A new player in the battery powered bike field tests at Dakar. We caught up with the team behind the Discanto electric bike.
What is the bike called? The name of the bike is DISCANTO which is a word that comes from the term discantus supra librum (descant “above the book”). It is a form of Gregorian chant in which only the melody is notated but an improvised polyphony is understood. So it is the highest and more noticeable part of an entire music composition. This Discanto electric bike has been built to participate in the Mission 100 2024 Dakar. This is the class created for new technology like electric or hydrogen fueled vehicles.
THE R&D MANAGER/TEAM
What prompted you to build an electric rally bike? What do you look for when developing an electric bike?
In 2011 we started TACITA after a riding experience we had in an open field. We were riding with a regular bike and a mother with two children hearing the noise of the engine immediately ran to embrace the two little boys. We passed again with an electric bike and the same mother didn’t move. We saw the future.
So developing an electric bike means not only doing something for a better future for our children but it is also a challenge. It allows us to explore and design a thing that has never been done before, with the aim to be way better than regular bikes. This goes through many different tests and new ideas in order to not just produce an electric bike but to produce a great bike overall with great balance, great performance and that is great to ride. The cruise model is a bike that you can ride for hours giving you joy, pleasure and a fatigue free feeling. These elements are crucial and the ride experience is what comes first for us.
This is why we created FORMULA CORSA, which is not just our racing team it is a full R&D laboratory. We push boundaries, and we experiment constantly finding the best solution that will then be used for our commercial bikes and this is done in the most difficult environments like the Dakar.
What was the hardest element of design when it came to building this bike from scratch?
This bike has a longer frame compared to all the others we have built so far and we worked a lot to find the best balance and positioning for the different elements. We have the only bike with a rear battery added on top of the ones in the front thanks to our patent. This allows us to have a longer range but especially a better balance overall.
Aerodynamics was another challenge because we had to find the way to mount the instrument tower in a way that was not impacting on the air resistance. We came out with a new design in the front part that gives three advantages. A lift on the front which makes the bike lighter, a cone of “no air resistance” which surrounds the pilot and the perfect lodge for instruments.
Weight and resistance are the two worst enemies for an electric bike as they impact on power consumption and ultimately on range. The design has been created always keeping this rule in mind.
Talk us through the components of the bike and the specification.
Because we are participating in the 2024 Dakar in January we are not revealing any technical detail as yet. Sorry, but I think you can understand this.
THE COMPANY BOSS/CEO/GM
Where did the company start from? How big is it today?
We created Tacita in 2011with the goal to design and manufacture electric and performance motorcycles that are innovative and unique in their characteristics and to build the perfect electric motorcycle. Our aim is that it will be able to compete against traditional combustion engine ones. We went through 11 years of research and development to achieve this result and we are now entering in the first year of proper industrial production.
We have two main models on sale in 2024, one for cruising and one for rally in many different configurations including a motard setup. The Discanto will be available for customers in 2025 and it is a Crossover. We also produce and sell pitbikes for young bikers.
The company has roughly 30 people working in the factory in Poirino in Italy and is managed by Pierpaolo Rigo, the Chairman, founder and technical director. His wife Dinamaria Ollino, is Vice President, co-founder and responsible for finance and control. Luca Oddo, is a partner and CEO of the company and Luca Pietrobelli is a partner and CFO of the company.
What is the future for Tacita? How many bikes do you want to sell and in which countries in the next five years?
Tacita will continue to design and improve in many categories like cruiser, motocross, rally, maxi, crossover and pitbikes. There are plans to extend the business and we are already developing and producing power trains for race cars and for watercraft. The Tacita technology is now expanding also into other fields like tractors and trucks.
In 2024 we will produce and deliver 150 bikes and this number will grow in the next four years up to 3000 bikes a year. We are selling mainly in Europe now and in 2025 we will start sales in North America. We will expand our markets in the following years and we would love to enter into Australia and New Zealand too.
What are your goals at Dakar?
We have prepared some different configurations for the electric motors, controllers and batteries to be tested during the 10 stages to find the best combination of riding pleasure, power, balance and weight. So the bike will not be the same every day. The goal is obviously not just to participate. We also want to improve performance and come to the point where we are able to challenge regular bikes in future Dakar Rallies.
FIVE THINGS WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT TACITA
- The company is named for Tacita the Goddess of Silence at the time of the Ancient Romans. But the silence we are talking about is not the silence of the bike, it is the silence of the nature you can appreciate while riding a Tacita Bike.
- We own our technology development and items in particular the controller, electric motor and BMS with specific software designed by us.
- We were the first electric motorcycle ever to race an African rally in 2012 at the Merzouga Rally.
- In 2020 we were the first electric motorcycle ever to race a stage at the Dakar Rally.
- We are the only electric motorbike with a 5 speed gearbox, water cooling system, and running on 120 volts.\