KYMCO RevoNEX

[boars]

https://electrek.co/2019/11/05/kymco-revonex-electric-motorcycle-unveiled-gearbox/ (a lot of pictures and such in the link)

[youtube]SHVahtvZcHU[/youtube]

Looks like KYMCO are still intent on releasing an electric motorbike with a gearbox (6 gears).

No price or real meaty details besides:

• capable of 50mph (80kmh) in first gear
• 3.9s for 0-62 mph (0-100 kmh)
• 8.7s for 62-124 mph (100-200 kmh)

And a really rough ETA of 2021 ... so nothing next year sadly.

Comments sections everywhere will be ranting about the gears but KYMCO seem pretty adamant that gears == fun.

Personally I like changing gears on an ICE bike, I ride smaller bikes that require more work to enjoy...
Even so I'm still not sure how this would feel in practice on an electric but I'm willing to give it a try. :wink:

 

[Routybouty]

Ugh a gearbox... No thanks. Looks good otherwise.

 

[boars]

You don't want more things to maintain?

 

[DanGT86]

Looks cool! Gear strategy seems odd. Why make the first gear cover 40% of the speed range then bunch the other 5 gears up over the remaining 60%? Considering most EVs do fine with one gear I'd think a rider would rather have an extremely low speed gear if they had to have a multispeed gearbox.

I'm guessing most riders will use 1 or 2 gears most of the time like the brammo.

I had an EV car conversion with a 5 speed for a while and shifting was pretty boring. The gears all pretty much felt the same. The motor temp gauge was the only thing that cared what gear I was in.

Gears or not I'm excited to see more full size E motorcycles on the market. Cant wait for pricing.

 

[sleepy_tired]

I think it's multi-faceted.

Lack of competition in the space, lack of experience explains the multi-speed gearbox. Some of the engineers are new to electric motors and don't understand all of the trade-offs. Market research might have shown that customers don't have experience with electric motors and think multiple speeds will make them faster as well.

Also the gearbox and chassis might be a off the shelf thing. Stuff they already have for other motorcycles. So instead of re-engineering a new chassis and new reduction gear they took stuff they were already using.

Also there may be some corporate or legal definition of 'motorcycle' they have to deal with. On a low-level technical comparison... the only real difference between scooters and motorcycles is that scooters have automatic transmissions and motorcycles have manual ones. It might be a corporate culture thing that motorcycles have clutches.

For whatever reason they have, it's probably not a good one.

Why make the first gear cover 40% of the speed range then bunch the other 5 gears up over the remaining 60%? Considering most EVs do fine with one gear I'd think a rider would rather have an extremely low speed gear if they had to have a multispeed gearbox.

When you have enough torque shifting just slows you down. When dealing with larger permanent magnet motors they have such a abundance of low-speed torque that it's quite likely the limitation on performance isn't in the motor, but in the ability for the chassis and tires to transfer the torque to the ground.

If you have ever driven a real 4x4 with a hi/low transfer case it becomes very obvious very quickly that lower gears doesn't always mean you accelerate faster.

 

[Grantmac]

Would have been better with a two speed having a reduction then direct gear using a planetary which locks for direct. Simple and effective.

 

[macribs]

6 speed gearbox? No thanks.

Electric motorcycle with a clutch? Yes please. 8)
But leave out the gearbox and just make a singlespeed.