Electric motorcycles have become impressive in recent years, but for many they will never be able to replicate the charisma of gasoline-powered two-wheelers. But can technical innovation compensate in any way for a combustion engine? That’s what Kymco hopes.
Back in 2018, the Taiwanese motorcycle giant unveiled the SuperNex, an electric motorcycle with a gearbox, followed a year later by the RevoNex, which worked on a similar principle, but in the form of a naked bike. The concepts appeared again at the EICMA fair in 2022 with a new style and, although they were absent from the Kymco stand in Milan for 2023, the RevoNex still seems to be a going concern.
“We want to be the pioneers in electric evolution, so we want to explore possibilities… this is a possibility,” Kymco president Allen Ko told Visordown when asked about the RevoNex at EICMA 2023.
Interestingly, Ko happily admitted that making an electric motorcycle exciting is not that easy. However, Kymco is committed to “bringing excitement to an electric motorcycle, even though it’s difficult”. He added: “We’re doing our best to give people more personality.”
Asked whether he was talking more generally or specifically about RevoNex, Ko confirmed the continuation of the project, before refraining from revealing any more details. “We’re still working on it. I’ll stop…” he said.
The RevoNex was supposed to start production in 2021, but as we approach 2024, a version available for sale has yet to emerge. If and when it arrives as a bike that the public can buy (and given Ko’s comments, it looks like that possibility will happen), it should be one of the most interesting electric bikes on the market.
The inclusion of the manual gearbox should make it more interesting to ride than competing bikes, but despite the interruption in power delivery that the system is sure to cause, the RevoNex should still be very fast. Previously revealed figures for the concept suggested 3.9 seconds from 0-99.7 km/h and 8.7 seconds from 99.7-199.5 km/h.