
Orange County Choppers Builds an EV. Seriously - aj
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/08/occ-electric-chopper/
======
10ren
The styling seems a little too inspired by the segway...

Silence wouldn't be valued by the bikies I've seen. Also, pedestrian accidents
will probably increase for a while, until we stop trusting our ears for
traffic. On my bicycle, I've noticed people not looking for traffic because
can't hear any traffic.

I wonder if there is a segment of motorbike riders for whom silence is a
crucial benefit? That could be a good niche to start. Teenagers, sneaking home
late? Shy people? Hunters? Burglars? Spies? Ninjas?

~~~
jnorthrop
Loud motorcycles are one of my pet peeves. I have never been able to figure
out why someone would want to make their motorcycle as loud as possible. Don't
they realize how rude it is to every single house, pedestrian, etc. they pass?
When I see one I immediately project a complete a-hole personallity onto that
person, because I assume he really doesn't care about anyone but himself.

~~~
bfinch
I find them annoying too, but the safety advantage while riding on highways is
clear. The safety of the rider is, in my opinion, of more importance than any
mild annoyance a loud bike might cause. That said, I suspect, like you, that
safety was not the reason a lot of riders picked a loud bike.

------
baddox
I feel dumb asking this, but what does EV stand for? Obviously, it's an
electric motorcycle, but does it just mean electric vehicle?

~~~
aj
Yep, EV stands for Electric Vehicle

------
FiveFiftyOne
This is brilliant. Not cheap, not practical, but it'll add some big brand
credence to EV technology that nobody else can muster, given the world wide
fan base that OCC enjoys. Nice work junior :-)

------
DougWebb
This makes a lot of sense; bikes have a lot less extraneous weight to carry
around than cars do, so it should be a lot easier to get a good
milage/performance combo out of an electric engine than with a car. There's
less room for the engine and batteries, but those are small/dense enough now
that the overall ratio should be a win.

------
mahmud
dammit, couldn't this story come around 2 weeks from now.

OT: I sell custom choppers, with electric engines just rolling in the shop
floor, if anybody is interested (just got the contract last week, still
flogging the web designers)

~~~
taitems
What's the mileage like? You'd have to be proud if its comparable to a
technology giant like Siemens!

~~~
mahmud
We license Yamaha, Honda engines for now. We might even get this engine, but
the body is custom built.

Current site is flash-based. The company is an Aussie boutique shop with
A-list celebrity and activist clients:

<http://deus.com.au/>

I am bringing that to the U.S., Middle East and Europe.

[Edit: We're also offering a very handsome sales commission for referrals.
Email in profile. I can say this in HN can't I? Fuckit, it's business!]

~~~
look_lookatme
Holy crap.

I don't know much about motorcycles, but some of those SR400 models are
mindblowingly beautiful.

Well done.

~~~
mahmud
Thank you. They're made with love.

