2 wheel drive, huge torque electric bikes launched in Italy (and they look this trick)

2 wheel drive, huge torque electric bikes launched in Italy (and they look this trick).

Check out these two-wheel-drive electric off-roaders that are now on sale in Italy.

Called the Due (nothing to do with the Benelli or Bimotas of the same name), the bike is available in both X (for off road) and R(on road) versions. The two versions share chassis and engine parts but differ in suspension (USD or Ohlins), wheels and tyres. And you can see that they look pretty different, too.

Italian bike builder Armotia (a two-man team made up of Antonio Ranalli and Andrea Andreucci) uses a brushless electric motor that makes 15bhp which is split between the front and back wheels. It kicks out 370Nm of torque on the X and 37 on the R – that’s a massive amount and to manage that the bike’s brain can switch the percentage of power needed to the front and back wheels as required under serious acceleration. Each bike also has three selectable riding modes.

The battery is a 72V lithium-ion unit with a 6.1kWh rating and Armotia says that it run for 100km until flat (but that’s only a run time of 1hr 30 mins) and comes with a recharge time of just five hours. Armotia says that it will also customise the look of the bike to suit the individual tastes of the buyer, it’ll do this by 3D printing bespoke bodywork elements which it’ll design with the buyer’s input.

What might put a few people off is the price though. According to some early-look reports on the bikes, they cost a wallet-groaning Euro 14,900 (£13,265 at today’s rate).

For more information CLICK HERE.

Spec for the Due R:

Frame: Oval steel trellis frame
Wheelbase: 1410mm
Seat height: 900mm
Ground clearance: 310mm
Weight: 129kg
Front suspension: USD 41mm fork
Rear suspension: Monoshock with pre-load
Front wheel travel: 240mm
Rear wheel travel: 220mm
Front brake: ø260mm floating disc, 2-parallel pistons Brembo caliper
Rear brake: ø220mm floating disc, single piston caliper
Front wheel: 1,85” x 19”
Rear wheel: 3,50” x 17”
Front tyre: 110/80 – 19 trail
Rear tyre: 140/80 – 17 trail

Spec for the Due X:

Frame: Oval steel trellis frame
Wheelbase: 1410mm
Seat height: 910mm
Ground clearance: 320mm
Weight: 126 kg
Front suspension: USD 43mm fork
Rear suspension: Ohlins Monoshock with pre-load
Front wheel travel: 260mm
Rear wheel travel: 220mm
Front brake: ø260mm floating disc, 2-parallel pistons Nissin caliper
Rear brake: ø220mm floating disc, single piston caliper
Front wheel: 1,60” x 21”
Rear wheel: 2,25” x 18”
Front tyre: 80/90 – 21 enduro
Rear tyre: 110/80 – 18 enduro