Meet the world's first electric chopper

Swiss engineer Bruno Forcella created first in the world all-electric chopper.

8/16/15 5:00 am chumakdenis 1

Electric vehicles and hybrids are becoming more and more widespread.

The demand and supply are growing fast and at first sight – everything is good.

However, the electric motorcycle industry is not doing that well – the numbers of motorcycles sold over this span of time are miserable.

Nevertheless, everything might change with this fancy electric chopper.

Meet, Sinecycles’ Zero Custom.

Electric chopper has been built up by Swiss builder Bruno Forcella.

He took some components from an existing 2013 Zero Motorcycle (its engine and drivetrain to be more exact) and put all this stuff on a "Tha Heist" frame from Cleveland Cyclewerks.
⁪
Then he did some modifications, bolted the electric parts from Zero on it, and in the end got a very likeable and impressive electric chopper motorcycle.

That’s what he says on that:

“Some time ago, I had the idea to build an electric chopper. I had looked for existing components and a motorcycle I could customize. I had found a chopper called “Tha Heist” from Cleveland Cyclewerks and a powertrain from Zero Motorcycles.

I then designed the drivetrain and the chopper in CAD and finally built it. I really kept focus on the design, the range of about 55 km and top speed of 120 km/h (75mph) are rather low, but perfect for my personal needs like commuting to work or just go for the coolest electric ride in town”.

⁪

A few more words about creator

Bruno is an electrical engineer and always wanted to customize a bike different from anything else. The only thing most custom bike builders have not changed so far is the combustion engine, so that’s exactly what he did.

To him, it was important not to hide those electric components like the motor, the heatsink for the motor controller and the battery box. He wanted people to recognize the electric drivetrain right away.

Specifications


Drivetrain	Zero Motorcycles (2013)
Motor	3-phase high efficient permanent magnet motor
Max. Torque	57 Nm
Max. Power	27 PS (20 kW) @ 4000 U/min
Max. Capacity	2.8 kWh
Voltage	102 V
Range	55 km
Max. Speed	120 km/h
Transmission	Clutchless direct drive
Battery housing	Bruno
Heat sink for Motor Controller	Bruno
Connectivity	Smartphone app with detailed information about the motorcycle such as the time until charged, average watts per mile, total charge cycles and much more. Customizable riding mode’s performance profile. Synced using Bluetooth.
Frame
Frame	Tha Heist, Cleveland Cycleworks
Chassis	Hardtail
Modifications	Holders for an electric motor, seat spring mounts, seat hinge/pivot, stripped down all unnecessary brackets and items.
Accessories
Handlebar	Dragbar LSL
Grip	Louis modified
Switches	Motogadget
Digital instrument	Motogadget
Cockpit Housing with LEDs	Bruno
Bremslever rear	Bruno
„Gas tank“	Cole Foster modified / J&P Cycles
Fender rear	Led Sled Customs 6‘‘ modified
Fender struts	Bruno
Seat	Rich Phillips
Seat springs	Lowbrow Customs 2“ Barrel Style
License plate holder	Bruno
Rear light	Louis LED
Colours	Mercedes Silver, Black
Wheels
Wheel front	21“
Wheel rear	18“

Will we see this chopper available to buy?

Not sure on than one. Vehicle didn’t intend to become serial and everything in it saying about it varying from limited performance (range of around 55 km (34.1 mph) and a top speed of 120 km/h(75mph) ) to unprofessional design.

Nonetheless, it still can become go into production if there will be demand.

In case you’re interested, you know what to do and whom to write.

⁪