Electric motorcycles have become extremely impressive in recent years, but for many, they’ll never be able to replicate the charisma of petrol-powered two-wheeled machines. But can technical innovation go some way to make up for the lack of suck, squeeze, bang and blow? That’s what Kymco is hoping.
Way back in 2018, the Taiwanese motorcycle giant revealed the SuperNex, an electric motorcycle with a gearbox, following it up a year later with the RevoNex, which worked on a similar principle but in a naked bike form. The concepts appeared again at the EICMA show in 2022 with new styling, and although they were absent from the Kymco stand in Milan for 2023, the RevoNex still seem to be a going concern.
“We want to be the pioneer in the electric evolution, so we want to explore possibilities…that is one possibility,” Kymco chairman Allen Ko told Visordown when asked about the RevoNex at EICMA 2023.
Interestingly, Ko was happy to admit that making an electric bike thrilling wasn’t all that easy. Nonetheless, Kymco is keen to “Infuse excitement into an electric motorcycle, even though it’s something that is difficult”. He added: “We are doing our best to give people more personality.”
Asked if he was speaking more generally or specifically about the RevoNex, Ko confirmed the project’s continuation, before stopping himself from spilling the beans further. “We are still working on that. I’m going to stop…” he said.
The RevoNex was originally supposed to enter production in 2021, but as we stare down the barrel of 2024, a showroom-ready version is yet to emerge. If and when it does arrive as a bike that the public can buy (and given Ko’s comments, it does seem like that’s happening), it should be one of the most exciting electric motorcycles around.
The inclusion of the manual gearbox should make it more interesting to ride than competitor bikes, but despite the interruption in the power delivery the system will surely make, the RevoNex is still set to be very fast. Figures previously revealed for the concept suggested 3.9 seconds from 0-62mph, and 8.7 seconds from 62-124mph.
