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[Richard230]

At least in a short article in the Auto section of my newspaper.  And they are still claiming that the C-1 has a top speed of over 100 mph and a 200-mile "operating" range at a cruising speed of 65 mph - from a 8 kWh battery pack.  And this pack will only take 4 to 6 hours to recharge from a 110-volt household electrical outlet.  Prices start at $24,000.  "Get full details at www.litmotors.com"  To my knowledge, no one has actually seen a Lit on public roads except in a promotional video and I have never heard of any journalist actually testing one, much less a C-1 being purchased.  Maybe they should call it the "Lint".   

[Richard230]

And here is a video of the Lit C-1 in action: 

You tell me if this vehicle can be built for only $24K USD.  I would think it would take at least twice that much for them to turn a profit on the C-1.   

[Justin Andrews]

200-mile "operating" range at a cruising speed of 65 mph - from a 8 kWh battery pack.

Is it made from magic and fairy dust?   

[Doug S]

Is it made from magic and fairy dust?   

No, it has the frontal area of a motorcycle and is highly streamlined (I've never seen it without its bodywork before this youtube clip). I'm a bit skeptical of the magnitude of their claims myself, but it might just be possible.

[MostlyBonkers]

I thought I'd bump this as a friend posted about it on my Facebook wall today. I'd love to see the C-1 come to fruition. They're taking pre-orders, so surely there's some confidence it will make it to market? If I was wealthy I'd get one for my commute when the weather is bad. Or perhaps all I need are some waterproofs... I've been commuting for three years into London now and still haven't got around to buying any. I rarely get a proper soaking.

[firepower]

This design has been tried in the past with the UK Quazar motorcycle.
This has potential, isnt it bacically a vetter fairing style shell with a motorcycle built into it.
I think the gyro scopes may be cool idea, but impractical on a energy and size and cost as basic.
Keep it simple and low tech, outriggers are ok to keep it upright till it starts moving.
I rather have more battery and all energy increasing range.
I dont know much about gyros maybe production model will be smaller and more efficeint?

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I have had a deposit on a C-1 for a long time now. I want a solution for touring and all-weather passenger comfort. At the time, I lived in Seattle where all-weather passenger comfort meant a great deal. That's different from a Vetter fairing.

[MostlyBonkers]

From what I gathered on the website, it seems they put the deposits into escrow and you can claim yours back whenever you want, if you wish. If you don't mind waiting, it'll be pretty cool to own one of these things when they do hit the market though.

I'm no expert, but aside from the initial spin-up of those gyros, they shouldn't use much energy. I'd be surprised if they're not sealed units where the flywheel is housed in a vacuum. With the right bearings, they might keep spinning for hours on their own. I love the idea that the regen goes into the flywheels. That should be more than enough to keep them spinning when on the move.

From the video, the gyros did seem to make a fair bit of noise, so that may be a concern. That was on the early prototype though and I'm sure they'll do something to reduce that noise in the cabin.

I wonder if the flywheels charge the battery when you park and switch off. It would make sense to drop all that energy into the battery for long term storage instead of just letting it dissipate. I imagine the gyros have to spin down when parked for any length of time for noise and safety reasons.

[firepower]

You raised some good points about gyro use.
I do hope this gets of the ground, would be like the Tesla of motorcycles, is futuristic and differently cool to attract the crowd that like to be exclusive and different as well as those that want a more safe and comfortable all weather option on two wheels.

I like how they have designed the bike aerodynamically as the starting point and designed the motorcycle around that. I sure it be a difficult but rewarding design.

Look at how much zero motorcycles have evolved since the first models. And they are just traditional simple motorcycle with electrical power train.

These guys deserve praise for trying such a think outside of the box design.

[MostlyBonkers]

+1 firepower, I couldn't agree more.

[Burton]

I know it is a different bike but anyone waiting to see the first converted Elio ?

I could see throwing a zero power-train into a 6800 elio and selling the stock motor / trans etc to help offset the cost.

As for the stabilization gyros ... less they have a kickstand on the C-1 they would need to be powered while the bike is "parked" ... and that consumes energy ... period. Imagine leaving your bike with a low SOC and coming back to find it fallen over ... I am sure the final version of this thing will require a kickstand

FF (feet forward) motorcycle designs have always been a cool idea ... so long as you are not going low speeds or making tight U-turns that is. The stabilization gyros are an acceptable "fix" for the slow speed problem but don't address the U-turn issue ...

Still cool to see this thing in action but rather frustrating to see how long it has been "promised" ...

[protomech]

As for the stabilization gyros ... less they have a kickstand on the C-1 they would need to be powered while the bike is "parked" ... and that consumes energy ... period. Imagine leaving your bike with a low SOC and coming back to find it fallen over ... I am sure the final version of this thing will require a kickstand

http://litmotors.com/faq/

How does the C-1 stay upright?
The C-1 is self-balancing, using two gyroscopes to keep the vehicle upright when stopped. The C-1 has “landing gear” which are deployed when parked to keep the vehicle upright. The gyros are fully controlled by the vehicle, enabling a steer-by-wire system that allows the C-1 to lean itself into and out of turns, maintaining stability at all times. And yes, it has a reverse gear!

[Frank]

Very interesting... not clear to me is whether or not they're using the energy stored in the flywheels for intial propulsion?  That would be pretty unique i.e. trade flywheel momentum for vehicle momentum.  Once moving the energy stored in those flywheels is no longer required for stability.  I wish them luck!

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Very interesting... not clear to me is whether or not they're using the energy stored in the flywheels for intial propulsion?  That would be pretty unique i.e. trade flywheel momentum for vehicle momentum.  Once moving the energy stored in those flywheels is no longer required for stability.

I don't think (from following this for a few years) that the flywheels have much effect on the powertrain; the most they could do is absorb some peaks in current draw, but I would not expect that from a rev 1 production version.

[grindz145]

The lit concept is insanely forward looking and awesome. Aerodynamic efficiency is paramount to their design and you shouldn't be surprised to find 3x efficiency improvement from an ordinary motorcycle design. They have a long way to go until these are casual consumer objects, but sincerely hope that folks will be patient, because the concept is truly revolutionary.