Motorcycles

Retro ReVolt Electric Coming Soon

Company teases a new classically styled ebike for the US.

October 13, 2020

ReVolt Electric Motorbikes is teasing this brand-new retro-styled model it says is destined for North America. The classic lines hint at BMW design influences.ReVolt Electric Motorbikes

Players in the two-wheel electric vehicle space continue to pile in, with companies around the world recognizing that the global appetite for these machines is only expected to grow. The latest firm looking to capitalize on the trend is Alternet Systems Inc. (ALYI), a company that cut its teeth on alternative energy storage research and development solutions (i.e., lithium-ion batteries, etc.), but has since expanded into the electric mobility business with a new US-based subsidiary called ReVolt Electric Motorbikes.

This image on the parent company’s page also shows clear visual ties to a prewar BMW R71 model, though this one refers to the sidecar-equipped, Africa-bound bike, with few other details.Alternet Systems

The first major step for ALYI was the concept of its proprietary ReVolt electric motorcycle, a machine designed to support the motorcycle taxi ride-share industry in Africa. The ReVolt’s design isn’t finalized, says ALYI, but from what little we’ve seen, the first incarnation was essentially a BMW R71 clone retrofitted with an electric motor and a sidecar attachment (with manufacturing done by another partner). In fact, that ReVolt looked suspiciously like a Ural, and though we haven’t been able to confirm more info, the company has said the design has evolved and it has confirmed 2,000 orders in Kenya, with an engineering firm working on manufacturing capacity to mass produce it later this year.

The company says it will be releasing more images and details of the Retro ReVolt soon, and it will be available as a conversion kit as well.ReVolt Electric Motorbikes

But ALYI also just teased another electric vehicle in the works, called the Retro ReVolt, which is apparently already in production. Unlike the first bike, which is designed for commercial release in Africa, the Retro ReVolt will be sold in North America as a completed motorcycle as well as in a conversion kit for the do-it-yourself market. The image ALYI released with this teaser is still vague, but we can see classic touches like spoked wheels wearing vintage Firestone rubber and covered by full fenders, a teardrop tank, a solo seat, laydown monoshock, and an exposed drive shaft connecting the big finned electric motor to the rear wheel. In other words, prewar BMW influences dominate. Other details are scant, but it’s more info than we got about the other bike model.

The company says it plans to release more images over the next few weeks and start taking orders by the end of this year.

revoltmotorbikes.com

Although Ural rolled out a similar-looking all-electric prototype based on its cT model and powered by Zero’s Z-Force motor in 2018, we haven’t seen any sign since. Could the two companies be in cahoots?IMZ-Ural