It’s semi-official—the Curtiss Zeus Radial V8 is in production. Almost.
Last Friday marked a significant step in that direction, anyway, with Curtiss Motorcycles and Fast Radius announcing their partnership to create the futuristically styled and innovative Zeus V8 electric motorcycle. The design is eye-popping, highlighted by a sweeping aluminum monocoque frame holding eight banks of cylindrical battery packs flaring out from a central terminal in the middle, arranged in a vee. Curtiss designer Jordan Cornille explained the reasoning behind the electric “V8” powertrain, saying, “With the battery cells packaged inside eight cylindrical towers configured in a flaring radial ‘V’ pattern, we’re…able to achieve maximum battery cooling efficiency.”
The swooping chassis consists of 1.75-inch titanium/chrome-moly tubular and 6061 aluminum, giving that unique battery arrangement structural support but also keeping weight down to a claimed 460 pounds. Wheelbase is stated at a cruiser-y 63.5 inches, and a double-wishbone parallelogram fork with machined aluminum girders is fitted with a fully adjustable Race Tech monoshock with 6 inches of travel.
While Curtiss says the Zeus Radial V8 powertrain is still being optimized, it estimates a power output of 217 hp and 147 pound-feet of torque, flowing through a proprietary controller and axial motor package. Curtiss projects battery capacity to be a hefty 16.8 kWh at 399 volts, but there's no mention of range or any charging specs. Regardless, this sculpture rolling on 18-inch BST carbon fiber wheels will easily stand out as a unique entry in an increasingly crowded e-market.
At last year's The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, Leeds, Alabama-based Curtiss showed its Zeus Concept Prototype, which used a 14.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack to power the world's first E-twin powerplant—a set of two high-output electric motors driving a common output shaft. That vision won the show's prestigious Most Innovative Motorcycle award.
The latest redesign goes in another direction entirely, referencing the powertrain from Glenn Curtiss’ record-setting 1907 V-8 motorcycle and utilizing a more skeletal attitude. The Zeus 8 prototype was shown for the first time publicly at the 2019 Quail Motorcycle Gathering on August 16, and a major launch event was planned, but according to Fast Radius, “…ran into challenges sourcing parts for the prototype.”
The complex components on the motorcycle proved difficult to manufacture, with CNC suppliers quoting long lead times and difficulty with quality requirements. The Zeus 8 launch was fast approaching, so Curtiss turned to Fast Radius, a leading manufacturing service provider, to evaluate the requirements. The end result was a hybrid solution that comprised three separate production processes and produced more than 60 parts and components for the electric hot rod.
Both companies say the Zeus is now on track for commercial availability in 2020, and may integrate other innovative processes along the way, like designing and engineering the seat and grips with industrial-grade 3-D printing technology. Although the Fast Radius release states that they are “…already in production on the first 100 Zeus 8 bikes,” designer Jordan Cornille sounded a more cautionary tone. “We have some validation work to complete before final production begins. Deliveries are expected to begin late spring 2020,” he told us.
The Curtiss Zeus Radial V8 will sell for $75,000 and, according to the website, will serve as the brand's first entry into the so-called "hyper-luxury motorcycle space." (See more details at Curtiss' website.
If Curtiss is aiming to “create sustainable, desirable, intergenerational, mean, clean, and green future-proof hot-rod motorcycles,” the new Zeus certainly embodies the last part of that phrase. It's also just one of several designs (or divisions) in the company, with the new Hades taking on a bullet-like battery/motor structure, while the lower priced Eros and Psyche offer less brawny specs at a lower buy-in. The latter is also closest to production, and it’s also the model Curtiss has nakedly stated is meant to compete with the Harley LiveWire (and is priced similarly).
Fast Radius goes on to say, “Both companies expect to collaborate on future iterations of the Zeus, as well as Curtiss’ upcoming models including Hades, Psyche, and Eros.” If turnaround is as quick and efficient as the Zeus Radial V8, we may just see those bikes sooner than we think.
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