Dutch motorcycle concept houses electric powertrain in carbon

Dutchstartup NXT Motors revealed its plans to launch its first productionmodel, the Rage naked sportbike. Built around an impressive carbonfiber monocoqueframe, the concept's full specs are expected to be finalized in thecoming months, once the EU type approvalprocess had been completed.

Itwas one of the stars of the Motorbeurs2019showin Utrecht, Netherlands. Asa high-end-lookingelectricmotorcycle made in the Netherlands, it was bound to attractconsiderable attention, despite the fact that its introductionrevealed little more than what the eye can see.

Theunveiled concept is a naked sportbike that still keepsmost of its tech hiddenunder a veil of mystery, given that there are neither any specs todescribe it, nor any other practical information for potentialbuyers, such as pricing schemes or specific delivery times.

Whatwe do know is that the development process started in 2017 with aprototype (shown above) that looked quite different from the current concept. The initial test bike used a steel trellis frame and therear suspension incorporateda single shock absorber in a cantilever geometry. Somewhere along thedevelopment process, NXT replaced the tubularframewith a carbon monocoque and relocated the rear shock to a moreupright position.

The little information that has been revealed references plansto produce this first model in two versions, Rage and Raw.Unfortunately, this is the only mention of the Raw variant, sothere's no description of possible differences compared to theRage.

Asfor the Rage, it will be powered by a fully electric motor, focusingon the balance between sporty riding and comfortable commuting, witha 7-inch digital display and LED headlight.

"Electricmotors offer the opportunity to throw traditional designs overboard,and to go for what is truly groundbreaking," said Harm Besseling,Director and head of Technical Development. "NXT Motors wants tooffer its customers a motorcycle that uses the maximum of technicalpossibilities and offers them the ultimate experience. A powerfulproduct, but also the data that an electric motorcycle develops isthe basis for that customer experience. In the pipeline of NXTMotors, alongside the Naked Bikes launched today, there are alsoextensions to other segments, including enduro, super sports andtouring models."

NTX Motors wants to have the Rage available by summer (North Hemisphere) in the Benelux countries, i.e. the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg, before expanding to other EU countries and, finally, other continents.

Source:NXT Motors