For a New Golden Age, Go Back to First Principles
The “Ex”-man, Virgil Exner, head of Chrysler design in the halcyon days of American Industrial Design, always noted that “she’s got to drive like she looks”. Replace drive with ride and you frame the magnitude of my emotions as I mounted the One for my first ride at 10:32 p.m. on January 7, one hour and 28 minutes from my
Curtiss One Design, PT. 5: Quality
Curtiss One leverages the experience and craftsmanship of the leaders in battery electric technology. The Axial Flux motor is the most power-dense available. Liquid-cooled and structurally mounted, its potential for high power output is under-stressed in our system. Coupled with the light weight of the overall package, we have chosen longevity and roll-on torque over outright acceleration. Ultra-light weight carbon …
Curtiss One Design, PT. 4: Color & Texture
Color can either bind a motorcycle together as a cohesive whole, or blow it apart by confusing the viewer about the nature of the surfaces to which it is applied. Improperly applied color theory quickly becomes either boring or chaotic. Equally exhausting are large surfaces that are left in a raw as-machined state. Tool path marks create small areas of …
The Curtiss Way
Like millions of motorcyclists across the globe, two wheels and a sense of solitude and freedom have captivated me since age six. Bicycles, mini-bikes, Cushman scooters, choppers, cruisers, crotch rockets, dirt bikes, and pretty-much anything that moves. Fifty-seven years fast forward, I have owned, ridden, and enjoyed a broad assortment of motorcycle models and brands. Most have touched my spirit …
The Ride
The purest ride possible. Quiet, smooth, comfortable and precise, and free of distractions. Curtiss One is an experience that is unlike any motorcycle you’ve ridden. No shifting, no clutch. Curtiss One offers a direct connection between your wrist and a bottomless reserve of instantaneous torque. The Curtiss Centered Power Axis and concentric belt direct final drive means nothing stands between …
Curtiss One Design, Pt. 3: Ergonomics
The lack of engine vibration gives our rider additional mental bandwidth that will expose flaws in traditional motorcycle ergonomic design. We have taken a new approach…. In the early 20th century, motorcycles had only recently broken free of the constraints of a motorized bicycle. On a bicycle, human interface is restricted to grips, seat and pedals. Any further contact such …
Clean, Sustainable Mobility
Curtiss encourages first principle originalist thinking – the process of escaping the rabbit holes of design. The history of design and innovation is littered with dead ends, some of which have gained too much traction and been accepted as the de facto solutions despite better ideas being conceived along the way. By examining a problem from a fresh perspective without …