From a London-based motorcycle start-up comes a look at yet another path through the future of electric motorcycles. The Agility Global Saietta was presented to the world at the recent MCN London Motorcycle Show (3 – 6 February 2011), and the new bike certainly drew its fair share of attention.
The ultra-stylized and exotic design may possess an Italian sounding name and aura, but it is entirely English in execution. The name, Saietta, comes from an Italian Apennine dialect and is a phonetic spelling for the word ‘thunderbolt’ in that tongue. It is an appropriate designation for a powered two-wheeler which gets all of its forward motion from electricity stored in on-board batteries.
Those batteries are mounted in the front of the Saietta underneath the special, light-weight composite material which makes up the fairing. Agility has also installed relatively high and wide handlebars and has given the machine an upright seating position to go along with the low center of gravity. The odd-looking shape does take some time to get used to due to its brave departure from the norm, but the Saietta does have its own very recognizable look. The electric drive system which Agility created for this bike is said to be up to 73% more efficient than an internal-combustion engine at transferring power from the energy source, the batteries here, to the wheels.
Two iterations are to be produced. The first will be the Agility Saietta S which will come equipped with enough battery space to propel it for around 50 miles, but with a 0-to-60 mph acceleration time under four seconds. The up-rated Saietta R doubles that range to 100 miles, but also slows down a bit due to the weight of the extra batteries; its 0-to-60 time is around five seconds.
The S model will retail for £9,975 (~US$16,000), and the R will be set at £13,975 (~US$22,400). Pricing is a little high compared to some competitors, but Agility does bring a certain differentiation to their
Saietta – you will certainly stand out no matter where you take it.
The electric motorcycle industry is in a constant state of flux at this point in its development, so each and every entry in the category has the chance to radically alter the direction of development. Will the Agility Global Saietta alter the landscape of the industry? Maybe, maybe not. However, the Saietta is a worthwhile entry into the market and one to which insiders will be paying close attention.
