Photo: Ural
The motorcycle industry is currently going through the same changes the automotive one is. Bike builders from across the world, including mainstream ones like Harley-Davidson, are trying a shift to electric mobility, a shift that in a few years’ time might forever change two-wheeled motoring.
At this time however, there are only a handful of electric motorcycles in the spotlight, even fewer in actual production and almost none on the road.
Adding to the roster of possibilities for the future is Russian sidecar motorcycle builder Ural, which this past weekend announced what may very well be the world’s first sidecar electric motorcycle.
The yet unnamed concept is for now just a prototype, one which will be shown at the Progressive Motorcycle Show in Long Beach at the end of this week.
The motorcycle was designed by California-based company ICG, using the Ural one-wheel drive cT sidecar chassis and an electric drivetrain sourced from Zero Motorcycles, including motor, batteries, and controller.
“We always knew our sidecar is the perfect platform to build an electric motorcycle because it can offer what regular two-wheeled motorcycles don’t: passenger comfort, stability, and safety, not to mention more space for batteries,” said Ural in a statement.
No info on the bike’s performances was released, other than the fact that “it accelerates very quickly – for a Ural.” This is, after all, only a proof of concept, and Ural says it has no plans of actually producing this bike yet, and will only take a decision after some thorough market research.
If it decides to turn this electric sidecar into a production version, Ural says it would take it about two years from the approval of design to the start of assembly. That essentially means that even if the company decides to build it, we won’t see one on the road before 2021.
Adding to the roster of possibilities for the future is Russian sidecar motorcycle builder Ural, which this past weekend announced what may very well be the world’s first sidecar electric motorcycle.
The yet unnamed concept is for now just a prototype, one which will be shown at the Progressive Motorcycle Show in Long Beach at the end of this week.
The motorcycle was designed by California-based company ICG, using the Ural one-wheel drive cT sidecar chassis and an electric drivetrain sourced from Zero Motorcycles, including motor, batteries, and controller.
“We always knew our sidecar is the perfect platform to build an electric motorcycle because it can offer what regular two-wheeled motorcycles don’t: passenger comfort, stability, and safety, not to mention more space for batteries,” said Ural in a statement.
No info on the bike’s performances was released, other than the fact that “it accelerates very quickly – for a Ural.” This is, after all, only a proof of concept, and Ural says it has no plans of actually producing this bike yet, and will only take a decision after some thorough market research.
If it decides to turn this electric sidecar into a production version, Ural says it would take it about two years from the approval of design to the start of assembly. That essentially means that even if the company decides to build it, we won’t see one on the road before 2021.
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