> Incase any of you have not been tot he electricmoto
website in awhile, they have updated the look of the
pages.
> http://www.electricmoto.com
Pretty nice. Do we know who did it?
Here's the article from Forbes:
Back in the early 1990s, Ely Schless owned a Hollywood
special-effects company that built all manner of magical mechanical
gizmos. He created dancing McNuggets, the cuddly Snuggle fabric
softener bear and scads of whirling, twirling gadgets in the Short
Circuit movies. On weekends, Schless raced motorcycles, and he
eventually got to thinking that there had to be some way to combine
the two oddball things he loved.
Ten years later, the result is what you see on this page: an
astonishingly quick, battery-powered motorbike called the Blade XTZ
that equals or outperforms every gas-powered bike in its weight class
(200cc--250cc). Best of all, it does so without making a sound. "This
isn't cheap environmental transportation," says Schless, now CEO of
Electric Moto Corporation, a small firm operating out of Ashland,
Oregon. "This is a high-performance motorcycle that will go up
against anything out there its own size."
Call it the stealth motorcycle. Watching a Blade noiselessly scramble
around a traditional dirt-bike track is a bit like watching TV with
the sound turned down. No high-pitched engine whine, no choking blue
smoke, no teeth-grinding vibration. And at 178 pounds, it's 25 to 50
pounds lighter and creates more torque (250 pounds) than most of its
competition.
The Blade also proves a good deal less challenging to operate than
gas-powered bikes: Turn the key, open the traditional twist-style
throttle and take off. There is no clutch and there are no gears. The
bike gets about four hours out of a single charge when ridden
off-road; on-road it can travel 60 to 70 miles before recharging.
Maximum speed is about 50 miles an hour. (There is a programmable
speed control switch that will reduce the bike to half power, making
it safer for young riders.)
Energy is provided by a lithium-ion battery pack, a technology
similar to the one that powers your cell phone and laptop. "The first
batteries were horrible," Schless says. "They could burst into flames
like those Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ) computers. Today
they're greatly improved and much safer."
Since both bicyclists and motorcyclists have evinced interest in the
Blade, deciding where to place the front hand brake was one of the
engineering challenges. Mountain bikers prefer the brake on the left,
motorcyclists on the right. The Blade comes off the line
right-mounted, but Electric Moto will set it up any way you like.
Another option is a lighting package that includes front headlamp and
rear taillight. "Take a look at our website, check out the options
and let us know what you want," says Schless. "We'll get you on the
road, or off-road, and nobody will even hear you coming."
The Blade XTZ costs $9,950. Add $475 for lighting package and street
tires. www.electricmoto.com.
--
The Electric Motorcycle Portal
http://www.electricmotorcycles.net/
Electric Motorcycle Listserv
http://www.electricmotorcycles.net/listserv
