Royal Alloy is looking beyond its established retro-scooter range with RA Life, a new concept embracing outdoor leisure products, retail spaces and electric racing. Stan explores the Arden project, its semi-solid-state battery technology and an extraordinary electric race machine. Stan reports…

Royal Alloy Life

Previously, Stan reported on Royal Alloy’s ground-breaking electric range. This month he reports that the company has its eyes on much greater prizes…

It’s incredible to think that it was only back in 2017 that I first really became aware of the Royal Alloy brand. That year the company had a small stand at the EICMA show in Milan, and although the range on display was small, I was convinced that its retro-auto scooters had potential. Not long after chatting with the RA team, I mentioned them to one of my contacts in the Piaggio Press Office. He shrugged his shoulders, instantly dismissing Royal Alloy as a threat. Not quite a decade after that first encounter, it’s fair to say that Royal Alloy dominates the retro-scooter market and in a couple of reporting periods has even outsold Vespa in the UK. However, the company’s successes aren’t restricted to the British market. They are a huge player in Australia and the Philippines, are making ground in other Asian markets and the German distributor is so confident in the brand’s attraction to traditional scooterists that he chose this year’s Eurolambretta to launch the JPS in a limited edition colour scheme.

A (very different) way of life

As we reported in a previous edition, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a Royal Alloy event in China, the headline act of which was the launch of new, electric variants of the current range. However, that wasn’t the only purpose of the gathering; the company was also launching a new concept called ‘RA Life’. Oh, and an insanely powerful electric race motorcycle. More of that one in a moment, but firstly it’s best to settle any worried faces by reassuring RA fans that none of these future ventures signal a move away from the retro-scooters that have proven to be so popular. If anything, the company’s future sees that concept being embraced with even more enthusiasm.

In a future edition I’ll explain how the Chinese scooter scene is very different to our own and that, without any doubt whatsoever, it will increasingly affect how we enjoy both classic and modern scooters (Spoiler alert: it’s not all bad news!). For now it’s enough to say that the Chinese ‘enthusiast’ scene is far more family orientated than our own, with events bringing together owners whose only common interest may be the ownership of a Royal Alloy scooter.

It’s also a scene that’s far more leisure-based than anything we know in Europe, with an emphasis on enjoying the outdoors. Designed to embrace that culture, ‘RA Life’ is the company’s response to the demands of its loyal band of customers.

The Arden project

During my years at Scootering I’ve managed to embarrass myself more times than I care to recall. However, never have I wanted to squirm so much as after asking Charlie, a Chinese engineer who’d developed the EV we tested previously, why the next stage in RA’s development had been called ‘Arden’. “It’s the forest,” he replied. Seeing my blank face he continued, “In Shakespeare.” Unfortunately, Shakespeare was not on the curriculum at Garforth Comprehensive School (or I wasn’t paying attention if it was) and by this point I must have been looking decidedly uneasy. Thankfully, he put me out of my misery and explained, “The Forest of Arden in As You Like It. It’s a place where dreams can come true.” I nodded, noting that this young Chinese engineer knew more about my national playwright than I did and could graciously explain the concept to me in his second language. Not my finest hour…

Anyhow, back to RA Life. The concept comprises three elements, each of which supports the core business of producing scooters. These are outdoor pursuits, followed by dedicated retail spaces and finally a race project.

Fresh air and exercise.

As I’ve already mentioned, the Chinese scooter scene has a strong emphasis on the outdoors and the Arden project is a way of inserting some of Royal Alloy’s semi-solid-state battery technology into that space. Amongst the products designed to support the camping side of these activities are a range of high-capacity power banks. These all feature retro-styling, with the highest capacity unit resembling a 1950s ‘Bush’ type radio. However, this is more than a pretty rework of a fairly commonplace item. It’s powerful, and I mean really powerful. With a rated capacity of 648Wh, a maximum AC output of 2,000W and 30A 240V/110V connections, its 5kg weight won’t just power a weekend’s camping, it’ll also act as an emergency charge for the Royal Alloy EV. Sitting alongside that are a smaller power bank and a high-pressure compressor, but RA’s contribution to outdoor activities isn’t just electric.

Sitting alongside EV scooters at the launch event were, wait for it, Royal Alloy bicycles. However, any British RA fans with aspirations of pedal power are likely to be disappointed. These are folding bicycles, and the UK imposes heavy tariffs on imports of folding bikes, making their import to these shores uneconomical.

However, if you’ve any little Royal Alloy fans in the family, there’s the prospect of ‘balance bikes’ that’ll hook them into the brand at an early age. As these slide into the category of ‘merch’, it’s probably time to move into the area of retail space.

Shop till you drop

In fairness, Royal Alloy aren’t the first motorcycle brand with this one. There’s already a flagship Vespa store in Milan, BMW Motorrad has numerous prestige stores around the world and in France there’s an expanding chain of multi-franchise ‘Moto Parc’ sites which offer dealerships, clothing outlets and restaurants on one site.

Although the locations for flagship Royal Alloy stores haven’t yet been announced, the concept follows the established pattern of all products under one roof. This will include clothing, scooters, cycles, camping/leisure goods and a coffee shop/bistro. When it comes to merch, judging by the samples on display at the launch party these have been well designed and thought through. Whether it’s the aforementioned balance bike, T-shirts, key rings or mugs there’ll be something for every pocket. Unfortunately, there are no plans at the moment to obtain EU/British Standard approval for the range of Royal Alloy helmets. That’s a real shame because there are some stunning designs.

Electric racer

Finally comes the ‘Arden Race’, which is the next stage of development of the semi-solid-state battery technology used in the EV scooter. As we reported previously, Royal Alloy is in the vanguard of developing high-performance two-wheeled EVs and the RA EV’s performance is mind-blowing; a street-legal scooter that accelerates at the same rate as a GSX-R1100 is something that we’ve all dreamed of at some point. However, the motor in that scooter is only mapped to utilise a fraction of its power and that’s not because of fears about rider competence. Just as with conventional tuning, every ounce of power comes at a cost and with an EV, increased power means hotter batteries. In effect the RA EV is tuned to the point at which it can safely run without the requirement of water cooling, which comes with weight and cost implications. However, the Arden racer has no such qualms.

From a powertrain that weighs only 22kg, RA’s engineers have managed to squeeze wheel torque exceeding 1,000Nm, which is 737lb-ft in old money. Putting that into perspective, a TS1 will typically deliver around 18–25Nm. Range figures aren’t available but I’ll go out on a limb and guess ‘not far’. Which is fine as it’s not intended for a gentle commute…

The standard version will come equipped with 21” front/17” rear wire-spoked wheels and slick tyres but, drum roll, there’s also an Extreme model. This will come with an 18” rear wheel and knobblies that’ll perform better off road and, “Allow riders to deactivate the DTC (Dynamic Traction Control) system to perform wheelies on unpaved surfaces.”

Future-retro

For now, it’s worth emphasising that although they remain a niche producer, it’s a niche that they dominate and Royal Alloy is continuing to grow and expand. In a future edition we’ll take a more detailed look at the Asian scooter scene, with an emphasis on China, explaining how it’s increasingly important to enthusiasts around the globe. I’ll also try to convince you that the continued success of the retro-auto is important whether you ride an auto or indeed a classic scooter.

Words: Stan

Images: Royal Alloy Global