Real Motors is the latest company to swell the fleet of all-electric motorbikes (such as the newly available DAB 1α, for example, from French company DAB Motors). The US-based company has revealed Project: ARES, a fully functioning prototype of its proposed first product. A light ‘café racer’, a genre of sporting motorbike that stems from the modified production machines used to frequent the cafés along London’s north circular road in the 1960s, the prototype blends stripped-back historicism with sci-fi details.
Project: ARES prototype electric motorbike
Although the final spec isn’t quite settled, this development model is undergoing trials near Real Motors’ HQ. Weighing in at around 220kg, Project: ARES sports an 11kWh battery that should be good for a circa 100 mile range and a top speed of 90 to 100mph. Pointing out that it’s geared for acceleration, Real Motors’ Michael Feng and Trent Dingman say that it’s an ideal vehicle for ‘first time motorcycle owners’.
The uncluttered, simple lines feature a deep side fairing and oversized front fork; in the prototype, this bears a strong graphic motif that pairs with the white painted body. American bike culture is a very different world to that in Europe, and the idea of an attractive bike for cruising and meet-ups, rather than a dedicated touring or commuting machine, is much more prevalent.
Feng admits that it’s an ‘expensive toy’, albeit a very functional one that you can use every day. Components, battery and body will be made in China and assembled in the US, with the company looking for early adopters to snatch up the first batch of bikes, due for delivery late next year. The price point is expected to be around $20,000.
Real Motors is not just aiming at customers without traditional motorbike backgrounds, but those who enjoy a more sophisticated synthesis of digital technology with analogue experiences. There’s still nothing to match the very visceral experience of riding a fast sports bike, and with fine balance, swift acceleration and the communication between the bike and the road, Project: ARES should deliver a superb riding experience.
‘We believe the best way to describe the freedom and power you feel when you ride your bike, is that you forget it’s there,’ Feng and Dingman say, ‘it’s yourself that gained a superpower.’
For more information on Project: ARES visit Real-Motors.com, @RealMotorsCo
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