MISSION RS



Mission Motorcycles, are now being made available to the public. These good-looking, very high-tech bikes, designed and built in the U.S. (in the San Francisco area), are far from inexpensive, but they’re based on the proven architecture of the Mission Motors racebike that Steve Rapp rode to victory in the FIM/TTXGP race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2011.



RS stands for “Race Special,” basically a street-legal version of Rapp’s bike that comes out in the summer of 2014 and is limited to 40 models (one for each second in Steve’s margin of victory at Laguna). At US$ 56,499 (after a US$ 2500 federal tax credit), the Mission RS ain’t cheap.


Although the RS has same electric powertrain as the S model, it’s available only with the 17-kWh battery pack. As such, it’s quick, able to hit 60 mph in “under 3 seconds” and able to reach a claimed top speed of 150 mph. What’s more, it has the same ranges as the R with the 17-kWh pack: 140 miles in “real world” riding and 240 in city riding.

It’s the bike’s suspension and other hardware, which includes what Mission calls “the most advanced electronics and traction control package ever seen on two wheels.” In front, the RS has an Öhlins FGRT200 inverted fork with NIX30 cartridge internals, TiN surface treatment and billet-aluminum radial caliper mountings. It’s the same front suspension seen in MotoGP. And in back, where the single-sided billet-aluminum swingarm resides, an Öhlins TTX36 shock and linkage system are on duty. Preload, ride height, and high and low speed compression and rebound damping are adjustable front and rear.


The RS’s wheels are also a significant upgrade, seven-spoke carbon-fiber units from BST that Mission says are the lightest in production. They measure 17 x 3.5 inches in front and 17 x 6.5 in back, shod with 120/70 and 190/60 Dunlops, respectively. Stout Brembo GP-4RX CNC radial calipers are used in front, clamping a pair of T-Drive fully floating 320 mm front rotors. Brembo’s SuperSport P2 CNC Billet caliper handles rear braking, teaming with a 245 mm stainless rotor.

If you order the Mission RS with the GP Package (US$ 72,499), you get even better hardware, essentially the best available. This includes an Öhlins FGR200 gas-pressurized front fork, an inverted unit that has TTX25 cartridge internals, a piggyback reservoir and billet-aluminum radial caliper mountings. It complemented in back by an Öhlins TTX36MkII twin-tube shock absorber with a piggyback reservoir.


The brakes are also improved, upgraded to four-piston, Brembo Moto GP units. Besides CNC-machined billet construction, these calipers have a hard anodized coating and 32/34mm pistons, and the rotors themselves are Brembo WSBK/AMA units that are 6mm thick and said to offer WSBK stopping power and heat dissipation. Forged magnesium wheels, Marchesini M7R Genesi models, complete the package.

Mission Motorcycles says its mission is to make electric motorcycles that outperform traditional motorcycles in performance, riding experience, user experience, range and price.