Now, Erik has released the first in a two-part assessment of the current state of motorcycling and the electric future in a post-pandemic world.
Erik says our streets are getting more crowded, yet people want more space and the obvious solution is single-track vehicles … in other words, motorcycles.
Here is his assessment of our riding future.
Erik gets “close and personal”:
Let’s get personal here. I’m talking close and personal.
That is the closeness of city streets and personal freedom to travel. Because cities are getting bigger, and more packed. Yet people want freedom to move. We don’t want to be trapped and limited. We want to go where we want, when we want to.
When I look to the future, there is one compelling solution for urban/suburban transportation. Well, two actually, two wheels… two wheels in a single track with green power. Whether it’s a human pedaled bicycle, a pedal assisted electric bicycle or an electric moto, two wheels are the clear solutions for urban mobility.
On a single track two-wheeler, you basically take up the same space as you do walking. Driving a car or riding in an Uber is like walking down the street with your arms stretched wide out, taking the street for yourself.
Mass transport works to some extent, but it’s just not a pleasant experience, and it only gets you vaguely near the place you want to be. It’s also a very expensive endeavor that burdens city budgets. Sometimes these huge expensive vehicles are full and sometimes near empty. In either case they keep running from point A to B at Y o’clock despite the fact that you need to get from C to D at Z o’clock.
In Europe where streets are smaller, the support and infrastructure for two wheelers is exploding. In the US it is starting as well. In Asia, two-wheelers have always been the solution, and now the growth is in making them greener, less polluting, less noisy. Replacing the 60 million new gasoline powered two-wheelers sold annually with electric creates a huge impact on quality of life.
Fuell Flow
What is happening now? These past months have definitely reinforced the importance of personal space and safety. Worldwide, the movement to change our habits is accelerating. Urban transportation should be a comfortable personal tool empowering us to better live our multitasking lives.
Personal urban transportation needs to incorporate communication and safety devices, so that the experience creates a connection between rider, vehicle, and the environment (city, suburbia, open outdoors).
A really well designed two-wheeler becomes one with the rider, with speed and range far beyond the rider’s ability. Those great two-wheelers make you feel like you have super-powers!
We have to blend this feeling with the needs of today and tomorrow. So quite frankly, innovation is critical – you cannot build a new future hanging onto the old ways. New urban electric vehicles must not only feel approachable but also integrate with the digital environment and technology that is part of our society.
The goal is not autonomous two wheelers. We know riders do not want to give up control – if they did they’d be on a subway reading a book. What riders do want, in fact, is more control. They want unobtrusive innovative safety devices. They want the next wave of technology integrated into their personal urban mobility vehicles.
And Beyond? We can imagine many other form factors coming to the market as technology, needs and regulations evolve. One can think about compact electric 3 and 4-wheelers, but must think first of the importance of single track wherever possible to minimize space use. We cannot take the engineering easy way out, but instead must push, push ourselves to innovate in the two-wheeler format. And this innovation must include a complete integration with smart cities (the famous V2V and V2X protocols to connect all infrastructure and vehicles) and further safety assistance.
Today we are at a turning point. The only question is, which way will we go?
Innovative engineer Erik Buell is back with the Fuell Flow electric motorcycle that is virtually future proof with a replaceable and updatable battery, motor and charger.
The Fuell Flow was designed in a modular way to make it easy to replace elements if or when they are superseded by rapidly developing technology.
It also has a connected dashboard that automatically downloads software updates.
Prices start at $US3295 (about $A4650) for the Fluid e-bike and $US10,995 ($A15,500) for the Flow electric motorcycle.
They say they will also have credit, leasing and battery leasing options.
A Fuell PR spokesperson told us they had already received several inquiries from Australia about the Flow electric motorcycle.
However, the company first plans to focus on certification for US and Europe.
Flow
Flow comes in two power versions. The 11kW is the equivalent of a 125cc while the 35kW model has a 0-100km/h time of just 2.7 seconds, a top speed of 135km/h in “Audacious” mode and urban range of 240km.
The 10KwH battery will charge in 10 hours with the onboard charger. There are also various optional chargers available that will bring charging times down to as little as 30 minutes with a DC “supercharger”.
Instead of a motor where a conventional bike’s engine would be, this has a patent-pending wheel hub electric motor.
Rear hub motor
Since there is no motor in the usual place, nor a fuel tank, there is 50 litres of space under the hinged tank cover to accommodate your jacket, helmet and more.
Hi-tech features include a parking-assist slow mode to “walk” your bike forward or backwards, eTraction control, blind spot detection, front and rear collision alerts and an iPhone/Android app that provides vehicle status.
Fluid
Fluid e-bike
The Fluid electric bicycle has two removable batteries and more than 1000Wh of energy.
It features a full-colour dashboard, five levels of motor assistance, a carbon belt and eight gears.
Fluid is available as a Pedelec (max 25km/h or 20mph) or a S-Pedelec (max 45km/h or 28mph), starting at $US3295.
About Erik Buell
Erik has had a rags-to-riches-to-rags story in motorcycling that keeps on surprising.
The former Harley-Davidson engineer developed the Buell brand in 1983, sold 49% to Harley in 1993 and Harley took over in 2003.
Erik and MotorBikeWriter
Harley axed the brand in October 2009 when the GFC hit, but Erik relaunched as Erik Buell Racing (EBR) just a month later.
EBR ceased production in April 2015 and was bought by Michigan company Liquid Asset Partners in February 2016.
Engine: proprietary electric wheel motor (patent pending), two modes – Urban and Audacious
Power: 35kW (48hp) continuous
Torque: 750Nm (553lb-ft)
Speed: 90km/h sustained with up to 135km/h on demand
Range: 260km (150 miles) urban
Battery: 10 KwH, 400V Li-ION cylindrical cell array in structural magnesium housing, with rear wheel regenerative braking activated automatically by application of the linked
braking system (patent pending)
Recharging: Quick charge or home w/ Onboard or accessory Fast Chargers
Charge Port CCS Type 2 (adapters for Type 1 available)
Charging Rate 750W on board, 3.3kW & 6.6kW available accessory fast chargers
Vanguard Spark was formed by Alfa Romeo F1 principal Francois-Xavier Terny of Vanguard Motorcycles and Frédéric Vasseur, founder of electric Formula E race car company Spark Racing Technology.
Now they have changed their name to Fuell, which is a clever reference to Buell, even though their machines have no fuel!
We could have expected the founders’ racing genes to flow through to their products.
However, they have unveiled the Flow “urban mobility” electric motorcycle and the Fluid pedal-assisted e-bike.
The bikes are not available for test ride until they are fully revealed on April 23, but will be on show in New York for a month to investors, journalists and “influencers”.
Flow
Flow is an electric motorcycle available in 11kW (125cc equivalent) or 35kW versions.
There is no pricing information or technical details available yet such as range, but they keep referring to it as a “city” bike.
As expected from Erik whose Buell motorcycles had innovative features such as oil in the swingarm, fuel in the frame and peripheral brake discs, the Flow does have technical innovations.
Fuell say it has a proprietary wheel-motor1, connected dashboard and a low centre of gravity.
It has conventional upside-down forks, a mono shock rear and no clutch lever.
The Lazarus of motorcycle companies, EBR, has risen once again, but only in limited edition high-performance machines.
In its the fourth incarnation, EBR (Erik Buell Racing) will be hand-built at Grand Rapids, Michigan by new owner Bill Melvin. He took over when EBR went into liquidation in June 2017.
Roller-coaster history
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for motorcycle innovator and former Harley-Davidson engineer Erik Buell.
MBW with Erik Buell in happier times
He started making sports bikes with Harley engines in Wisconsin in 1983.
His bikes included a number of innovations such as underlying exhausts, perimeter brake discs, fuel in the frame and oil in the swingarm.
Harley bought his company in 2003 and continued making Buell bikes until the GFC hit in 2009 when Buell was axed.
Erik reopened for business as EBR in 2010, first with race bikes, then 1190RX and 1190SX road bikes.
EBR 1190RX
EBR 1190 SX
Despite some racing success, sales were slow and they stopped production in 2015 and was bought out in 2016 by Liquid Asset Partners.
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Fuell Flow
