Curtiss Motorcycles unveils its first electric bike – the ZEUS

Oh my god. Look at this thing. Curtiss Motorcycles has just unveiled the ZEUS – its first all-new bike since the American brands big rebranding.  It’s electric. And you might need to wash your eyeballs after viewing it.

Presented at the 10th Anniversary of The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, the ZEUS is essentially an electric cruiser which blends technology from Zero Motorcycles and styling from the now defunct Confederate brand.

It’s actually the first all-new machine from the Curtiss brand (not counting the Curtiss Warhawk, because it looks remarkably like something from Confederate’s previous offerings). It features two electric motors from Zero Motorcycles, which share a common shaft, and help produce a claimed 290lbs-ft of torque and 170hp. Not bad at all.

From a styling perspective, the ZEUS looks much like a Confederate machine – so, die-hard fans of the US brand should be pleased that the aggressive styling has been maintained at Curtiss.

It comes with carbon fibre wheels, fitted with Beringer’s double-rotor brake design. Suspension is handled by Race Tech, with a double-wishbone layout at the front and a concentric pivot point with the electric motors’ driveshaft at the rear. And there’s also an iPad-style dash mounted to the top of the frame, various thin LED lighting strips, and clear panels below the seat, which show off the electric powertrain pieces from Zero.

It’s expected to be out on the market by 2020 – but at this point there’s been no word on pricing. But going by how Confederate machines have been priced historically, it’s not going to be cheap. At all.