sports bike gaining a more aggressive front end, and the RevoNEX roadster a cleaner more modern design.
Both bikes are also now clad in a strange kind of hexagonal ‘skin’, shrouding the internals of the bike in what looks like matt-finished plastic. It seems to have done the trick and both bikes do indeed look bang up to date. The only question that remains though, is if we are to wait a further four years before these things actually hit the road, how many more updates are KYMCO going to have to make to these ‘concept’ motorcycles?
