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Watch the Lit C-1 Self-Balancing Motorcycle Tested on Ice

Even though the most optimistic of us hoped to see the Lit Motors C-1 self-balancing electric bike rolling on the street in 2014, it looks like the development of the final pre-production prototype is still underway.
Lit Motors C-1 tested on ice 1 photo
Photo: Youtube capture
The engineers at Lit are working hard to perfectionate the complex balancing systems inside the C-1 before calling it a day and preparing it for production. Now the C-1 is being tested in some of the most unwelcoming environments for a motorcycle, and ice is probably one of the nastiest ones.

If anything, there are only a handful of riders who will dare ride a bike with street tires in the snow, let alone on the ice. Shoeing a bike with dual-sport tires or knobbies and taking it on snow-clad roads might be a bit safer, but treading on ice without spiked wheels is simply mad.

Well, it looks like the C-1 is feeling quite at home on an ice rink, and has no problems taking off and coming to a start, remaining perfectly balanced while stopped or turning.

We're already looking forward to seeing how it will perform when doing, say, 30 mph (~50 km/h) and braking hard. A common vehicle would slide out of control and doubtlessly flip in case we're talking about a motorcycle.

Still, C-1's automatic stability systems should prevent this from happening. All this is so crazy that it's hard to predict how things would roll out, and that's why we hope the C-1 creators will also take such a test.

Lit Motors CEO Daniel Kim broke both his legs in a race track crash

The development of the C-1 continues even with the Lit Motors CEO Daniel Kim partially out of commission. Kim broke both his legs during a crash that occurred on a race track. According to his own account, "the accident was a high speed (75-80 mph/ 128 km/h) collision with a misplaced sandbag as I came off the track. Though I broke both my legs, very thankfully, I did not suffer any brain or spinal damage."

No info on when the C-1 will enter production was offered, but it looks like Lit Motors are drawing nearer to this moment. The self-balancing
bike is expected to become available for a price of $24,000 (€21,750) before tax incentives (you can already reserve yours). No other official tech specs, such as battery pack capacity, top speed, or range are available at the time of writing.

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