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The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Curtiss Pushes the Electric Motorcycle Design Envelope

By Paul Crowe

Curtiss Hades electric motorcycle designed by JT Nesbitt

While I was away, my inbox never slept and judging by the number of notices coming in for concept, pre-production or in-production electric motorcycles, you would think the end of fossil fuels had already arrived. The discussion of that possibility deserves a post all its own, but I thought I’d highlight a few of the latest rechargeable two wheelers, in no particular order, to see what we’re dealing with.

First up is the most far out in the design category, Curtiss Motorcycles. It’s the rebirth of Confederate Motorcycles under a new and politically correct name, but also completely dedicated to electric power. The CEO is still Matt Chambers and their latest design, the Hades, is from none other than JT Nesbitt, who previously worked with Confederate on the Wraith and Hellcat.

Curtiss Zeus Radial V8 electric motorcycle

The other design currently in their lineup is the Zeus Radial V8 with batteries laid out in a V8 array, reminiscent of the bike designed and ridden by Glenn Curtiss in 1907 setting a speed record of 136.3 mph. Each cylinder holds a battery in visual homage to the engine it replaces.

Both designs are a great example of what I said years ago, that electrics, without the internal combustion engine to work around, would be able to reshape motorcycles into almost anything you can imagine. This design freedom will not only bring us a lot of new designs, but designers, too. I’m looking forward to it.

Curtiss Hades electric motorcycle designed by JT Nesbitt

As to the specifics of these two, the specs are the pretty much the same for both; a proprietary axial motor of 217 horsepower and 147 foot-pounds of torque, battery capacity of 16.8 kWh at 399 volts and a Cascadia Motion PM100 Propulsion Inverter putting it all together. Both bikes are priced at $75,000.

Neither bike is currently being manufactured, production is slated for 2020.

These designs will occupy a very limited niche market, the same as the Wraith, Hellcat and various other models did for Confederate. I’d expect the usual suspects to be signing up for pre-orders.

If visual impact is the measure of success, these bikes have it. How will they perform in the real world? When they become real, we’ll see. What relationship will they have to the larger market for electric motorcycles? Probably the same as that previously held by Confederate to the world of motorcycles in general.

Curtiss Zeus Radial V8 electric designed to look like the record holding bike by Glenn Curtiss in 1907

I like both of these designs, I think their appearance is striking and they may spur other designers to get a little more creative when they’re coming up with new models of their own. Curtiss is worth watching.

Curtiss Motorcycles

Posted on July 24, 2019 Filed Under: American Motorcycles, Concept Motorcycles, Electric motorcycles, Motorcycle Design Tagged With: Curtiss Motorcycles, electric


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Comments

  1. Paul says

    July 24, 2019 at 12:24 pm

    Wow, both bikes are fantastic.
    Nice to see you back to it too.

  2. John Byrd says

    July 24, 2019 at 12:59 pm

    Now this is up-setting…. I am a “noise, smoke, and smell” type of engine guy, and as soon as this page came up, I thought “wow, I like that bullet looking bike”. I need to go out, start the Studebaker, and sit behind it a few minutes to get myself back on track. Sheesh, I’m old and set in my ways and this happens….

    • Paul Crowe says

      July 24, 2019 at 1:29 pm

      Which leads to an interesting question: How much of a motorcycle’s appeal is visual? Think about the motorcycle or car or whatever you’re walking away from, then you stop to turn around and look at it because it just looks good and you want to take it all in. Think about walking out into the garage and gazing upon your ride as it sits there, quiet and still. Yes, the sound of an engine plays a part, a big part in the experience, but appearance is no small thing.

  3. M. A. Dont says

    July 24, 2019 at 5:51 pm

    “If visual impact is the measure of success, these bikes have it.”

    Yea…. no they don’t.

    • Paul Crowe says

      July 24, 2019 at 6:04 pm

      Visual impact doesn’t mean you’ll like it, which you obviously don’t, it means it stands out in appearance. Getting someone’s attention gives you an opportunity to build interest with whatever other qualities your product, whatever it is, may have. Stumble there and the initial attention is wasted, So, IF visual impact is your aim and you measure success that way, they succeeded. If you measure success in other ways or with some other combination of factors they may not.

  4. VIctor Herbert says

    July 24, 2019 at 6:27 pm

    These things are uglier than a bar of homemade soap in my opinion. However I am 77 years old and have been rideing a Triumph TT Special on the street for many years.

    Just one old guys opinion.

    • Paul Crowe says

      July 24, 2019 at 7:07 pm

      So, what do you have against homemade soap? Lots of guys these days see no appeal in old Triumphs, either, though I kinda like them, had an old Trident myself, of course it never ran. You’re not the target market for something like these, nor am I. The potential buyer of a Hades or Zeus is all about the visual statement of riding up to an event on something no one else has. After he’s done that a few times, the bike will sit for extended periods and then get sold for something else that’s new. Ever notice how many Hellcats show up for sale with somewhere around 500 miles on the odometer, or less?

      Bursting that design bubble where every motorcycle has to look like motorcycles always have, is the point of something like this. Roll with it, smile if you like, shake your head at these crazy designs, but keep watching. You’re witnessing the birth of a new design paradigm, motorcycles that can look like anything at all. Batteries that look like fossil fuel engines? Sure, why not? Motors that look like they’re out of an old sci-fi movie? Yep. It’s all good.

      This is why I plan to live to 120, I want to see how everything turns out.

  5. Steve says

    July 24, 2019 at 6:46 pm

    I am starting to come around to e-bikes.
    if your typical mission requires endurance within range of the batteries, go for it I say,
    Besides its a good excuse to keep a fuel burner in reserve for trips and longer rides.

  6. John says

    July 25, 2019 at 7:22 am

    Both bikes are clean and artistic, very striking. Maybe when I win the lottery. One thing about electric bikes that no on ever talks about is the lack of engine / drive train noise. Would be great to blast around in stealth mode, but would other traffic and pedestrians even notice you? Perhaps the electronics allow for choices of faux engine noises or maybe I would have to do the playing card on the spokes, ha ha. I am not saying “loud pipes save live”, not true, just annoys people. However, super quiet?…….

  7. JD says

    July 28, 2019 at 10:48 am

    https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/1/20676854/electric-cars-artificial-safety-noise-low-speeds-european-union-rules-2019-2021
    i googled : why have noise on electric vehicles

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