Ural electric motorcycle and sidecar concept
Ural Motorcycles announced the first phase of an all-electric motorcycle and sidecar in a possible tie-up with Zero Motorcycles of California.
THE ELECTRIC PROTOTYPE you can see here was built on cT chassis but instead of a twin cylinder, boxer engine in the frame, a Zero Motorcycles’ powertrain (motor, batteries, controller and ancillaries) is the propulsion method for this retro-styled outfit. California-based company ICG developed the overall design and was responsible for fabricating the initial prototype, with Zero Motorcycles on hand during the development and testing phase.
With no information regarding the spec of the machine on Ural’s website, it’s not clear whether the Ural has the same torque or bhp numbers as Zero bikes do. It’d be foolish to think that given the sidecars more stable platform, over a two-wheeler, that Ural and Zero wouldn’t cram some extra batteries in there to maximise the range.
Ural are tight-lipped about whether the bike is going to make it to production saying: “The company has no immediate plans to manufacture an all-electric model at this time. The decision will ultimately be based on market research, consumer and industry experts’ feedback.”
But should the project make it to the production stage, they estimate a 24-month lead time before the bikes would be built – necessary for the implementation of build infrastructure and tooling.
For those of us based in the US, the bike will be at the Progressive Motorcycle Show, Long Beach, California, between the 16-18 November.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
