Building clean
In the world of design, all kinds of design, the old mantra that "Less is More" remains as true today as it was when Philippe Starck turned late 20th century design orthodoxy upside down in the 1980s. As true today as it was when Walter Gropius (Bauhaus) and Le Corbusier turned architecture and design orthodoxy upside down in the 1930s.
Now, motorcycle electrification is proving to be an attractive design platform through which new generations of talented designers can channel their inner minimalism to great effect. Stylishly simple has been the electric motorcycle market's design default aspiration for a decade now.
One of the businesses driving the "new age of the electrification enlightenment" has been Saroléa - an iconic Belgian brand that was founded in 1850 and went out of production in 1963; the brand was acquired in 2008 by Belgian twin brothers Torsten and Bjorn Robbens.
The Saroléa mission has been to develop and produce high-performance 100% electric race machines. Built by hand at the company's workshop in Belgium, all components are designed and built by Torsten Robbens, who has a background in motorsport, aerospace and military manufacturing.
DC-AFAM chain and sprocket
The SP7 race bike was near the podium at the Isle of Man TT Zero race for two years - finishing fourth in 2014 and fifth in 2015 - recording an average speed for the one-lap event of 106 mph (171 km/h).
Subsequent data logging and other issues forced a withdrawal from the race in 2016, and since then the company has been focussed on pursuit of its vision to "develop the ultimate road legal electric motorcycle based on our race bikes". The goal is limited edition street models based on the same technology and performance as its SP7 TT race bike.
That search saw them create the Manx7 and the N60MM.01 streetfighter and N60MM.07 Café Racer style electric motorcycles in collaboration with Antwerp based The Mighty Machines (MM) - which brought Saroléa into contact with well-known MM Creative Director Philippe Stella.
After spending a year working on the N60MM.01 for Saroléa with motorcycle professional Jeroen-Vincent Nagels (while working on the MM project), Nagels and Stella had the idea to translate their leisure time enthusiasm for flat trackers into an electric flat tracker concept. The design of the bike that became the 'Trevor' was done in California by former Alta man John McInnis (who has since moved on to be with LiveWire).
HAAN 19" spoke wheels
Stella and Nagels returned to Belgium (from Spain) to co-found Trevor Motorcycles. The gloriously minimalist flat track inspired 'Trevor' electric motorcycle being handbuilt in series volume by Saroléa in Belgium and showcased at EICMA by DC-AFAM in November 2021.
As it should, the design simplicity camouflages the attention to detail and the quality of the execution and components selected and specified for the 'Mighty Black' DTRe Stella.
The goal that Stella and Nagels conceived while living at Cadaqués in Catalonia was to "create a sustainable and agile electric motorcycle for all terrains, from the urban jungle through the city's harbour into the country. A motorcycle that could reach 90 kph with ease, as an instant reaction to the 260 Nm of torque at its rear wheel".
The DTRe Stella has an air-cooled, brushless DC3 motor in a chrome molybdenum trellis frame with an up to 11 kW, 2.7 kWh Li-ion C-battery (upgrades available in 2023). Dutch built 19-inch Excel/Takasago 7000 wheels by Haan and the Domino HAS handlebar speak to Stella's flat track enthusiasm with a lightweight, precision-machined AFAM X sprocket, partnered with a DC chain to get as much of the power as possible into the Dunlops.
Suspension is Öhlins' 43 Blackline front fork and Öhlins' Blackline coil-over mono shock absorber at the rear. The body is in robust, durable, lightweight ABS and the brakes (front and rear) are made in France by Beringer. Fully street legal, the DTRe Stella is A1 (EU) licence-friendly.
www.trevormotorcycles.com
www.sarolea.com
