Motorcycles

Horwin goes tech-crazy on its new high-performance electric scooters

Horwin goes tech-crazy on its new high-performance electric scooters
Horwin is bringing its new Senmenti X and Senmenti 0 machines to EICMA, loaded with tech
Horwin is bringing its new Senmenti X and Senmenti 0 machines to EICMA, loaded with tech
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Horwin is bringing its new Senmenti X and Senmenti 0 machines to EICMA, loaded with tech
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Horwin is bringing its new Senmenti X and Senmenti 0 machines to EICMA, loaded with tech
The Senmenti 0 delivers far more than most folk would expect from an electric scooter
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The Senmenti 0 delivers far more than most folk would expect from an electric scooter
Cameras, radars and a brace of other sensors feed a deep learning AI system that ... wants to help in any way it can
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Cameras, radars and a brace of other sensors feed a deep learning AI system that ... wants to help in any way it can
The Senmenti X concept places swingarms at the front and rear. The rider's feet appear to rest behind the swingarm pivots
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The Senmenti X concept places swingarms at the front and rear. The rider's feet appear to rest behind the swingarm pivots
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Austrian-designed, Chinese-made electric motorcycle brand Horwin is hitting this year's EICMA motorcycle show in Milan with a super-scooter loaded to the gills with gadgetry, and a second wild concept that aims to upend traditional chassis design.

The Senmenti 0 delivers frankly massive performance figures for what's essentially a maxi-scooter. With some 600 Nm (442.5 lb-ft) of rear-wheel torque, this unassuming-looking commuter is allegedly capable of rocketing you from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 2.8 seconds, effectively staying nose to nose with Suzuki's GSX-R1000 superbike up to highway speeds, at which point the Gixxer will have enough revs on the clock to wake up and start actually trying.

The Senmenti will continue accelerating briskly up to a claimed top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph), giving it a rightful place in the middle lanes of Autobahns even if you'll need to be watching the mirrors pretty closely if you venture into the fast lane. This is a robustly excessive top speed for a scooter, and one matched by a robustly excessive 16.2-kWh battery pack capable of charging up in 30 minutes on a suitable supercharger, then delivering an impressive 300 km (186 miles) of range if you cruise at a decent 88 km/h (55 mph).

The Senmenti 0 delivers far more than most folk would expect from an electric scooter
The Senmenti 0 delivers far more than most folk would expect from an electric scooter

If that seems like a lot for a scooter, strap in, because Horwin has peppered this machine with more than 30 cameras, sensors and deep learning processors in an effort to establish itself as a technology powerhouse. We're talking real-time tire pressure monitoring, front and rear mm-wave radars for blind spot and collision warnings, hill-start assist, descent control and auto-hold.

Cameras and sensors around the bike enable a "sentry mode" to keep it safe wherever you park it – or at least to dob in the culprits if it's stolen or damaged. The cameras are also designed to watch the road conditions and the rider, in order to adapt the bike's power output to match your habits as it learns how you deal with different conditions.

A hearty no thanks from me on that one, unless it's able to discern from a steely glare and a stream of obscenities when a rider doesn't want any help working the throttle. The AI brain will also try to figure out which are the cool bits of your ride, so it can auto-record selfie videos and snippets from the other cameras.

Cameras, radars and a brace of other sensors feed a deep learning AI system that ... wants to help in any way it can
Cameras, radars and a brace of other sensors feed a deep learning AI system that ... wants to help in any way it can

Its keyless ignition system can be triggered by a key fob, a Bluetooth connection or a phone app. The seats and bars are heated, there's a reverse mode to get it out of tight spots, there's ABS, traction control, three-level adjustable air shocks and a "fully-automatic windshield," which in a perfect world for me would automatically detach itself from the bike and place itself in the bin. This being an imperfect world, I assume it raises and lowers itself according to your speed, which sounds very annoying.

The Senmenti 0 appears to run conventional forks, so we've got no idea what the strange contraption wrapping around to the front axle might be. But the other concept Horwin is bringing to EICMA goes a fair bit further out there.

The Senmenti X is designed to roughly match the 0's performance figures, but uses a new architecture Horwin claims will "fundamentally solve the triangle paradox of performance, range and weight," with a design that's electric from the ground up, and integrates the battery, motor and controller as part of the structure.

The Senmenti X concept places swingarms at the front and rear. The rider's feet appear to rest behind the swingarm pivots
The Senmenti X concept places swingarms at the front and rear. The rider's feet appear to rest behind the swingarm pivots

It looks like the old Akira motorcycle shape again – reliably signaling that this thing is highly unlikely to ever hit the road. If it does, it'll do so with dual front and rear swingarms, natty blue wheel covers and a center-hub steering arrangement of some sort. But it won't, so we may as well enjoy it for what it is: a wacky sci-fi concept bike. And it does look like a fine one of those. It'll be fun to see in the flesh.

Source: Horwin

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5 comments
5 comments
Nik Bermudez
What these companies fail to understand is that people don't need or want performance electric motorcycles/scooters. What people want is practical commute. This is why these companies fail.
vince
Price? Specificstions?
DavidB
The 0’s specs sound great, but both models are butt-ugly.
drumalis
Some people very much appreciate a dose of performance on their practical commute. If the price is reasonable and the ride characteristics are good with reasonable range and charging options I would be interested. I don't need all of the technological gimmickry but hopefully it doesn't raise the price too much. It would be nice to know how much it weighs and how much under seat storage it has.
guzmanchinky
Those sound properly bada$$!