38 amcn.com.au
- He envisages production ramping up to 400
motorcycles for the 2021 model year.
“Besides ABS, I want to feature traction control
on all our bikes, because of the significant torque
that our E-Twin format will deliver. These are
two important features without which I wouldn’t
want to sell anyone a bike.”
One look at the Zeus tells you which company
built it. The entire front end is a reworking of the
girder-type fork design of the kind to be found on
the FA-13 Combat Bomber (AMCN Vol 67 No 15)
that brought Confederate production to an end.
But it is a pretty comprehensive reworking by
Cornille,withdifferentgeometryaswellasa
quite different structure. It’s reminiscent of the
Bomber’s fuselage fuel tank, though it has been
f lattened and now seamlessly includes the low
762mm seat.
I have to admit I wasn’t looking forward to
straddling the seat because it looked about as
welcoming as a cold, hard piece of aluminium.
But I was shocked at how comfortable the black-
suede covered padding was, and I rode for 90
minutes without suffering a numb bum.
The footrests are adjustable back and forth over
32mm – I had them in the midway slot, which
was pretty comfortable – and there will be pillionfootrests on the production bike, which hadn’t
been fitted to the prototype.
But how about those handlebars! It turns out
they’re fitted on the prototype as a one-off tribute
to Glenn Curtiss and his record-breaking exploits
on the sands of Ormond Beach. Customers will
have a choice of half a dozen different shapes and
heights – though I again must admit that, against
all expectations, these ’bars felt pretty good and
allowed me to tuck away nicely at speed.
At such speeds the Curtiss handled sweeping
turns and tighter S-bends brilliantly – there’s no
other word for it.
Forastart,thebatteriesareintherightplace–
niceandlow–whichmeansthat,coupledwithitswell-chosensteeringgeometryandthecompliant
suspension, the Zeus remained totally stable
after hitting a bump cranked over at speed.
The girder front end and the cantilever rear are
both equipped with RaceTech G3 monoshocks,
fully adjustable for high- and low-speed
compression and rebound damping, and offering
125mm wheel travel up front and 133mm at the
rear. The way these shocks have been set up to
give optimum damping and excellent ride quality
was really impressive, and I was especially
impressed by how taut and confidence-inspiringCURTISS ZEUS E-CRUISER
HE SPEAKS!
Three years ago
Jordan Cornille, 25,
joined the company
then known as
Confederateashead
of design, knowing it
wouldsoonchange
from producing the
costliest, craziest
and coolest custom
cruisers to snazzy
electric bikes:
“I went to automotive
design school because
of the Confederate
Wraith, which was a
work of art.
“I graduated in 2015,
andsentMrChambers
an email. Exactly 36
minutes later I got a
call from Matt, and
wehadasix-minute
conversation. He said
he loved my work,
thoughtwecould
do some cool stuff
together and offered
me the job right then
andthere!Wow!A
dream come true.
“The culture Matt
has created frees
meupalot,allowing
an extraordinary
amount of creativity,
with essentially no
push-back. I don’t have
to worry about the
opinionsofmarketing
teams, accountants,
managers, customer
clinics or office politics.
Icansimplyfocuson
designing the most
incredible products we
canpossiblythinkup.
That’s a dream come
true for any designer.
“A reason I appealed
toMattwasmyage–
he thought bringing
in someone from a
younger generation
could help take the
company into the
future with such bikes.
“I certainly believe
electric motorcycles
arethefuture.It’s
very important for our
companytoenterthis
market now – sooner
rather than later.
There are no stylish
production electric
motorcycles out there,
so this is an enormous
opportunity for Curtiss.”Those handlebars are a
tribute to Glenn Curtiss and
his record-breaking exploits