Flying low: An electric café racer from British Columbia
Sally’s Speed-Shop isn’t just a motorcycle workshop. Sally also creates art, furniture and surfboards, so his skillset is broad and his tastes are eclectic. This project started out like most do?with a basic concept that sounded cool, but needed to be fleshed out.
?The idea was simply to make a vintage-inspired electric race bike,? Sally explains. ?It started with a full size drawing on the wall, then I made molds for the bodywork. I basically built it from the outside in.?
The aero influence is clear in the way the fairing tapers towards front, while a vintage Honda vibe comes through in the upholstery. The leatherwork was handled deftly by Randi Obenauer.
But the real genius here, is how misleading the design is?blink, and you’ll mistake it for a petrol-powered bike. There’s even a little bulge on the right side of the fairing, that looks like it was put there to make room for a ‘regular’ engine.
As for propulsion, that’s courtesy of an 18,000 W air-cooled electric motor, operated via a Bluetooth controller and hooked up to a traditional chain drive. Sally sourced the motor and controller separately, then built his own Lithium-ion battery packs. Everything’s hidden inside the body, with not a single wire to give this café racer’s secret away.
Even the controls maintain the illusion of a petrol-powered bike. The back brake’s operated via foot lever, as per the norm, but the front brake lever sits on the lef...
-------------------------------- |
|
Speed Read: A rare Honda Monkey Gold Edition and more
29-04-2024 07:47 - (
motorcycle )