36 amcn.com.au
The Zeus is the kick-off model in a series of
Curtiss-branded electric bikes with varying levels
of performance, and sticker prices starting out at
$US20,000 – a further contrast to Confederate’s
previous status as the brand of two-wheeled
choice for America’s rich and famous, at prices up
to $US155,000.
Celebrities ranging from Holly wood A-listers
Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Nicholas Cage through
to rock idols Bruce Springsteen and Steven Tyler,
and country music star Tim McGraw, are to be
found in Confederate’s roster of high-profile
owners, often with more than one in the garage.
And Confederate’s founder and CEO, Matt
Chambers, is hoping they’ll be equally ready to
go green with Curtiss.
“Curtiss Motorcycles will focus on producing
a range of electric-powered two-wheelers which
will fit every pocketbook, with the Zeus as the
prototype,” Chambers says.
“The Curtiss models will deploy a modular
architectural system, the design of which we’ve
filed numerous patents on, and our all-new
E-Twin powertrain and batteries will have
superior weight management compared to any
other two-wheeled EV.
“The geometry and ergonomics will be
benchmark level, too. Whole new levels of safety
have been designed into the Zeus. We’re turning
many pages here, and our mission is to future-
proof the all-American hot rod.”
Chambers’ foresight in acquiring the Curtiss
trademark seven years ago parallels the late
Claudio Castiglioni’s purchase of the rights to the
MV Agusta name six years before restoring the
Italian brand to the marketplace. It also had the
kind of vision the Curtiss founder possessed.
“Glenn H. Curtiss was three years ahead of
Indian in creating the American V-twin – which
Indian then copied, just as Harley-Davidson did
later,” Chambers notes. “He was running 136mph
on a motorcycle when those guys were bragging
about doing 50 or 60mph – and then he got bored
and went off and essentially created the modern
aviation industry.
“He was a very brave man too, because he not
only rode his own motorcycles at high speed,
but he also f lew the aircraft and seaplanes he’d
invented. He was a man’s man, a guy who took
inordinate risks, who was obviously an incredible
technologist. But he’s unknown to the world
today – we aim to fix that!”
Led by Curtiss’s design director, 25-year-old
Jordan Cornille, the Zeus turns traditional
motorcycle design and styling on its head,
attempting to redefine the look and design of an
E-bike in making the batteries the focal point.
The 14.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack
is carried in a housing milled from solid
aluminium. It’s known as an inverted T-Block
format and is designed to hint at the layout of a
conventional Boxer engine.
Curtiss plans a total of five platforms – three
based on a twin-battery format, with the T-Block
joined by a V-Block and P-Block (for the aptly
named Porcupine), and two single-battery
configurations, a Slant Block and a Vertical Block.
GUESS WHAT?
GLENN CURTISS BEGAN
manufacturing his own
500cc single-cylinder
motors in the back
room of his bicycle
shop, fuelled by a
carburettor he adapted
from a tomato soup can
with a gauze screen
to pull the fuel up by
capillary action!Chambers reveals that these two singles will be
known as the Eros and the Hades, while (besides
the Zeus) the other two twin-battery bikes will be
the Medusa V-Block and the Hercules – the latter
being the name under which Glenn Curtiss sold
his own bikes.
All the twin-battery bikes will be available as
production models in 2022 at a target price of
$US30,000 each – but those versions will use a
cast-aluminium monocoque frame-cum-battery
container, and with a lower level of performance
than the higher-priced billet aluminium models
built to individual order. A carbon fibre-framed
version will also be available.
It’s intended that the cast-frame singles will
retail for $US20,000 each, within the same
timeframe. That’s about double the price of
a 2018 Zero FXS, with the Zeus and its sisters
likewise priced at around twice the current
American retail price of a Zero DSR.
However, all will have twin motors, Chambers
insists, so they will have up to twice the
performance. Presumably, half the range as well,
which is likely to require additional batteries.
Chambers aims to produce 135 Curtiss bikes
in the 2020 model year. He intends to be ready to
start taking orders by the end of this year, with
EPA approval and Euro 5 compliance (which
will entail fitting ABS, currently absent from the
prototype Zeus) scheduled for completion by JulyCURTISS ZEUS E-CRUISER- Buyers not wanting
the tribute handlebars
will have a number of
production options to
choose from - The brushless electric
motors are air-cooled - The Zeus E-Cruiser
features Beringer floating
brake discs and carbon-
fibre disc wheels
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