Let's face it, if you've had your hands on internal combustion engines for most of your life, this oncoming transition to electric motors, whether in motorcycles or cars, is totally different and pretty confusing. No more cams or crankshafts, no fuel pumps or water pumps, instead, you have motors and motor controllers. Forget gasoline, it's all about batteries. If this makes … [Read more...]

Perhaps the end times are nigh, Harley Davidson is building an electric motorcycle. Called Project LiveWire, it is being presented as sort of a beta test: ... select consumers across the country will be able to ride and provide feedback on the bike, helping to shape the future of Harley-Davidson’s first-ever electric motorcycle. Interesting. Several months ago, I … [Read more...]

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, opened up all of their patents for electric vehicle technology, removing them from display on their patent wall. Instead of protecting their intellectual property in court, he essentially said, "Here they are, go build electric vehicles." That's certainly not something you see every day and I doubt there's going to be any rush by … [Read more...]

Except for a number of one off projects by individual builders, electric motorcycles tend to be something either sporty and racer like or built for off road use. Companies getting into the e-bike business usually avoid cruisers, until now, that is, because Voxan, the newly revived French motorcycle company, just introduced the Wattman at the Paris motorcycle show. (Whether this … [Read more...]

You remember the Lit Motors guys, they're the ones doing the gyro stabilized enclosed two wheeler that sits still without any side stands because of the gyros in the base of the bike. Well, if you were paying attention to the other projects they had in motion at the time, you might have noticed Kubo. It's what they call a 2 wheel electric pickup truck because of the big cargo … [Read more...]

Pablo de Chaves wanted us to know about his latest work, something off in a different direction from previous efforts, he's gone over to the electric side and designed a naked bike with a very exposed mechanical and minimalist look. If the name Pablo de Chaves doesn't ring a bell immediately, you can look back at his other projects on The Kneeslider, the D1200R and the 599BL … [Read more...]