Page 53 - Australian Motorcycle News (January 2020)

DAMONHYPERSPORT Erik Buell’s Fuell Fllow;
interesting bike,
Spellcheck nightmare

REVEALED AT THE Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las
Vegas at the start of 2020, the Damon Hypersport is making big
promises to revolutionise motorcycling – not only with electric
power but also with revolutionary safety tech.
The first machine from startup Damon Motorcycles, the
Hypersport took a ‘Best in Innovation’ award at CES, where the
bike appeared on the booth of technology partners Blackberry,
which provides its QNX operating system as the basis of the
Hypersport’s ‘CoPilot’ safety system that’s part and parcel of
the machine. It uses radar and 360-degree cameras alongside
an ‘onboard neural net’ to monitor traffic around the bike and
warns the rider – via vibrating handlebars and threat alerts in
the mirrors – about potential dangers that other vehicles pose.
While we’ve already seen Bosch develop front and rear radars
to help crash avoidance, Damon’s idea goes a step further by
transmitting data from each incident, along with information ANY TIME ERIK Buell is involved with the design of a bike
about the rider’s reactions, back to a cloud computer system, you can be sure it’s going to be unconventional and probably
allowing the company to learn from every event. better in reality than its on-paper specs suggest. If that holds
Initially, the firm plans to build 25 ‘Hypersport Premier’ true with the forthcoming Fuell Fllow (yes, with two Ls, even
models, with a price of US$39,995 (AUD$57,935). They’ll be though the badges on the prototype only spell it ‘Flow’),
followed by a more affordable Hypersport HS version, priced at then it will be an electric bike to watch.
US$24,995 (AUD$36,205). Unlike most electric offerings,
Both versions have a 150kW motor and a claimed range of the Fllow isn’t insanely expensive.
321km. The Premier features the usual high-spec mix of Öhlins In its domestic market, it costs
suspension and Brembo brakes, while there’s no word yet on US$10,995 (AUD$15,925) and can THE FLLOW
what components the HS model features. be pre-ordered right now. For
As well as the electric power and futuristic safety systems, electric motor, freeing up space ISN’T INSANELY
that, you get a 35kW hub-mounted
the Hypersport features the sort of variable riding position
that’s been the stuff of concept bikes for at least the last 30 in the magnesium monocoque
years. At the press of a button, the screen, seat, bars and pegs chassis for its 10kWH battery, EXPENSIVE AT
are claimed to move. electronics and 50 litres of storage
quoted at 137km/h, although A$15,925
space. The bike’s top speed is

only for short periods – the
sustained top speed is a slightly
disappointing 88.5km/h.
is clearly a bike aimed at u
rather than touring. At cit
range is quoted at 240km.
The 180kg weight is lig
than many electric bikes,
charging times can be as
as 30 minutes at a ‘Type 2
charger. Plugged in at hom
the recharge time is som
slower – 10 hours on a nor
110V US electrical socket.

ZERO SR/F – THE STATE OF THE ART

ALTHOUGH IT’S CLEAR there are plenty of interesting electric bikes
meandering towards production, the specs of several of the future
machines seen here actually serve to show what an impressive job US

firm Zero has done to create its current range-topper, the SR/F.
With its 82kW motor, 200km/h top speed and 198km range, the
SR/F is already on a par with the ambitious predictions for bikes that
have yet to reach production.
Sadly, Zero dropped out of the Australian market in 2017, before the
SR/F was launched. Although it didn’t rule out making a return in the
future, we’re still waiting for that to happen.

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