Walt Siegl Motorcycles has a new two-wheeled work of art for us to drool over, and once again this machine is an electric motorcycle, following up Walt’s last bike, the beautiful PACT.
“Motorcycle” might be the wrong word to use on this latest bike though, as Walt’s creation lives in that blurred space between motorcycles, mopeds, and pedal-assist machinery, not to dissimilar from a plethora of other EV entries, including CAKE.
It is an interesting space for the motorcycle community to explore, and we have really only seen it on the OEM side with bikes like the Honda Grom and its ilk (which are selling like hotcakes, we might add).
Of course, the machine here has a more modern look and design approach, in line with the other machines we have seen from WSM.
We didn’t get a wet weight from Walt, but visually and with the handle on the back of the seat, one gets the sense that it would be easy to move the bike around in a tight urban environment.
With the 3 kW motor (roughly 4hp), the urban environment is probably the best use-case scenario for such a machine, though its beefy 19″ wheels look like they could take some punishment on rougher terrain.
Walt sent us the following about his creation, which provides an interesting insight into the mind of one of great custom motorcycle builders right now:
“This project was commissioned by the Haas Moto Museum in Dallas, TX. When we discussed the project, Bobby Haas, the museum’s founder, and Stacey Mayfield, the museum’s director, were in full support of my keen interest in building another electric motorcycle.”
“Bobby Haas is a great patron of custom bike builders (he has three of mine), while he also continues to acquire every motorcycle that is truly relevant in the history of two-wheeled transportation. The museum is a must visit.”
“I wanted to build a machine that looks like it comes from the larger two-wheeled world, not only the motorcycle world; from track bicycles and mopeds, as well as performance motorcycles, such as the 50cc race bikes of the 70s by Kreidler, Garelli, and Derbi.”
“Because my design platform is a combination of all these worlds, this bike could easily be the platform for a pedal-assist bike, a moped, or for an electric performance bike. (That’s where the full motorcycle wheel base comes in.) Electric bike technology lends itself to this versatility.”
I wanted to build the lightest and strongest possible chassis, which led me to a monocoque system. The monocoque frame gives me the opportunity to design something without bodywork, so the bike’s gestalt is defined by the lack of bodywork, which was important to me. It was a win-win, because there was no bodywork needed to define it’s shape, and it saved weight.”
“I saw this project as a study in design. I was very interested in working with the shapes of the components and how they related to each other. I knew I wanted a crisp, clean design, while still showing my hand work and the love that went into building it.”
“I’m fully aware that there are some limits in comfort and ergonomics, but they could easily be addressed if this were to be manufactured.”
Build and Tech Sheet:
Frame: Walt Siegl Monocoque. Chrome-moly skeleton boxed with carbon fiber. Steel and aluminum inserts for mounts.
Suspension: DNM fork, lowered and upgraded internals, DNM rear shock w/rising rate rear suspension system
Wheels: Segway 19”, aluminum disk rear wheel
Electronics: Luna Cycles/WSM wiring harness
Controller: Sine Wave, WSM-updated
Motor: Luna Cycles/Sur-Ron 3000w
Battery Pack: Panasonic cells, 65 Volt
Drive: Belt-driven gear reduction system w/ belt-driven final drive system
Brakes: Sur-Ron master cylinders and calipers
Triple Trees: Walt Siegl
Hand Controls: Sur-Ron
Source: Walt Siegl Motorcycles; Photos: © 2021 Gregory George Moore
Comments