New Photos and Video of Suzuki Extrigger Electric Monkey Bike Concept

Suzuki has released new photographs of the Extrigger, the company’s electric minibike recently unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Suzuki also released a video of the Extrigger in action, though oddly the audio seems to have been left off.

A potential electric competitor to the Honda Grom or Kawasaki‘s mini-supermoto KSR Pro, the Extrigger is powered by the same 580 W AC synchronous motor that propels Suzuki’s e-Let’s scooter. Suzuki did not release the Extrigger’s specifications, but the e-Let’s claims an output of just 2.3 hp and 11 ft-lb.

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By those numbers, the Extrigger is much less powerful than the 125cc Honda Grom which claims an output of 9.7 hp at 7000 rpm. It does help however that the Extrigger has a claimed weight of 137 pounds compared to the relatively hefty claimed curb weight of 225 pounds on the Grom. The e-let’s motor also claims higher torque output than the Grom which promises 8.0 ft-lb. at 5500 rpm; and because it’s electric, the Extrigger would deliver full torque at the first twist of the throttle.

One unique feature of the Extrigger is the adoption of visible light communication (VLC) technology developed by Casio. A circular light located above the headlight and in the middle of the taillight flashes different colors to wirelessly transmit data. A smartphone app can read the flashing lights and translate it into data. It’s not clear how practical this method of communication is on a motorcycle, though VLC can transmit signals at Ethernet-level speeds of 10 Mbits across a distance of 1.2 miles.

[Source: Suzuki]

By Dennis Chung