It goes without saying that riding an electric motorcycle entails quite a few adjustments when compared to a traditional gasoline-powered motorcycle. Perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks is range anxiety, as charging stations are still much fewer than gas stations, and juicing up a battery takes significantly longer than filling up a fuel tank.
As such, commuting on an electric two-wheeler takes a bit more planning than simply strapping on a helmet and going on for a ride. That being said, Swedish electric motorcycle brand RGNT and Netherlands-based tech company Here Technologies seek to change this. The two companies have worked together to develop a navigation solution tailored specifically to the needs of electric motorcycle riders. The system is remarkably simple and practical, and offers route planning and other useful features.
It can be accessed through the RGNT mobile app on your smartphone, and works similarly to how a regular navigation app like Google Maps or Waze would. The only difference here is that it optimizes your routes depending on your bike's battery status, the terrain, speed limits, and elevation. As such, you get a bird's eye view of your journey, as well as whether or not you can complete the journey given your bike's current state of charge.
The interface makes use of so-called "Isolines," which are 360-degree graphics that visualize the possible range of your motorcycle given its current battery status. Orange lines represent how far you can go on a one-way trip, while the green lines represent the maximum range for a round trip. Furthermore, you can easily adjust navigation on the fly to direct you to the nearest charging station, should you feel the need to charge your battery. Thanks to these features, RGNT and Here Technologies hope to give riders additional peace of mind and eliminate range anxiety.
Following the announcement of the new navigation solution, RGNT also announced that all brand new RGNT electric motorcycle will come pre-installed with the new software. Additionally, current owners of RGNT's electric motorcycles will be able to download a software update for their bikes that can be wirelessly installed in the near future.
