February 22, 2018
We popped by to see Rico at High-Bond Modified the other day and this crazy German dude was there with an oddball motorcycle. Out of the corner of my eye I just thought it was an ironhead shortchop with a really nice stance. But then I noticed the bottom end on the engine and what looked like an enormous transmission case and I knew something was up.
The jockey-shift lever is an oversized circuit breaker that turns the bike on and off.That German dude turned out to be Enrico "Ricky" de Haas from Wannabe Choppers, and his bike is a semi-finished electric motorcycle. The rear hub was poached from a common European electric scooter and an aluminum mag wheel was grafted to the hub. That hub also contains the lone brake on the bike and much like Otto, it barely works. The batteries are stored in the "oil tank" under the seat. That enormous transmission-looking thing? Ricky cast that from a cookie tin and stuffed the rest of the electronics inside. The jockey-shift lever protruding out of the left is an oversized circuit breaker that turns the bike on and off. The throttle works through the typical hand control on the right side of the bars.
The batteries don't allow for much range at full throttle, a couple miles at most.Art bikes are cool and all, but how does an Electric Chopper actually ride? We took it for a spin and overwhelmingly the reaction was the same–it's weird but strangely enjoyable. Electric motors come on with 100% torque at all throttle positions, so that can be electronically modulated to change the responsiveness. This electric motor isn't particularly powerful so taking off is a little surprising with zero noise, but was easy to get used to and not as abrupt as I expected. The batteries don't allow for much range at full throttle, a couple miles at most. But it does spin up given enough time, and was clocked at over 50 mph. The experience is hard to describe; the ergonomics feel like a lot of bobber-ish motorbikes, but the lack of clutch, shifting and most importantly the noise are all absent. Keep in mind, Ricky built this to be something fun and weird, he's not trying to sell you a fully-sorted production motorcycle.
The bike is at Mama Tried in Milwaukee this weekend. Let that irony sink in for a minute.According to Ricky, the Electric Chopper wasn't warmly received in Germany, but spectators at his first USA show earlier this month–The One Show in Portland–loved it. The bike is at Mama Tried in Milwaukee this weekend. Let that irony sink in for a minute. We'll see how the reception there goes, but I imagine it'll be similar to the reactions in the Beaver State.