Photo: Bikeexif
I never thought I'd love the looks of something resembling my toaster on wheels, but I do like this unique electric motorcycle designed by a guy who calls himself "Shiny Hammer."
The styling is definitely weird, but that's something we've come to expect from concepts or custom-made motorcycles or scooters that use electric propulsion. Like the four-wheeled vehicles before them, they feel the need to differentiate themselves from the gas-burning crowd, and a wanky design is the easiest way to do it.
However, this thing - called "Hope" - becomes even weirder once you hear Shiny Hammer's (also known as Samuel Aguiar) sources of inspiration. He quotes the Porsche 356 classic car, the iPhone and, a bit generically if you ask us, Pokémon. I don't know about you, but I'd love to see the mood board that led to designing the Hope.
You can definitely see some of that famous Porsche design in there. All those smooth, rounded surfaces are clear reminders of those times, or even harking way back to the first land speed record attempts on two wheels.
The Hope won't be breaking any of those, though. Underneath, it borrows the mechanical bits from a Vectrix VX-1 electric maxi scooter, meaning it gets a top speed of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a maximum range of about 170 miles (274 km).
That's not fast by any means, but people won't want you to go zipping by in a second anyway. They'll want plenty of time to stop and admire the aluminum body you can have your hair done in, or the rounded arch that goes over the handle and incorporates the gauges and the light.
“I was looking for a design that you would want to hug, without any aggressive shapes,” Aguiar says. Well, not sure if I'd want to hug my toaster, especially while it's on, plus that saddle looks awfully uncomfortable. But this is a design piece, a sculpture, so it's mostly something to look at.
Samuel would disagree. “It’s very smooth, gentle,” he says, quoted by Bikeexif. “Most of the time, you can ride the bike without using the brakes—just by turning the throttle both ways. Handling is light, and the bike holds its line very serenely. Being quiet, people look at it more than if it was noisy—and you can hear them talking about it, which is funny. Riding the bike at night makes you feel like a ninja, which I love.” Well, if you put it this way, I guess I could live with the saddle and everything.
However, this thing - called "Hope" - becomes even weirder once you hear Shiny Hammer's (also known as Samuel Aguiar) sources of inspiration. He quotes the Porsche 356 classic car, the iPhone and, a bit generically if you ask us, Pokémon. I don't know about you, but I'd love to see the mood board that led to designing the Hope.
You can definitely see some of that famous Porsche design in there. All those smooth, rounded surfaces are clear reminders of those times, or even harking way back to the first land speed record attempts on two wheels.
The Hope won't be breaking any of those, though. Underneath, it borrows the mechanical bits from a Vectrix VX-1 electric maxi scooter, meaning it gets a top speed of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a maximum range of about 170 miles (274 km).
That's not fast by any means, but people won't want you to go zipping by in a second anyway. They'll want plenty of time to stop and admire the aluminum body you can have your hair done in, or the rounded arch that goes over the handle and incorporates the gauges and the light.
“I was looking for a design that you would want to hug, without any aggressive shapes,” Aguiar says. Well, not sure if I'd want to hug my toaster, especially while it's on, plus that saddle looks awfully uncomfortable. But this is a design piece, a sculpture, so it's mostly something to look at.
Samuel would disagree. “It’s very smooth, gentle,” he says, quoted by Bikeexif. “Most of the time, you can ride the bike without using the brakes—just by turning the throttle both ways. Handling is light, and the bike holds its line very serenely. Being quiet, people look at it more than if it was noisy—and you can hear them talking about it, which is funny. Riding the bike at night makes you feel like a ninja, which I love.” Well, if you put it this way, I guess I could live with the saddle and everything.
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