Mission RS: The sportiest production electric bike!

When one thinks of electric two-wheelers, the first image that strikes is that of a puny little scooter with a limited range and even more limited speed. But things have changed a lot in the past few years with many major two-wheeler manufacturers pumping in the moolah for R&D owing to the belief that electric bikes are the future. A glowing example of this is the KTM E-SPEED which is slated to hit production in 2015 (Related: KTM E-SPEED electric scooter to hit production). But many two-wheeler enthusiasts have long argued that electric motorcycles won’t be able to give them the same thrill as superbikes with traditional internal combustion units.  Well, Mission Motors is on a mission to break this myth with their Mission RS (race special) and Mission R.

The Mission RS is essentially a  road going version of the motorcycle on which rider Steve Rapp clocked lap times similar to that of the Supersport class at the Laguna Seca MotoGP/AMA/e-Power round in 2011. But unlike Rapp’s machine, the RS comes fitted with a headlight, taillight and mirrors to be road legal. Now let’s talk about some numbers which would make many of the established supersports bike green with envy, the RS’s electric mill has been tuned to produce 162PS of power and an equally impressive 163Nm of torque. The motorcycle packs a 17 kWh battery pack, which according to Mission says is good enough for a 321km range (225km real world) and a top whack of 257km/h.  Though it boasts an impressive top speed, the main criteria for Mission was to make the bike go around a track as fast as possible and for this the RS has been loaded with BST carbon fibre wheels, Ohlins WSBK-spec suspension, and MotoGP-spec Brembo brakes. 

Mission would only build 40 examples of the RS signifying the difference in seconds by which it demolished its competition at the Laguna Seca circuit. Apart from the limited edition run, there is one more hitch as every motorcycle is priced at close to Rs 34 lakh. But there is a spark of hope for the budget-conscious buyer as Mission would also launch a more affordable bike tilted ‘Mission R’.  It is speculated that the Mission R would be an entirely new machine and would employ lower-spec components like stock Ohlins suspension, Brembo brakes, and forged aluminum wheels to keep the price down. It will also be equipped with battery pack options of 12 kWh, 15 kWh and 17 kWh, along with other customisable options. While the bike's pricing hasn’t been revealed yet, expect it to hover around Rs 17 lakh.

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

Both the motorcycles would also feature the custom developed MissionOS software, which apart from conveying typical riding information on the touchscreen dashboard, would also give you GPS direction via Google. The bike would also come with Bluetooth connectivity compatible with Mission’s planned helmet featuring a heads-up-display (HUD). If you thought this much gadgetry would be more than enough, well there’s more! The motorcycle has been equipped with a stabilised 1080p camera which is mounted on the nose of the bike above its headlight so the rider can record on-board footage with a data overlay (adios GoPro!). Unlike mainstream two-wheelers, Mission has endowed the bike with a built in reverse but no information has been disclosed regarding the parking of electric motorcycles on slopes or incline with some sort of parking brake.

The motorcycle also features two on-board chargers; the company claims it can charge the battery by up to 9KW in two hour.  It is expected that Mission would launch both the bikes by early 2014 with production of the Mission R commencing once the Mission RS is delivered to all its customers.