While some doubts about the future of electric motorcycle, others, like Adam Kay, are much more enthusiastic. In fact, he’s so enthusiastic that he’s just named his latest project ‘Death to Petrol.’
Of course it’s very tongue in cheek. As the founder of Motorcycle without title In London, Adam has some gasoline-powered customs – and he plans to build more. But he’s also pragmatic about the future and curious about the potential of electric powertrains as a platform for customization.
“Can the basic rules for designing a motorcycle be broken?” he asks. “Do you need to hold the bike with your feet? Where and how should the driver sit? Tank or not tank? Leg position? The presence of the road? Speed versus noise? “
It was this line of thought that led Adam to design ‘DTP’. Pieced together from a custom frame, a prototype engine and some pre-made parts, this is a great case study of how a compact urban electric motorcycle can look and drive like how.
“Inspiration came from the large diameter mountain bike I rode over 20 years ago,” he tells us. “I wanted something similar and fun for this design. Nobody makes large diameter motorcycle frames for petrol motorcycles, so I think electric motorcycles can be anything you want.”
Adam didn’t just want a tubular frame – he wanted to clearly show the details that make up the bike’s function. “There are no panels hiding anything here,” he said. “The motor, battery and controller can all be seen.”
Step one is to write a basic outline of the concept. Next, Adam sent his sketch to Jack Lennie – a product designer known for creating ‘Tinker, ‘a set of weldless motorcycle accessories can be downloaded, CNC cut and bolted. Adam and Jack refined the design until they had enough CAD drawings to work with.
Those files were then turned over to Mike at Survival Customs to build the framework. Mike paired it with 50mm tubing, along with a custom swingarm that uses a mono-shock design with bracing. Design is as bare as it is; the only real part of the ‘body’ is a boxed part at the top to hold the saddle.
Forks, spokes and rear shock absorbers are all taken from KTM 390 Duke. The 17” wheel is an SM Pro part, wrapped in Dunlop Mutant rubber and stopped by an ISR brake connected to the Venhill road. Since there’s no clutch, both brakes are activated via the ISR controls on the handlebars — just like on a mountain bike.
For the engine, Adam turned to e-bike maker Sur-Ron. “I drove a Sur-Ron Light Bee all-terrain vehicle, which was a lot of fun,” he said. “So I contacted them directly and bought a test engine from them.”
Adam fitted the Sur-Ron engine with a new controller and battery. Power is sent to the rear wheel via a chain drive, with the engine attached to a base plate allowing it to move back and forth to adjust chain tension.
With everything in place, Adam turned to Paul Taplin to make his work a reality. Paul was invaluable to the project, connecting it all in less than a day. But this is only phase one — the guys plan to remake everything with a thinner wire loom, built around a Motogadget controller.
Above is a set of Renthal bars, fitted with a Biltwell Inc. handle. and custom switch covers that can act as brake lever clamps. Up front are twin LED headlights from Durite, with a pair of LED taillights from Alchemy parts mounted to the rear of the frame. Tiny Motogadget The LED turn signals are discreetly attached to the tabs on the chassis.
Glenn Moger added a leather track to supermotostyle seats, while Aurum Finishing handles powder coating.
DTP hits the mark in terms of visuals, moving away from traditional motorcycle design for something both quirky and aggressive. As for performance and range, Adam makes no secret of the fact that this is designed as a short-range weapon.
“Top speed is limited to 50 mph,” he says, “but it’s all about acceleration for a city motorcycle. Range depends on your driving style — DTP is more about urban fun than long country trips. “
The numbers aren’t final either, as the DTP is technically a prototype. Adam is planning a small production of these after he does more testing and tweaking, with a target weight limit of less than 155 lbs.
We will certainly be tempted… how about you?
Motorcycle without title | Adam Kay Instagram | Photo of Michael Jersovs
