Curtiss

Since 2015, Curtiss has been teasing us with incredible-looking electric bikes. None have made it to production, until now. There will only be 300 Curtiss Ones built and they will cost an arm and a leg.

After being rebranded as “Curtiss Motorcycle Co.,” the firm went head-on with making full-blown exquisite electric-powered motorcycles. They showcased the "Zeus" concept a couple of years back, and most recently, the “Hades” concept came out with an unusual and wild, phallic induced design form.

Honestly, this created hilarious responses within the industry scribes and the readers, taking us back to the grade school jokes and pranks. Fortunately, Curtiss has responded with subtle tweaks to give it a little modesty just before the Spring 2020 production slot. Phew!

As much fun as it is to see all the new bikes that are already slated for production and release, it’s the [concept bikes-<mot297] that really do it for me. The EICMA show presents a number of such items, so join me while I give a run-down of some of my favorites.

Continue reading for a look at my favorite concept bikes from 2018 EICMA.

When Curtiss Motorcycles launched the “Warhawk”, they were yet to depart from their vision of making full-blown exquisite electric-powered motorcycles. This was their final chapter in America’s darling configuration, the V-Twin that was used during the days when the company was called “Confederate Motors”.

Last year they were re-branded as “Curtiss Motorcycle Co.” and will be switching to electric powertrain supplied by Zero Motorcycles. And the fruit of this partnership has just been showcased at the 2018 Quail Motorcycle Gathering – the 2020 Curtiss Motorcycles’ “Zeus”. Yes, it is still in its concept stages and is sure shares all the designs of a post-apocalyptic machine.

Before Curtiss Motorcycles shifted entirely to being powered by electric, they wanted one last go at making another extremely high-powered, big V-twin motorcycle to pay homage to the early 20th-century inventor, Glenn Curtiss.

And this is what they came up with. Presenting the limited edition “Warhawk”. Named after the famous World War II fighter plane, this machine is the first one after Confederate changed names to Curtiss, and will also be the last one powered by a V-twin gasoline engine.

One of the few exotic motorcycle manufacturers, Confederate Motors, had a pretty successful run in their 26-year tenure, apart from a brief bankruptcy days in 2001-2003. They made extremely high-powered, big V-twin motorcycle models including the Hellcat, Wraith, Combat Fighter and the Combat Bomber, all of which catered to the uber-rich class of customers.

This year, the brand announced that they will be switching to electric powertrain rather than combustion engines and will be renamed as “Curtiss Motorcycle Co.” with effect from January 2018. The name change is due to the business impact of association with the US Confederacy.