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 somehow compensate for the lack of 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 operated on a similar principle but in a naked bike form. The concepts reappeared at the EICMA show 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 an ongoing concern.
“We want to be pioneers in electric evolution, so we want to explore possibilities… this is one possibility,” said Kymco’s president, Allen Ko, to Visordown when asked about the RevoNex at EICMA 2023.
Interestingly, Ko admitted that making an electric motorcycle exciting is not as easy as it seems. However, Kymco is committed to “bringing excitement to an electric motorcycle, even though it is challenging.” And he added, “We are doing our best to give more personality to people.”
Questioned whether he was speaking in a more general or specific way about the RevoNex, Ko confirmed the continuation of the project, before stopping himself from revealing more details. “We are still working on it. I will stop…” he said.
The RevoNex was supposed to start production in 2021, but as we approach 2024, a version available for sale has not yet appeared. If and when it arrives as a motorcycle that the public can buy (and considering Ko’s comments, it seems that this possibility will happen), it should be one of the most interesting electric motorcycles on the market.
The inclusion of a manual gearbox should make it more interesting to ride than competitors’ motorcycles, but despite the power interruption that the system will certainly cause, the RevoNex should still be very fast. The numbers previously revealed for the concept suggested 3.9 seconds from 0-99.7 km/h and 8.7 seconds from 99.7-199.5 km/h.
