An electric motorcycle company is calling itself the Tesla of motorcycles with its bombastic first offering. The Curtiss ‘The 1’ is an electric motorcycle that looks like an art piece, makes 110 HP, and costs $120,000. However, the company’s marketing will give you a headache, probably as it did to me.
When I was sent the press kit for this one, I was initially excited. I love to see unique designs in the motorcycle world and this hits the spot. I’d love to swing a leg over this in gear dressed up in steampunk style. This is the kind of motorcycle that you turn around and look at after you dismount. I mean, just look at this beauty:
However, the more I read the press release, my head began hurting and by the end, I had far more questions than I got the answers to. Let’s dig into this.
Before I get to the motorcycle, I should explain the history of Curtiss Motorcycles. If you believe what’s written on its website, then you’ll think that Curtiss is the rebirth of a long-dormant motorcycle company. The press release says that Curtiss is celebrating its 120th year, which sounds great! Few brands, like Harley-Davidson and Royal Enfield, can claim such a long history.
In fact, Curtiss says that its founder was aviation pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss:
Originally founded in 1902 by American motorcycle and aviation pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss, the company was reborn in 2016 by Matt Chambers and a small team of passionate American road bike experts. Its mission to reinvent luxury motoring through advanced design and superior innovation, is heavily inspired by Mr. Curtiss and his legendary accomplishments.
This is repeated on the company’s website:
Taking inspiration from our Founder, Glenn H. Curtiss, The 1 is packed with superior innovation, reimagining the motorcycle itself from the inside-out; future-proof, infinitely upgradable battery electric technology, sustainable best and finest quality and endlessly adjustable for every type of pilot.
Where Curtiss Motorcycles Really Came From
Normally, here’s where I’d explain the story of Curtiss the person, his accomplishments in aviation, and his motorcycling career. For example, on January 24, 1907, Glenn raced a V8-powered motorcycle to a land speed record earning 136.36 mph. The problem is that this doesn’t really matter because Curtiss the motorcycle company has no real connection to Curtiss the person. It wasn’t even founded by Curtiss.
Weirdly missing from any history given in press releases and on the website is the fact that Curtiss Motorcycles is really an offshoot of Confederate Motorcycles, which was founded in 1991. Its founder isn’t an aviation pioneer, but a former attorney named H. Matthew Chambers. Today, Chambers is still the CEO of Curtiss. Confederate Motorcycles was a boutique brand that fired up its first prototype motorcycle in 1994 before beginning production of hand-built bespoke machines with a striking industrial design.
Owners of those machines include Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Nicolas Cage, and others. In those days, the company slogan was “Art of Rebellion.” Here’s Cage’s former Confederate, it has changed hands since his ownership:
In case you were wondering about that name, Confederate Motorcycles was pretty weird in that regard. According to Custom Choppers Guide, Chambers is apparently a history buff and is proud of his Southern heritage. His motorcycles reflected that from their bold design to the fact that Confederate was cast into the crankcase. Chambers was so committed to this that Confederate motorcycles had an advertised displacement of 1861cc, a number matching the year of the start of the Civil War.
If you’re interested in reading more about Chambers’ philosophy during the Confederate days, Confederate Motorcycles’ site is archived and has several pages explaining a lot. The short version is that Confederate Motorcycles were supposed to harken back to the time of the “American Way,” when car designs used real wood, had real convertible tops and other real parts, “false” car brands like Saturn didn’t exist, and car companies didn’t make weird vehicles like the Pontiac Aztek.
Eventually, Chambers found himself in an odd position. In 2017, one person was killed and 26 others were injured when a car rammed into a crowd protesting a nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The attack triggered riots and further protests. For Chambers, it reportedly meant a loss of business as he found few people willing to spend money at a company called Confederate. When interviewed by Jalopnik in 2017, this is how Chambers explained the name:
“The rebellion we’re talking about is cerebral and spiritual and inside of you,” he said. “We’re not talking about taking it to the streets, we’re talking about you getting right inside of yourself.”
“For all of our Yankee friends, please don’t hold it against us,” Chambers said. “On the one hand you have principles in the South that personally for me I’m very proud of, but then you have a very unprincipled application,” he said. “I’m glad the South lost. I think they had to lose.”
That year, Chambers launched Curtiss Motorcycles as the brand for his upcoming electric motorcycle. Confederate Motorcycles remained in business until 2020, when it rebranded as Combat Motors.
So, this brings you up to speed on the real history of Curtiss. Now, let me be clear, I don’t care what a company calls itself. Taking old brands and restarting them is fairly common in cars (see: Hispano Suiza). I even understand why the company might want to forget its beginnings as Confederate.
The 1
Alright, with that out of the way, let’s tackle this motorcycle. This is the Curtiss The 1. Today, Curtiss announces that you can place a $12,000 preorder on this $120,000 motorcycle. What are you getting for that pile of cash? Well, it’s complicated.
This motorcycle appears to be the production version of a concept that Curtiss Motorcycles teased back in 2018. This concept eventually got the name Hades before Curtiss landed on The 1. As for this name, Curtiss explains:
The 1 reimagines luxury motoring as easy, safe and accessible. The “1-life / 1-bike” Curtiss philosophy means that The 1 is designed and handcrafted to last forever (that’s true sustainability), giving you an heirloom quality machine to hand down from 1 generation to the next. In fact, with a fully-modular battery power pack, The 1 can be upgraded over time (first battery refresh included), resulting in a better machine over generations of ownership.
Incredibly, the press kit given to me contained no real information about the motorcycle, instead, it contained a bullet point list and a page about why you should invest in this company. We’ll get to that later because it’s a wild ride.
Thankfully, the specs are available at Curtiss’ site.
Let’s start with what you’re looking at. The 1 is constructed out of machined-billet aluminum, titanium and carbon fiber. The chassis is said to be machined solid billet and is apparently flex and fatigue-free. There’s a lot of attention to detail in the design. You could stare at pictures of the motorcycle for hours and still find new things. Design is what this company has always excelled at. Love the design or hate it, this motorcycle is something different.
Curtiss says that this motorcycle was designed from the inside-out. This means that the motorcycle’s powertrain is a core element. Curtiss is really proud of what it calls Axis-Centered Design, the company’s architecture which is said to make the motorcycle perfectly symmetrical, from Curtiss:
The 1’s Axis-Centered Design (ACD) eliminates weak conventional stub-axle swingarm pivot design, providing strength and longevity to the motorcycle.
ACD’s Axis-Balanced Innovation allows the motor to be placed directly on the vertical plane of the rider and facilitates the rear suspension to pivot coaxially at this centered point.
This proprietary system provides the most balanced operation ever created on two wheels, which enhances rider confidence and motorcycle fidelity.
Curtiss says that this architecture is the future of motorcycling. Though, based on the company’s own explanation, I’m not entirely sure why the average motorcyclist would care about perfect symmetry.
Mounted to the motorcycle is an 8.8 kWh battery. This pack sits inside of a sealed aluminum vessel on the bottom of the bike which contains non-conductive coolant. The coolant is pressurized and pumped around the cells. Curtiss says that this pack is infinitely upgradable, so when battery technology improves, your Curtiss can improve with it.
The battery powers a YASA P400 Axial Flux pancake-style motor (above). On Curtiss’ website, The 1 is advertised as making 217 HP. Woah, that’s awesome! Not so fast. If you dig into the motorcycle’s actual specs, Curtiss says that it actually makes 110 HP peak power and up to 147.5 lb-ft torque. Handling all of this is a Cascadia Motion PM100 inverter.
Power reaches the rear wheel through a carbon fiber Gates belt. It’s unfortunate that you have to dig into the specs to find out that actual output is half as advertised.
What’s up with the 217 HP number? Well, that’s what Curtiss calls “future-proof peak power.” The motor is supposed to be another upgradable part of the motorcycle. The YASA P400 happens to be rated for a max of around 215 HP, so one day your Curtiss might make that power figure.
In its current configuration, Curtiss says that The 1 can go 120 miles on a charge in a city or 70 miles on a highway. In terms of charging, it can take a 3.3 kW Level 2 charge. The motorcycle takes 2 hours to reach 80 percent from a dead state and an additional 40 minutes would be required to get it to 100 percent. It also comes with 10 levels of regen to help stretch the range out.
While this all looks super neat, a motorcycle engineer at Gear Junkie points out that the tech isn’t as amazing as it sounds. The motor and inverter are off-the-shelf parts and the inverter has been around for at least a decade.
Back to the chassis, stopping is handled by Beringer Aerotech 4D brakes and the motorcycle has an adjustable multi-link suspension front and back by RaceTec. Curtiss is big on having adjustable parts. In addition to being able to set your suspension for the type of riding you do, there are also 19 positions for the rider’s footpegs and 9 positions for the passenger. So, you can really tune this thing just right for your riding. Other useful data points include the motorcycle’s 475-pound weight and seat height that ranges from 27 inches to 29 inches.
Overall, even with the discrepancy in power levels, I’d love to ride and own one of these. As I write this, I’m picturing myself blasting down the Amstutz Expressway and Lower Wacker Drive like a steampunk Batman. But I still have questions.
Curtiss Makes Bold Claims
Curtiss calls itself the Tesla of electric motorcycles. We’ve been seeing “the Tesla of” a lot lately and it doesn’t always apply. The weird part is that Curtiss seems to forget that other electric motorcycles exist. Here are the reasons why you should invest in the company:
Curtiss makes the claim that there is no market leader, nor awareness, by any other brand. Well, Zero Motorcycles is generally considered a leader in electric motorcycles. And Harley-Davidson’s spinoff, LiveWire, certainly has awareness.
What qualifies as luxury? BMW has a fantastic electric scooter that’s plentiful in features. The Harley-Davidson LiveWire was regarded as a luxury toy when it launched for $30,000 in 2019. Sure, those don’t cost $120,000 as this does, but is Curtiss the first and only luxury electric motorcycle?
Curtiss continues its claims by saying that The 1 is the first motorcycle with ergonomic and geometric adjustability, the first motorcycle to be built from the inside out, and the first motorcycle to be designed for radical scale.
I have no idea what that last one is supposed to mean, but motorcycles have had adjustable ergonomics practically forever and adjustable suspensions are also a thing.
If you’re still in for the fantastic-looking Curtiss The 1, Curtiss says that if you were to put down a $12,000 deposit right now, you’ll likely get your motorcycle in Summer 2024. That’s assuming Curtiss is able to raise the $8.33 million in funding it’s looking for. Pricing goes up from $120,000 depending on chosen color and finish. If you’re not satisfied with the handful of choices offered, you can also pay $180,000 to have your The 1 in your own personalized design.
Despite everything I’ve said, I hope Curtiss is able to build at least a few of these. I may never see one in real life, but I’m glad bold ideas like this exists. Just, maybe the fluff should be turned down a little.
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
A Startup Is Launching A Practical Electric Motorcycle That Costs Just $1,500
-
A Lithium Motorcycle Battery Has Turned My Basket Case Triumph Into A Reliable Bike
-
This ‘Robotic’ Electric Motorcycle Promises 134 HP And 249 Miles Of Range
-
An Electric Motorcycle Startup Has A Brilliant Solution To The Seat-Height Problem Many Motorcyclists Face
The current “tesla” of electric MCs is arguably Energica. Remarkable machines.
wow, just noticed the absolutely _tiny_ brakes. even though this is a fairly light bike, when you add the rider you are stopping ~700 lbs. those brakes would look small on a 250, and would be absurdly small on a literbike.
Good for one hard use and then….OMG.
With 100+ or some dream horsepower one would expect at least 300mm twin disks on the front, in this century.
Beringer has a unique design – you are seeing a double disc and a lot more stopping power than it looks.
I’d like to see some detail. I’m familiar with Beringer components used conventionally for OEM replacement in performance situations, similar too Brembo, but nothing like this. Where does the heat go? That is typically the reason for larger and larger brakes.
Might not need them. My guess is there’s some regen built into the driveline.
There is no shortage of folk out there with lots of money. So getting a few buyers is not a problem. Investors will be a much larger issue. I bet 50/50 on that.
As to the ultra boutique styling, agree with the comments this the bike not functionally styled, but over the top industrial art. Up to the beholder.
I’m kind of getting tired of these “Look at this cool thing I built one of, now give me a bunch of money so maybe l can build more” schemes.
how much you want to bet they didn’t pay for the rights to profit off of Glenn Curtiss’ name?
I would bet either Curtiss Wright (the aerospace company) or the Curtiss Air Museum (an excellent little museum in Hammondsport NY with lots of his planes and motorcycles) own the rights to the name in the context of motorcycles.
Confederate Motorcycles changed its name to…… Combat Motors. I detect a recurring theme…
What’s next, Militia Motorbikes? Insurrectionist Cycles? Or maybe just Loser Bikes. Yeah, that’s it. I should trademark those so I can get paid if they start another company.
MAGAcycles? 😎
Rather surprising this doesn’t already exist. At least as a vaporware, Kickstarter scam.
Donate now and make the libs cry!
I don’t care what they call themselves as long as they surrendered.
White Flag Motors
Deplorabikes… motorcycles for the Deplorables!
” we have the future of electric motorcycles” sets price at unobtainium….
They’re a day ahead of Harley, so they have today’s technology at day-after-tomorrow’s prices.
Not that I’d ever spend $120k on a single bike, but if I did, it’d be an Arch. Why buy a bike with mediocre specs (compared to zero) and suspension that looks…questionable when you could buy a motorcycle that actually rides well from John Wick himself?
Note that I say this while staring lovingly at a 20 year old klx400, so I might be a tax bracket or two below the target audience.
Yes! That’s one thing I love about Keanu Reeves. Guy loves motorcycles so much he decided to pair up with a builder to make some of his own. An Arch is definitely on my “if I ever win the lottery” list.
I feel this design is less steampunk and more ostentatious. Steampunk to me means lots of functional pipes, pullys, gears, belts, etc. Not a bat-wing design just because you got a new CNC machine. This is not my jam at all.
I was following these for a while as they were supposed to build cruiser style electrics, unlike Zero with it’s standard style and Harley with it’s expensive standard style.
Then they started showing the prototypes, I believe I jumped back and did a “good gawd”, Playa Hater style.
Though I am getting a hint of 1960’s Batgirl’s batcycle with what would be the tank area, so well played there. Google it, it literally has the same lines….
“perfectly symmetrical”
Finally, free from the silly elitist tradition carried over from sword-wearing horse-riders: no more leaning over to the left on the side stand.
Oh.
Plus the controls, brakes and drive are all asymmetrical. As is that YASA motor. Such a silly design target, and so obviously not achieved.
My RVF has a single sided swing arm. I’ve never wanted it to be symmetrical instead.
Weird symmetry bullshit aside, it’s gaudy and the CNC bits are terribly optimised for mass. As an engineer I’m repulsed, and as as a motorcyclist I’m also repulsed.
Just buy an Energica.
I can’t be the only one here wondering about the torque effects of that motor spinning on the longitudinal axis there. I know there are longitudinal-engined ICE bikes but they don’t have all the torque at zero rpm.
I thought that at first, too, but, if I’m reading correctly, the big copper cylinder at the bottom is actually the battery and the pancake motor is mounted transverse between the two big black “phone-dial” mounts just ahead of the rear wheel.
Ah yes, thank you. When I read this article early this morning I was apparently not yet fully awake.
Only sorta related to the topic:
The Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, NY is a must-visit if you’re in the area. Go there sober since there’s a lot to take in.
yup! amazing collection of old planes, cars, motorcycles and guns (and some other stuff too). every time we have people up at the lake who haven’t been there, we take them to Curtiss and Corning museums.
The Corning museum was really enjoyable. Some of the ancient Greek and Roman glass looks like it was made last week – just beautiful.
Politics aside, I’ve always liked their design language, and with all the money the 1% spend on ridiculous flexes I bet they’ll find enough buyers to make it happen.
i dig the minimalist, machined look. always thought the confederate bikes were really cool looking. bit outta my price range though…….
I don’t see minimalist here. I see a bunch on non-functional detail in an effort to stand out and charge more money.
These bikes aren’t for me, but beauty is in the eye of something something.
i suppose im more referring to the absence of plastic covers and shrouds.
Chambers can FRO.
He was soooo proud of his southern heritage until he lost business over it, then tried to rebrand the overt and intentional Civil War references into a “rebellion… inside of you”. *eyeroll*
Maybe he’ll find some kindred jackasses to invest, but I hope not.
Just because it’s got a lot going on doesn’t mean it’s beautiful. It’s busy and gaudy. I think it looks stupid
“Ground floor opportunity” means that no one else was interested
I don’t find myself disagreeing with you often Mercedes – but I do this time.
I get what they were going for with the design but to my eye it looks over-complicated, busy, and gaudy – like someone’s first Steampunk costume attempt.
I have nothing against the basic idea, but this is such a stylistic mismatch in its details, technical specs and the whole marketing are at least shady and the price is way too over the top even if I was a multi-millionaire. I vote crackpipe.
Sure, it’s eye-catching. But there’s no way I’m ever paying 120K for the dubious privilege of scrubbing the bugs out of every nook and cranny on that thing…
As art, these are cool, but that sure is a big pile of marketing – as in “Watch out! Don’t step in the marketing!”
Oh boy that front suspension looks like a really stupid idea!
I do understand the design idea of having something similar front and back, like on the unique beautiful classic 1969 MZ Trophy (yes I own one of these..), but having your wheelbase change drastically under suspension load can’t be good for anything.
I was wondering about this as I’m not a motorcyclist – seems like it’s too steeply raked for the suspension to be effective relative to the angle that forces are being applied to it?
Also it looks like it’d be a bitch to steer with the forks angled that far back or am I just a bike noob and there’s other things going on that I don’t get?
That style of linkage fork has a vertical axle travel path, as opposed to telescoping forks that shorten the wheelbase more – not that wheelbase shortening on those small levels matters at all. I don’t motorcycle, so I don’t know the history of linkage forks on that side, but this fork design is the same as the Girvin forks (and similar to Amp) used in mountain bikes a long time ago. For off road use at least, the vertical axle path of that design was considered a negative when hitting square edges because they wouldn’t give like a telescoping fork.
This guy is an artist!—a bullshit artist. I think the higher hp is figuring the battery as the limiter, due to its size at max safe discharge rate, which I can almost understand when talking about future-proofing, but its prominence and the rest of the sketchy nonsense means it’s a claim that stinks. Interesting looking, though.
I vote Nope for this thing, I see nothing of value as a motorcyclist.
“Damnit, we need to rebrand because nobody likes this confederacy themed design stuff anymore. What can we theme our design language on instead?”
“How about Axis?”
“Brilliant!”
Shoot, I did Nazi that coming!
Love the looks of this. I need to make it mein.
Yeah, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have a collection of old nazi and confederacy stuff, but you know, it’s totally just because he’s interested in history, not that he subscribes to white supremacy!