8 | 100% Biker | issue 250 | http://www.100-biker.co.uk
100 %^
NEWS
At the heart of the Hades is a massive
162kW motor which produces 217hp and
147lb-ft of torque, making it one of the
biggest battery options of any production
electric bike. In fact, the motor is as
powerful as that on a Zero SR/F and a
Harley-Davidson LiveWire—combined!
But it’s also light years ahead in design,
the work of JT Nesbitt. Nesbitt was
responsible for the Confederate Wraith
and G2 Hellcat, but decided to stay in
New Orleans when Confederate relocated
to Alabama in the wake of Hurricane
Katrina. He went on to design the Bienville
Legacy, a supremely ugly motorcycle,
before recently rejoining his old colleagues
in Curtiss Motorcycles, the company
which grew out of Confederate. What
happened to the Bienville Legacy? We’re
not sure although it was to be built in very
limited quantities; we know three were
built because we ran a feature on them in
100% Biker #197, but the accompanying
claims that the Bienville Legacy was going
to tackle a landspeed record at Bonneville
have gone somewhat quiet.
Like other works of works of Nesbitt,
the Hades has a challenging design
(although perhaps not as challenging as
the Bienville Legacy), its minimalist form
dominated by a huge silver cucumber of a
motor. We wonder whether it’s not going
to be so much riding a motorcycle as
sitting astride a giant shiny suppository.
We also presume that the bike has been
engineered to take the weight of what is a
very substantial motor, although given the
Curtiss team’s history in engineering at
Confederate, we think that’s a given. The
Hades is a premium electric motorcycle
and, as such, it comes with a heftyCURTISS BRINGS THE FIGHT TO HARLEY
Last month we brought you news of Curtiss Motorcycles’ new ‘V8’ electric-powered Zeus. Well, things are moving fast in Alabama as
Curtiss unveils two new prototypes. One is a high-performance, high-end motorcycle called the Hades, but it’s the second, the Psyche,
that is potentially the more interesting...price tag of $75,000 (around £62,000),
although that’s nowhere near the price of
the British Arc Vector.
But it is the Curtiss Psyche that could
prove the most influential and exciting
of the range so far. It has the brand’s
signature girder forks and banana
swinging arm. The cylindrical battery
is fitted across the frame, not unlike a
high-tech version of a boxer engine. The
electronics sit where the traditional fuel
tank would have been. In all, it looks
more like an electric Confederate than
perhaps any of the designs that Curtiss
has unveiled to date, yet in a sleek and
understated form.The information available on the Psyche
details a 61-inch wheelbase, a height of 37
inches, ground clearance of some 9 inches
and a weight of 375lbs. There will be a
choice of either a 48 or 96 horsepower
motor and a combined range of 160 miles.
Oh, and it will be a comparatively cheap
$30,000 (or about £25,000). That’s just
$200 more than the Harley LiveWire and
it’s clear from comments by the Curtiss
team that it has the LiveWire very firmly
in its sights.
Now, Harley’s LiveWire has a 105hp motor,
larger than even the upgraded option on
the Psyche, but the LiveWire also weighs
some 175lbs more than the Curtiss bike. ThePart bike part cucumberCURTISS PSYCHE Gunning for the LiveWire