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[Richard230]

Got money to burn?     https://electricmotorcycles.news/curtiss-one-reservations-open/

Kind of reminds me a little of the mid-1970's Sachs Wankel rotary-powered motorcycle.

[DonTom]

Got money to burn?     https://electricmotorcycles.news/curtiss-one-reservations-open/

Kind of reminds me a little of the mid-1970's Sachs Wankel rotary-powered motorcycle.

Where can I find the specs on that bike?

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[JaimeC]

[Where can I find the specs on that bike?

-Don-  Auburn, CA

https://www.curtissmotorcycles.com/curtiss-1-technical

[TheRan]

Too tacky for my tastes.

I was curious when they said it's the first bike Curtiss had made for 115 years so decided to look it up but couldn't find any info about the previous bike. Their Wiki page says the company was started in 1991 as Confederate Motorcycles, built their first gas bike in 1994, and changed their name in 2017 and switched to making electric bikes in a supposed partnership with Zero. Apparently Zero made one for them called Hercules but I couldn't even find a picture of it nevermind any mention of it actually being for sale. The name change is in reference to Glenn Curtiss who founded the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in 1916, 104 years ago. No mention of them making anything other than planes, engines, and a helicopter. Regardless it's nothing more than a name and from what I can see they have no official link to anything Curtiss did all those years ago, they've just taken the name in hopes of profiting from it (because the Confederate name didn't work too well for them).

[DonTom]

https://www.curtissmotorcycles.com/curtiss-1-technical

No specs on the KWH of the battery nor the range?

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[TheRan]

I noticed that too. Where even is the battery? In the "tank" section? Looks tiny, like Zero's 3.6 module small. I assume that's the motor under the seat and the round thing with what looks like a fan at the front of it is part of the liquid cooling system.

[JaimeC]

The battery is in that huge, finned phallus underneath.

As for 115 years, that would be going back to the ORIGINAL Curtiss Motorcycle Company founded by Glenn Curtiss in Hammondsport, NY.  If you're ever in the Finger Lakes region of New York State you owe it to yourself to visit the Glenn Curtiss museum.

[TheRan]

Just the round part? They also need room for the controller so I suppose that would be in the tank area instead. That could be decently sized then, not massive but enough for how far most people would ride a bike like this.

The original Curtiss company doesn't have it's own Wiki page for some reason which is why I couldn't find it, however it is mentioned on Glenn Curtiss' own page (which I would have seen if I actually bothered to scroll down a tiny bit). Would love to see the V8 bike that did 136mph back in 1907, that one's in the Smithsonian. Do you know if the Glenn Curtiss Museum has his tomato soup can carburettor?

[caza]

An expensive piece of art, I don't have the money nor the taste for it.

[JaimeC]

An expensive piece of art, I don't have the money nor the taste for it.

Nailed it!  I can appreciate viewing a vehicle like that in a museum, but I can't honestly see why anyone would want to own one.

[wavelet]

Too tacky for my tastes.

I was curious when they said it's the first bike Curtiss had made for 115 years so decided to look it up but couldn't find any info about the previous bike. Their Wiki page says the company was started in 1991 as Confederate Motorcycles, built their first gas bike in 1994, and changed their name in 2017 and switched to making electric bikes in a supposed partnership with Zero. Apparently Zero made one for them called Hercules but I couldn't even find a picture of it nevermind any mention of it actually being for sale. The name change is in reference to Glenn Curtiss who founded the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in 1916, 104 years ago. No mention of them making anything other than planes, engines, and a helicopter. Regardless it's nothing more than a name and from what I can see they have no official link to anything Curtiss did all those years ago, they've just taken the name in hopes of profiting from it (because the Confederate name didn't work too well for them).

There's no actual connection to Glenn Curtiss; the company decided to rename itself (presumably because "Confederate Motorcycles" has a negative connotation north of the Mason-Dixon Line), and that new name was chosen just to honor him, as he was known for motorcycle speed records.

I don't see the purpose of their living room art non-rideable bikes either.

[princec]

I think it had negative connotations just about everywhere else in the entire world tbh, apart from a few redneck racist backwaters in the deep South.

Cas

[MVetter]

Oh good, cylindrical cells. The battery cell of choice for motorcycles who can't afford to put quality pouch cells in their bikes.


For a mere .... $78,000.

edit- let's have a some funsies with the information they DID release. They are claiming a 399 volt system. Doesn't say max or nominal, but in order to give them the benefit of the doubt I'm going to use that as a max voltage figure. Cylinder cells are pictured. Could be 18650s but I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say 21700s. To further give them the best possible fighting chance I'm going to use Samsung 50G cells as my model which are 5Ah cells.

They would need 95 cells in series to get 399vdc (399 / 4.2 = 95)

This would mean nominal voltage of 346.75, and with a 5Ah cell that means each pack in series is 1.7kWh



This image is from their page, showing a battery rendering. It looks conceivably like each segment there could be 95 cells, and everything beyond that is a parallel pack. The 3 shown would be ~5.2kWh. How many fit into the giant phallic housing? No idea. But I'm gonna say maybe twice that, giving it a 10.4kWh pack or thereabouts. Speculating is fun with concept bikes.

[Richard230]

I agree. speculation is fun, especially for concept bikes that have been hit with an ugly stick and where money is no object. 

[NEW2elec]

MVetter "Oh good, cylindrical cells. The battery cell of choice for motorcycles who can't afford to put quality pouch cells in their bikes."

Maybe they learned they give better heat management from seeing issues with tightly packed pouch cells from an Italian company?


Speculating is fun!