Other manufacturers like Energica and Lightning offer faired, sportbike models, with Energica offering its standard Eva EsseEsse9, the streetfighter Eva 107, and the sportbike Ego. With two naked sport options, a dual sport, a supermoto, and a dirt-focused model to choose from, Zero has cornered the market. Leading the US electric motorcycle market, Zero motorcycles offers the widest range of electric bikes to choose from. A Ducati E-Panigale or Yamaha YZF-E, can you imagine it? It is only a matter of time before the largest motorcycle manufacturers start making electric motorcycle models, either original bikes or based off of existing models. Honda is starting to tease its CR Electric Prototype and Harley-Davidson has been amping up its LiveWire model for its 2020 release. As electric-only motorcycle manufacturers continue to squeeze what they can out of these bikes, the Big Four manufacturers have also started to eye electric motorcycle technology. Electric car manufacturers, like Tesla, have seen an explosion in popularity for electric automobiles, and the motorcycle industry has seen this carry over into its segment as well.Įlectric motorcycle manufacturers have been pushing the limits on their bikes, increasing their ranges while also increasing their power output. To meet modern safety standards, which sets out a maximum height for sissy bars and saddles, both the bar and saddle are slightly lower than on the original bike.Electric motorcycles represent the motorcycle industry’s ability to listen to what consumers want and start to develop products around those wants. The most noticeable change is to the bike’s sissy bar. The gear shifter has a slightly altered internal mechanism, while still retaining the original function. The chainset now features a square taper bottom bracket instead of a cotter pin bottom bracket, and the headbadge is no longer riveted to the frame. Similarly, we’ve fitted the bike with modern brakes, but replicated the classic design (so you can’t see a difference). The rear reflector, for example, matches the size and pattern of the original, but doesn't contain any metal. The rear carrier has also been strengthened to meet these rules.Īlthough every part of the bike has been expertly matched to the original, some of these elements are slightly different to improve rider safety. There’s a couple of other components that needed to be thicker to pass today’s standards, including the welded stem and the fork tubing. The dropouts and cleats are also slightly thicker to pass modern testing standards. Although the geometry is the same, the welding technique is slightly different due to modern assembly processes, and tig welding has been used on some of the joins to make the bike stronger. Luckily, by following the original technical drawings, we were able to make sure these changes stayed true to the classic design. Which means that, for a classic like the Chopper, we’ve had to make a few small tweaks to fit modern standards. Manufacturing processes are better, and safety standards are higher. It’s been over half a century since the launch of that very first Chopper – and, naturally, things have changed a bit since then. We’re also using the same numbering logic for the serial numbers – so they’ll fit in right alongside the original models. Other replicated elements include the light bracket (which can fit one original light), the seat strap, the R nuts and the kickstand.Īs for finishing touches, the reissued Chopper comes in Infra Red and Ultra Violet – the same iconic colourways that featured in the original MK2 launch. To make sure we matched the original, we created a bespoke design for the spoke protector, and the rear hub is a modern-day equivalent of the original Sturmey-Archer. The tyres are based on the mould used in the original Chopper production, and the rims are still that classic chrome-plated steel. And that’s exactly the same design you’ll find here. Thanks to our studies of the old Chopper (along with outside counsel from some expert fans), these updated handlebars are a close match to the original, with handlebar grips and brake levers that are close to replicas.Īnother iconic feature of the Chopper is its wheels – particularly that mullet setup. Those iconic U-shaped handlebars – one of the defining features of the Chopper – haven’t gone anywhere either. The same goes for the pedals, mudguards and chainguard, all of which were designed using the original technical drawings to create exact replicas of the original parts. First off, let’s take a look at all the elements that replicate the original MK2 Chopper design.įor the bike’s frame, we used original measurements to make sure the geometry of the tubing is as close as possible to the OG bike.
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