UPDATE: According to Mission Motors’ Edward West, the single-sided swingarm weighs 13.6 lbs alone, and 18.8 lbs with the slider for the chain tensioner/wheelbase adjuster installed.
The Mission R electric superbike by Mission Motors is one of those motorcycles that looks great by itself in a photo, and then looks even better once you see it in person. Up-close it is easier to appreciate the finer details that went into making the Mission R, like the all-carbon “fuel tank” and battery enclosure, the chrome-moly trellis frame, and of course the single-piece billet aluminum swingarm that was produced by Speedymoto.
Like most things built by Speedymoto, the Mission R swingarm could be a piece of art in its own right (I’ve got a few Speedymoto parts on my Streetfighter for this very reason), and the Oregon-based company has posted some behind the scenes shots and details of its work. Photos and more after the jump.
Machined down to single-sided perfection, Speedymoto started the Mission R‘s swingarm from a single piece of aluminum billet that weighed 80 lbs (the finished product feels much lighter in-person). From its outward appearance, the Mission R’s swingarm looks like a massive piece, but flipping the unit over exposes its hidden underbelly, and intricately machined out “deep pocket” trellis that both lightens the swingarm and increases its rigidity.
Following Mission Motors’ specs, Speedymoto also built a unique chain tensioning unit that slides in-plane with the Mission R’s swingarm on two machined aluminum rods, thus allowing the chain tension and overall wheelbase to be adjusted without changing the ride height of the race bike. The linear wheelbase/chain adjuster design is a marked improvement over most single-sided swingarms, which have an eccentric adjuster that rotates to adjust the chain tension, but also raises/lowers the rear height of the motorcycle in the process.
The last piece of ingenuity on the swingarm is the slightly off perpendicular rear shock absorber mount, which keep the Öhlins TTX unit clear of the mass-centralized 3-phase AC induction motor, yet close enough to the center of mass to keep in-step with Mission’s goal of getting as much of the Mission R’s bulk centered around the electric motor, and in-plane with the bike’s axis of steering.
The result speaks of itself, as both Mission and Speedymoto have put together a very professional package…consider our Christmas officially ruined already in January. Can you spot the other parts Speedymoto built for Mission Motors on the Mission R?
Speedymoto Mission R Swingarm Build Picts:
Mission R Electric Superbike:
Mission R Chassis with Fairings Removed:
Source: Speedymoto
Comments