Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/997997
CURTISS ZEUS E-CRUISER FULL TEST P118 mel—and while I'm sure there'll be many customers who won't aim to ride their Zeus much hard- er than that, it seemed a bit of a waste. But hang on, let's head inland to the Laurales Incline running between Salinas and Carmel Valley, and after twisting the wrist to make some motion, let gravity take over to give me speeds of 75 mph according to the camera car filming me, and a good test of how the Zeus will be to ride. Only this time around, predominantly powered by Isaac Newton. One look at the Zeus tells you which company built it, for the entire front-end is a reworking of the girder-type fork design of the kind to be found on the FA-13 Combat Bomber power cruiser, which brought Confederate pro- duction to an end. But it's a pretty comprehensive reworking by Jordan Cornille, with different geometry as well as quite a different structure, in the same way the Bomber's fuselage containing the fuel tank has now been replaced by the low 30-inch Zeus seat. I have to admit I wasn't looking forward much to straddling this, because it looked about as welcoming as a plank of wood. But it was practically shocking how comfortable the black suede covered padding was, and in 90 minutes of riding the Zeus I didn't remotely get any numb-bum syndrome. The footrests are adjustable back and forth over 1.25 inches— I had them in the midway slot, which was pretty comfortable, and there will be pillion footrests for a passenger, which hadn't been fitted yet. But how about those handlebars—not very cruiser-esque, are they?! Turns out they're fitted on this debut bike as a one-off tribute to Glenn Curtiss and his record-breaking exploits on the sands of Ormond Beach. Customers will have a choice of half a dozen different shapes and heights, though I again must admit that against all expectations, the super-dropped bars on the debut bike felt pretty good, and allowed me to tuck away nicely at high-ish speed. At such speeds the Curtiss handled the Laurales Incline's sweeping turns and tighter S- bends brilliantly—no other word for it. For a start, the batteries THE TECH SIDE In being created by Curtiss's youthful Design Director, Jordan Cornille, 25, the Zeus turns traditional motorcycle design and styling on its head, by attempting to redefine the look and design of an E-bike in making the batteries the focal point of the motorcycle. Its 14.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack is carried in a milled-from-solid aluminum housing in what's known as an inverted T-Block format, designed to hint at the layout of a conventional Boxer engine. In fact, Curtiss is planning a total of five plat- forms: three based on a twin-battery pack format, with the T-Block joined by a V-Block and P-Block (for the aptly named Porcupine!), and two different single-battery configurations—a Slant Block and a Vertical Block. Chambers reveals that these two singles will be known as the Eros and the Hades, while, besides the Zeus, the other two twin-battery bikes will be the Medusa V-Block and the Hercules—the latter the name under which Glenn Curtiss sold his own bikes, which Chambers has just managed to reclaim after a lengthy process. These and the Zeus will eventually be available as series production 2022 models at a target price of $30,000 each, but those versions will use a cast-alumi- num monocoque frame-cum-battery container, and with a lower level of performance than the higher-priced billet aluminum models built to individual order. Curtiss plans to commence deliveries of these in September next year, and a carbon-fiber-framed version will also be available. Race Tech supplied the suspension, which has been elegantly crafted into the overall design.