Twenty-nine-year-old French designer Martin Hulin grew up riding motocross and racing motorcycles. He started his career in the bicycle industry for Cycles Devinci in Canada, designing the Wilson Carbon downhill bicycle, then transitioned to motorsports with the Formula E Season 3 facelift and other electric automotive projects. Launching Essence Motocycles with Pierre-Yves Gilton brought him full circle to his throttle-twisting roots. (Note: the term ‘motocycle’ is among the oldest for a powered 2-wheeler; Indian used it until 1934! – Ed.)
We spoke recently with Hulin from his office Lyon, France about his $60,000 custom electric motorcycle, and future plans for the company.
I initiated the design of the e-raw concept a few years ago. Pierre-Yves joined the project two years ago and managed the powertrain development. Since then, with skills and passion of each member of our team and partners, the e-raw is a riding prototype. We officially launched Essence in early 2017 by introducing a very limited series of 10 fully customizable electric motorcycles.
People ride motorcycles all over the world, so purchase requests come from the four corners of the earth. We already registered four reservations; it goes fast and we’re happy to meet our first customers’ needs. In order to reward the pioneer spirit of our first 10 customers, they will also receive a company share of Essence Motocycle.
Rather impressive that Pierre-Yves developed the battery pack, which some consider the true intellectual property of an electric bike. How long did that take to develop, and are you happy with its performance so far?
For me, motorcycling is about passion and performance. Powertrain is always a big deal and especially for electric bikes. Pushing boundaries of power storage, we developed our powertrain for both performance and range. Pierre-Yves has great expertise in AC/DC stuff and is doing an awesome job. It’s not the first time he has engineered a powertrain as he developed many electrified automotive projects before.
It took only several months to run the first riding tests of e-raw but since then, we haven’t stopped improving the performances. We matched our goals: 200 km/h speed and 200 km range. But the more power you get, the more speed you need, so we keep pushing.
A 368-pound motorcycle hits the sweet spot. How did you determine your wheelbase and steering geometry?
Weight has always been the enemy of speed (and range for electric bikes). So we worked hard to keep it simple, because what is simple is light. Just like what is simple is robust and what is robust is lasting.
Leonardo da Vinci once said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” At Essence this rules our decision-making processes. The frame geometry was designed for a natural ride whatever the riding mode. The feeling is clean and sharp.
What are your plans once 10 people have received their e-raw machines?
We’re already preparing the next step, mixing industrial organization and handcrafted work. Stay tuned, because 2018 will be electrifying!
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To rephrase the question ;
Would I buy ANY electric motorcycle or for the that matter any EV automobile regardless of who built it or how ‘ custom ‘ it pretends to be ?
Answer .. a resounding … Hell No !
Why … though complicated … can be boiled down to one single factor . Despite all the hoopla , hyperbole and cheerleading … EV’s are not ready for prime time and have no viable long term future … according to the engineers in the know at BMW/MINI , Daimler – Benz , Toyota / Lexus , Honda/Acura , VW/Porsche/Audi etc … et al 😉
Given the number of OEM companies investing Millions into new EVs, on 2 wheels and 4, I’d say your prediction is unfounded in reality. Every company on earth is scrambling to introduce a competitive electric vehicle. And, given that fossil-fuel vehicles are gradually being banned from many city centers (whether pre-2000 machines as in Paris and Amsterdam, or ALL FF vehicles, as in many huge Chinese cities), e-bikes are already huge sellers, and growing fast… Those who grasp the future will reap the rewards.
i say the more the merrier! only by the efforts of these pioneers will the e-bikes and e-cars become practicable– hope these enterprising folks will also look into hybrid(the Prius bike?) i may nevber own/ride one but perhaps my son will! or my daughter…
I have the feeling we’ll all be riding them sooner or later, as fossil fuels are banned from the center of cities, as is already happening in China, and vintage vehicles (pre-2000) are banned in the center of Paris and Amsterdam. Our air quality will rise, but will our fun quality improve? Actually, electric bikes are a blast….
To your question, “Would you buy a custom electric motorcycle with 200 km of range, etc.,” I reply; Not if it looks like this one! But this one’s only at the very beginning of the electric-propulsion development curve.
Unlike electric cars, which offer ample space to package large batteries for sufficient range, E-motorcycles are seriously space-challenged. Given current-gen battery technology, if you want decent (200-km) range, the only solution is like Hulin’s–an enormous bank-vault-sized box of battery cells and related power electronics. UGLY! Wrap a fairing around the thing until more efficient lithium cells are available.
The article also mentions “quick charging…in 30 minutes,” but from what state of charge, and at what voltage?
He’ll likely sell all 10 examples at $60K each to ‘early adopter’ wealthies who need to make a statement. I’ll bet on the mainstream motorcycle OEMs to offer more attractive and practical E-bikes, as well as a few focused startups such as Zero. But, these machines are coming for sure.
They’re here! I read a statistic that 133 Million e-bikes are on the road in China alone. Getting the tech right for the kind of riding/power/range we expect is what’s taking time.
Our channel ‘The Current’ will become a book at the end of this year (with Gestalten), exploring exactly these issues! But so many bikes have been built already, since the 1890s…
I believe in the electric future but not necessarily with heavy slow to charge batteries. Honda has already taken out patents on hydrogen fuel cell motorcycles that make their own electricity. They also have an H2 automobile called the Clarity and I’m already driving the Toyota fuel cell vehicle, Mirai. The components required could be molded nicely into a motorbike chassis and in reality better is better. Better for the environment, less maintenance and an inexhaustible fuel supply. Admittedly the fueling H2 infrastructure lags behind the excellent engineering we’re now seeing. I do believe a tipping point is on the way.