The Dakar Rally is in contrast to some other race on the face of the Earth. And Segway is without doubt one of the final bike makers you’d anticipate finding in it. There are many causes for that, however maybe the most important is the truth that the Chinese language producer doesn’t produce a single bike that’s able to severe off-road driving.
That was true … till Segway began engaged on the Mission 1000 challenge. It was an formidable plan to take part within the “Future Mission 1000” class of Dakar, which is devoted to electrical autos specifically.
The results of the challenge was the Segway X1000, a correct, fully-electric off-road bike. The corporate even went so far as unveiling the bike at CES 2025 and weirdly sufficient, there hasn’t been a lot hype round it. Right here’s why I believe it deserves your consideration.
Screengrab from Segway Powersports
For starters, know for a indisputable fact that the bike was created particularly for Dakar – that means regular of us such as you and me might by no means get to see it on showroom flooring.
And since it’s Dakar-specific, the bike has quite distinctive underpinnings reminiscent of a double-shock rear suspension system, which is not one thing you’d discover even on rally bikes these days. This setup optimizes weight distribution and house by addressing the requirement to include a large 14.5-kWh water-cooled battery pack as a structural element of the chassis.
That’s a significantly greater battery pack than the likes of the not too long ago launched Livewire S2 Alpinista (10 kWh) and twice that of the extra off-road-focused Zero FX (7.2 kWh). It additionally will get three driving modes: eco, commonplace, and sport.
Efficiency-wise, the X1000 can obtain speeds of about 90 mph (145 km/h) because of its 50-kW electrical motor. Regardless of not being the quickest bike on the market, it does promise to take off on any sort of terrain because of its swift torque supply – it peaks at 140 lb-ft (190 Nm).
Screengrab from Segway Powersports
Nonetheless, it does weigh loads – 529 lbs (240 kg), to be actual – which is greater than 100 kg (220 lb) heavier than most gasoline-powered competiton bikes. In consequence, it received’t precisely be the nimblest bike within the race.
The bike is competing within the brand-new Future Mission 1000 class, which was created particularly to allow autos utilizing various fuels to take part within the famend race. Though the Segway X1000 is completely electrical, Future Mission 1000 rules permit producers to compete with hybrid or hydrogen-powered bikes.
Apart from bragging rights for outperforming the competitors, the Future Mission 1000 class permits groups and producers to check experimental know-how in probably the most difficult setting. So it’s not precisely a contest.
Dakar
Segways’ group is testing the bike, not essentially racing it, over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of harsh desert terrain. The group consists of Yang Jie, Xu Jianhao and Benjamin Pascual, all on three separate X1000s. Jianhao positioned sixteenth within the 2019 MXGP of China, whereas Pascal competed in Loretta Lynn’s 2024 450 B Restricted class, so that you most likely have not heard both of those names earlier than. However that is not the purpose.
The fast tempo at which Segway constructed an electrical bike from scratch, entered it into Dakar, and is even competing with it over a interval of 10 months exhibits us how far alongside we’ve are available electrical tech. The X1000 is ushering in a brand new period of fierce competitors for electrical bikes, and Segway was the final bike-maker I had anticipated to be captaining that ship.
This is the video from CES 2025 by way of Segway Powersports US.
Segway X1000 | Segway Powersports
Whereas Segway has confirmed for us that there are not any plans presently for a client model of the bike, one has to surprise how far alongside we’re from a day after we see Segway’s bikes lining up towards manufacturing unit Hondas and Yamahas to compete within the longest rally raid on the planet. Wild days.
