![]() ![]() Marc is the CEO, and…although he has proven himself over the last few years to be a capable CEO, he also has an engineering degree. Tesla’s early success also set the stage for smart entrepreneurs to see the opportunity and to be able to draw venture capital to fund new products that were appropriate for a lithium-powered EV drivetrain. And…it also showed that one useful strategy for a new start-up in a completely new field was to start with a premium product for a small upscale demographic. The Tesla car proved that a lithium-battery based electric vehicle could have good performance. No milestone event takes place in a vacuum, and…Alta was formed in 2010, just two years after the Tesla Roadster had been in production. They are…Marc Fenigstein, Derek Dorresteyn, Jeff Sand, and David Drennan. It was started by four friends that were all motocross enthusiasts. I’ll get back to that in just a few minutes… Where it beginsĪlta started out as a company in October of 2010, located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay with the name “BRD”. ![]() One of the things that distinguish the Alta design is the advanced liquid-cooled motor, which helps it manage heat-spikes from rapid-fire acceleration cycles. The rapid-fire speeding up and slowing down on dirt bikes is hard on the motors, controllers, and batteries, so…if someone is making an electric dirt bike that does this well, then…the engineers at that company are doing something right. And once you get on the main highway? you could cruise for as much as an hour without needing to stop and then accelerate up to cruise again.Ĭompare that to dirt bikes. Even the LiveWire sports bike is no replacement for any model in their range of cruisers, tourers and trikes.As a comparison, street motorcycles accelerate hard after the light turns green, but…then they enter a cruise-phase that can last for over 90% of the time they are running up to the next red light. Just don’t expect their range of electric bikes to replace any of their current line-up. “We are energised by the great enthusiasm among our dealers who also want Harley-Davidson to define and lead two-wheeled electrification.” “Already, hundreds of US dealers have raised their hands to be among the first EV-ready dealers,” he says. Harley is now planning their own satellite product development centre called H-D LiveWire Labs in Silicon Valley to develop electric bikes and other future product.Ĭompany boss Matt Levatich says they have started conducting EV Readiness seminars with dealers. Their partnership ended a couple of months ago before Alta was doomed by a lack of financial backing, despite technological acumen and even some race wins. Interestingly, Harley partnered with Alta Motors to gain vital battery technology before the latter ceased operations, despite the injection of Harley funding. They call them “lightweight urban” bikes. However, Harley also recently announced range of smaller electric bikes and scooters to be introduced in the next four years.Įlectric Everything: Peugeot Gets a Grip on DAB Motor Tech The big American has been trumpeting their entry to the electric motorcycle market with the LiveWire electric sports bike next year. Which seems to make a mockery of companies such as Curtiss and Lightning making big, powerful electric motorcycles. Big electrics doomed? Curtiss Zeus Prototype electric motorcycle So rather than electric motorcycles replacing petrol motorcycles, we are more likely to see a growth in these urban electric bikes first. Most are mopeds or “ebikes”, some with pedal assistance.īut even these models are improving with ABS, dual seats, luggage cargo capacity, increased range and higher top speeds. Similarly, Europe is bursting with electric scooters and small bikes. The biggest market for electric motorcycles in the world is China where small electric motorcycles and scooters dominate. Instead, two-wheeled electric power seems to be making more of a mark in urban mobility. Urban mobility Electric scooter/bike from E-Scooter (Image: Intermot) It’s just that it might not initially take the shape of bikes to replace our beloved machines. It is still the top-selling electric motorcycle company in the world.Įlectric power is definitely coming to two wheels. Meanwhile, Zero pulled out of Australia for the moment citing unfavourable exchange rates and taxes. You’d be forgiven for thinking that is the case given the recent demise of American off-road electric motorcycle company Alta Motors (pictured above) and the departure of Zero Motorcycles from Australia.īut Alta was doomed because they made high-end off-road motorcycles for a market that didn’t want them. Are electric motorcycles doomed even before they really get started? ![]()
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