CONFEDERATE Motorcycles is known for V-twin muscle cruisers like the 200hp Combat Fighter and Combat Bomber (pictured) but now the firm is abandoning internal combustion altogether.
The company has announced a partnership with fellow American firm Zero Motorcycles, producer of some of the most practical electric bikes available including the 70hp SR.
Confederate President Matt Chambers said the Alabama-based firm had gone as far as it could with petrol engines and revealed the name of a forthcoming electric cruiser – Hercules – the Los Angeles Times reports.
Speaking at a car show in California, Chambers said: “We can’t go any further than this. We’ve hit the ceiling. This is it.”
But he indicated the firm would to stay true to its power-cruiser roots, with the Hercules using twin Zero electric motors to make 175hp and 290lbft.
He said the company was also changing its name to Curtiss Motorcycles because of associations of ‘Confederate’ with the American Civil War and current political unrest.
The new name is a tribute to bike builder and racer Glenn Curtiss, who set a motorcycle land-speed record in 1903 before becoming a pioneering aviator.
Chambers said: “I think we lost a lot a business with that name. We’ve missed out on branding opportunities. So, it’s time to retire it.”
He said the firm aimed sell 22 more petrol-fuelled motorcycles, including 13 Combat Bombers, which cost $155,000 each, before switching to electric.
