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Athena Is an E-Motorbike With an Adjustable Seat, Specifically Designed for Shorter Riders

Riding a motorcycle should be an enjoyable experience that makes you feel as comfortable and safe as possible. Perhaps it is too wide if something doesn’t feel right when mounting a bike. Or maybe it is probably not meant for you if you are unable to reach the ground. The right motorcycle should fit your height and size to ensure a comfortable and ergonomic riding position.
Athena electric motorcycle for petite riders 23 photos
Photo: Zhengxuan Xie/Behance
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While motorcycle designs that match a variety of body types and sizes are quite common, you might be hard-pressed to find a bike model targeted specifically at shorter riders. And it’s not uncommon for some passionate riders to be unable to drive the best bikes out there because of their short stature. This is where Athena, a shape-shifting electric motorcycle for petite people, comes in. Though it is just a design idea for the moment, it serves to show to what extent bike design can evolve in the future.

Athena is the brainchild of industrial designer Zhengxuan Xie, who created it as his graduation project from the Royal College of Art in London. Based on the idea of “Power Inside,” the project is meant to highlight that the power of shorter people lies in their minds, as opposed to tall and strong people whose strength may be easily noticeable at a simple glance. And to prove his point, the designer even got the help of a petite person to decide the dimensions of the bike.

In an attempt to capture that feeling of having “power inside” and transparency in thoughts, the Athena is envisioned with a translucent design that exposes the electric bike’s inner workings. In a way, this design reminds me of another cool two-wheeler project that has nothing to hide - the Nu’Clear motorcycle with transparent bullet-proof glass body panels. The difference here is that only the upper and lower parts of the bike are translucent, made from a custom material, and showcase the components inside the machine.

Athena electric motorcycle for petite riders
Photo: Zhengxuan Xie/Behance
As the designer puts it, “The translucent material allows users to feel the strength of the outer contour of the vehicle from a distance, and when you get close to it, you can see the mechanical structure inside the vehicle further, to feel the power inside the vehicle, which is also a continuation of the ‘Power inside’ in the user’s personality.”

The standout feature of this electric motorcycle proposition is its shape-shifting ability to raise or lower the saddle section depending on the rider’s needs. The seat position can be lowered for getting on and off the bike and then raised when starting to drive. Moreover, this part can be removed altogether and replaced with a tandem seat or a different single seat.

A nice addition to this bike project is a graphic animation on the tank section for Start/Stop action and the representation of low and high speeds in blue and red hues, respectively. There are also tail lamps built-in behind the seat and behind the wheel cover.

Another interesting thing about the Athena motorcycle is that it expresses functions and structures visually, meaning that details like battery pack performance, position of the radiator or fenders are displayed on the bike’s body parts through graphics.

In terms of performance specifications, Zhengxuan Xie mentions the Athena bike would have a 17.7 kWh battery of 51mAh capacity and a 348-volt electric motor producing no less than 850 Nm of peak torque. With the height problem now theoretically solved, the only issue that still remains is weight, as electric bikes inevitably tend to be heavy due to the addition of a motor and battery.
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About the author: Ancuta Iosub
Ancuta Iosub profile photo

After spending a few years as a copy editor, Ancuta decided to put down the eraser and pick up the writer's pencil. Her favorites subjects are unusual car designs, travel trailers and everything related to the great outdoors.
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