Unappreciated by the world is the fact that in today’s elusive studio of motorcycle design America is a major player – for some, the major player. Dozens of designers, engineers and craftsmen are creating some of the most exciting and innovative motorcycles the world has ever seen – ever dreamed about. This doesn’t just mean “yet another chopper”. It means names like Confederate, Ecosse, Fischer, Roehr, Vectrix (producing an electric sportbike), and MotoCzysz in addition to, and no less worthy in this context, the establishment Harley-Davidson with Buell, Victory, and even Indian. Award-winning author Alan Cathcart visits twenty-five shops interviews the designers and engineers and rides the motorcycles. Each shop, interviewee and motorcycle has been photographed especially for this book.

Check out the following excerpt from the book featuring the rMoto Electrix Superbike. You can also download a PDF file here. To purchase a copy of American Dream Bikes by Alan Cathcart click here.

Is an Electric Super Bike important?

My team and I started to prepare the booth at the ’08 INDY Motorcycle Industry Expo very early in the morning. We had spent the last two days setting up. The show didn’t start until 10:00 am, but we were there at 8:00 am because we were anxious to get everything ready. The truth is we were very nervous. This was the very first motorcycle industry event that Vectrix Corporation had ever attended in North America, and we wanted to make a good showing. This was also the first time that any company had attempted to enter the conventional North American motorcycle market with an E2W machine of this quality, and at this price or performance level. Only recently, Vectrix had attended EICMA, the major European motorcycle industry event in Milan. The ROBRADY/Vectrix Super Bike (rMoto) was “unveiled” with terrific fanfare and attracted tremendous attention from the press and the industry. The momentum had begun.

We only had a little booth at INDY, barely big enough for three or four demo models of the Maxi Scooter sized Vx1 Electric Scooter. The booth was so small, that most of the sales team had to stand in the isles. Even so, I had decided to devote a lot of valuable space to something we wanted the US industry to see, even though it was not something we could sell to prospective dealers.

I had decided that the beautiful, life sized model of the Super Bike was so exciting as a concept, that it should take the front and center spot in the booth as a symbol of what our new brand represented. I was acutely aware of the interest that the showing at EICMA had generated in Europe, and wanted to continue the momentum here in the US.

This was, after all, to be an all-inclusive E2W brand, not just a “scooter” brand.

All of us were a bit worried. We had promised our company that the conventional motorcycle industry was where our machines belonged, not in electronics/appliance retailers, EV stores, stand-alone flag ship stores, or automobile dealerships, as many in the company still believed, although the success at the EICMA show was beginning to change minds. Their concept was that these electric machines were “revolutionary personal transport”, “rolling computers” – anything but motorcycles. That sales tactic had been tried for several years, at great expense, and with no success. One argument held that the lack of success was due to the machines being too advanced and ahead of their time for people to understand. I contended that they were motorcycles, motorcycles with electric drive systems, but motorcycles none-the-less. And that they belonged in stores that had clientele who were or had made the “life choice” necessary to embrace two wheeled vehicles. I believed we needed dealership partners that were trusted by long time clients, so that a new brand, and a new propulsion system, would be trusted by extension, and had all of the expertise, service and accessories necessary to satisfy that prospective end user, or fleet user.

As the morning wore on we took the dust cover off the Super Bike model and did other preparations to make the booth ready for the show to open. No fanfare as at EICMA, we just took off the cover. It was about 9:00 am. A funny thing started to happen. Suddenly, people from the other booths started to wander over to our booth. Before long we noted people taking pictures and making calls on their cell phones. Within half an hour we had a large crowd of industry insiders surrounding our booth, actually surrounding the Super Bike model. The cell phone calls and the transmitted cell pictures continued to bring more and more people to the booth. When 10:00 am arrived and the show opened, the crowd changed character from other OEMs to dealers and dealership staff. All weekend long we had national press, industry association and newsletter reporters, other OEMs and former visitors bringing others with them, back to the booth for another look. We soon became worried that we had not brought enough literature. Everyone wanted pictures and specs. Before the first day was over we had made about 40 appointments to take demo units to dealerships in aid of their adopting our brand, and hundreds of other inquiries. Staff had done dozens of press interviews and made appointments for press visits to the Vectrix corporate facilities.

It was absolutely clear to all of us that the Super Bike model was what caused the excitement. Once the dealers understood that it was the Vx1 that was currently available, and once they had experienced the scooter going in reverse, learned about the regen throttle (being electric we could run them indoors even if only for a few feet), and heard that it could go 62 mph… they were sold. Because we were able to show a convincing road map of planned future products and had the promise (dream?) of having a fantastic electric Super Bike in the foreseeable future, they were interested and anxious to become dealers. The US team went on to open over 100 US dealerships in the remaining 8 months of its current fiscal year and placed over 2200 Vx1s on dealership floors during that time period.

After that show, Company enthusiasm increased dramatically and an all out effort, anchored with the Super Bike model, was launched – continuing the introduction of Vectrix and the Super Bike to the motorcycle world and the world press.

Up until that time, only sporadic forays into E2Ws had been made by any large brand. A few low-speed, limited distance units had been tried here and there in the western world. Meanwhile, a very large number of similar but low performing low-tech machines had begun appearing in the Asian markets and met with wonderful success. Unfortunately, most of these were of relatively low quality and had inadequate performance levels for US or European use. Literally no one had even remotely considered such a thing as an electric super bike. So, when the ROBRADY/Vectrix Super Bike was presented to the world it had an amazing impact.

As recently as last year, Mission Motors produced a prototype electric motorcycle (super bike) that has now set a two way record at Bonneville of over 150 mph. It is said to have a nominal street range per charge of 100 miles to 150 miles. This is reported to be a production prototype.

Shortly after that, Lightning Electric Motorcycle Company set a one way measured mile record at Bonneville of over 166 mph. The same machine placed second at the first sanctioned all electric motorcycle race in the US. It is also reported to be a production prototype.

The Agni bike (a one off proof of concept for the Agni electric motor company) won the Isle of Man GPXTT zero emissions race and went on to win the first race of that type in the US.

Lightning, Moto Czysz, Mavizen, Roehr, Agni and a few others are offering to build race only electric bikes for teams interested in entering these races.

Last year, an electric motorcycle dragster, the KillaCycle, began to do quarter mile races in the sub 8 second times, rivaling all but the fastest Super charged and multi engine ICE drag bikes.

Only a few weeks ago, 13 electric super bikes competed in the first officially sanctioned all electric bike race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, and in so doing achieved speeds that were very close to those of ICE super bikes, doing laps only 15 to 18 seconds slower than ICE super bikes.

Yamaha, Honda, Peugeot, KTM, BMW, Polaris, and other Legacy 2W OEMs have announced the introduction of E2W machines into their product lines in the next few years.

Recently, Quantya, Zero, Brammo, EVS, and as many as 10 other small specialty E2W and EATV OEMs have entered the market place.

Four years ago, within the motorcycle industry at large, there was no evidence of such a thing as an electric super bike; or for that matter, serious consideration of electric bikes at all. I now know of a few people and some industry insiders that had been privately working on electric motorcycles and scooters in their garages and workshops for many years – but in the industry at large, this was not a seriously considered concept.

So what was the vision for the rMoto? ROBRADY design by that time had extensive experience in the motorcycle industry and had recently begun working with Vectrix on electric scooters. They understood where electric vehicle technology could go. The design for the Vx1 was completed and the beginnings of a product road map – a smaller scooter called the Vx2, fleet specific bodywork for patrol and delivery service, and even a prototype three-wheeled version of the Vx1 were in the works. What they were looking for though was something that could aid in building Vectrix into an iconic brand. The answer to that was the Super Bike, even though the technology necessary to drive such a thing at ICE like speed for any distance was not available or even understood.

When one considers what would drive anyone to go out on this sort of limb, what impetus would drive such a conceptualization, one can only think it was passion. The idea of a commercial industrial design studio being an incubator for this sort of work seems attractive and appropriate, but it’s not at all common. The driver here seems to be genuine passion on the part of all concerned. The nature of a design studio is collegial and only a shared passion could drive such a leap forward in concept… and, why not? This concept combines a lot of elements that are extremely attractive to the creative mind. Once the team was exposed to the Vx1, they were aware of the awesome capabilities of electric drive systems, the positive effect on the environment such machines could provide, the amazing power delivery concept of 100% torque from 0 mph, and the utter silence of these machines in motion. Additionally, I think, there was the passionate impetus to convince this client company, Vectrix, that driving prospective dealerships and end users to their brand, and to continued interest in the brand for the long run, required a brand awareness-“a total brand design”- that encompassed a long term product road map and a unified design of the company now and the future.

How far, given all of that, is it from the Vx1 to the rMoto? I think the distance in concept between the two is actually light years. Am I trying to make the case that this Super Bike was the only reason for the growth in interest in electric E2Ws, or that it was the single impetus for the sudden appearance, so soon after it was shown, of actual electric super bikes; perhaps not. However, I do believe that it was a prime mover, and one of the primary eye opening and imagination generators in the development of everything that has come since. Nothing else in the rapid progress of these developments has had this much influence or this much power to influence the current outcome.

During the ’08 INDY show, and for a long time after, the sales team reported dealer after dealer saying that they had decided to adopt the brand in large part because of the promise of a product line that eventually would included the Super Bike. One dealer agreed to adopt the brand only if he were promised that his would be the first dealership in his state to have the Super Bike.

Clearly, giving credit where it is due, the Vx1 is a good bike and deserved success in it’s own right. It is still the best E2W that has ever been offered to the general motorcycle marketplace in terms of design and performance. It offers acceptable speed (62 mph/100 kph), product differentiation from ICE bikes with regen braking and reverse throttle, excellent handling and decent distance per charge.

But I don’t think it would have achieved such rapid dealer acquisition, and reached the public consciousness so quickly, without the electric Super Bike model.  The Super Bike offered prospective dealers and end users a clear vision of what to expect in the future (a future which is coming about rapidly as noted above), and excited the imagination and efforts of an entire industry.

Bravo ROBRADY design.

We seem to be surrounded by people who tell us we are living in the age of a personal transport revolution. Their main reference point for this bold statement is that motorcycles powered by electric propulsion systems have become available.  But while the use of batteries as the energy source to drive motorcycles is considered by many to be a revolution, it is in fact part of an evolutionary process.

There have been electric vehicles (EV) including motorcycles (E2W – Electric Two Wheel) for well over one hundred years – in fact before internal combustion engines (ICE) came into common use. However, wide use of the electric powered motorcycle in the contemporary western world is relatively new.  In China alone, there are reported to be more than 25 million E2Ws – mainly scooters – currently in use.  There are significant market reasons for this fact, in particular, very low speed limits that make even the slowest E2W competitive with ICE.  Also, their economic situation constrains most individuals from owning an auto or truck.

To some among the current E2W startups, there seems to be confusion about this issue of evolution within the motorcycle industry, leading to characterization of these machines as rolling computers or revolutionary transport appliances and even attempts at selling them in electronics/appliance stores. An E2W is not an electronic appliance, not a “computer on wheels.” It is, at the end of the day, quite simply a motorcycle.

Mistaking and merchandising an E2W for anything else is an error, will cause confusion and will slow down market acceptance and growth. If we wish to drive acceptance of these machines, we must make sure they conform to the actual uses that are true of conventional motorcycles and be accepted and sold in motorcycle dealerships. Essentially, we are talking about a function of the up-front design concept, branding, marketing, sales, and after sales processes. Success in bringing E2Ws to market in the western world relies on recognition of certain realities that exist in the marketplace.

One informative result of surveys by Frost & Sullivan, Deloitte, and others is that among market drivers, “green” or environmental issues are generally about half way down the list. The top five are all related to mission specificity and value. The same criteria is attached to conventional ICE machines. Fortunately, it is now possible for E2Ws to fulfill many of those criteria.

Making sure that the first – the beachhead products – are mission appropriate, price competitive, and targeted to those market areas that fit the current limitations of this drive system in terms of speed, range and price, is the role of the design firm/team.

An understanding of how surface design, mission specificity, and the other aspects noted above effects perspective dealers, retail end users and fleet users is crucial to this effort.

The two most telling cases that come to mind are the retooling of the KTM brand by Kiska of Austria, which led directly to the KTM break away market-entry success, and the design work by ROBRADY design that led to the very successful launch of the Vectrix Maxi VX1 electric scooter (and eventually to the now iconic ROBRADY/Vectrix Electric Super Bike). Because of the fact that the ROBRADY effort was aimed directly at an E2W startup, it is most salient to this discussion.

Although very distinctive, the ROBRADY design for the premier Vectrix machine, the VX1, does not radically deviate from the conventional in terms of visual design. Styling elements that are unique and can be replicated in the continuing product road map are certainly present, but the design is recognizable as a Maxi Scooter. This was a very thoughtful conceptualization in the case of Vectrix for the following reason. It is hard enough to convince a prospective buyer to accept a new brand and on top of that to accept an electric power train with it’s inherent limitations. Why ask the retailer, and the end user, to also accept something with unrecognizably radical visuals as well? Sometimes subtlety and restraint is strength in this respect.

The same precept was applied to the ROBRADY/Vectrix Super Bike, which was indeed radical in concept and unique in design, but remained recognizable as a motorcycle. It was important for the ROBRADY /Vectrix Super Bike design to maintain that restraint for the same reasons, as it was the first time that a concept of an actual all-electric “Super Bike” that could potentially compete on an equal footing with ICE Super Bikes was introduced at industry events.

That concept is most important for a start-up to realize, unless they are content to step aside when the trusted legacy companies finally launch their E2Ws, which they will do shortly within carefully chosen price ranges – starting with the small useful ones designed for a larger market.

Branding, which is a process that must be done in order to state clearly what the company represents, is an integral part of the effort, as is infrastructure, legal requirements, dealers and an all important end user interface. These are also integral parts of first stage planning and a part of the “total brand design” that should be done as part of the above process. That effort is essentially a design process that includes the design firm, the OEM, the sales and marketing team (perhaps ideally the same entity), and all those involved in compliance and finance.

This is perhaps even more serious for an E2W start up due to their need to compete with Legacy OEMs.

Most important to this complex effort is the “total design concept” that encompasses the entire brand story, including its interface with dealerships and end users. The most successful illustration of this concept is Apple.  This brand is well known for its design prowess but equally known for its total design concept, which reaches into every aspect of product design, packaging, marketing, sales, dealer and end user interface. What makes them successful is a concept that goes well beyond the design quality of the products themselves.

Confusing an E2W for an electronic gadget sincerely misses the point regarding the normal evolutionary progress that will be shown in good time by all of the existing, successful motorcycle brands. However, this is one of those rare times when a start-up can actually compete and bring a new brand into the marketplace. This is because of economic issues relating to the ponderous nature of new development in older, large motorcycle OEMs, product and brand confusion (selling ICE and E2W at the same time) and the lack, on the part of the legacy companies, of “overall brand design” that has been such an integral part of Apple’s ability to produce such prodigious sales of new products within their brand, and to overcome competition from other companies with like products.

That is where a “total design concept” process is critical. There are many computer companies, but only one Apple.

There are many motorcycle companies, but only one…

The Legacy OEMs are exploring electricity as a possible alternate drive system, for use in certain – currently limited situations – notably a few big brand e-scooters and e-ATVs are already in test release. However, they are not offering a serious product road map for future products and certainly are not offering the proven excitement of a Super Bike; leaving the door open to a well considered start-up (up start?), particularly one able to relate to its customers successfully through a “total design concept.”

Another problem lies in the propensity of some current startups to provide only over-developed, very expensive, first generation E2Ws that cost many times more than comparable existing ICE bikes without providing comparable performance. This only serves to showcase the limitations rather than the advantages of E2Ws, creating an elitist perception of these machines – the very opposite of what is creating such success in Asia. Some even ignore the very useful and innovative features that clearly create critical product differentiation between E2W and ICE, such as regenerative braking and reversing from the throttle.

Many in the industry believe that the Holy Grail of the emerging E2W industry is the 150+ mph super bike, and it surely is. We learned that from the excitement generated the very first time the ROBRADY/Vectrix Super Bike was shown to the industry. It is, because it suggests to the skeptics that an E2W can some day perform respectably along side of contemporary ICE bikes. In retrospect, the now iconic ROBRADY/Vectrix Super Bike led many to that conclusion.

The history of the motorcycle industry is evolutionary, not revolutionary. As in all evolutionary progress, the best is kept and preserved alongside the inevitable advances that will surely come. My suggestion is that this evolutionary process includes not only electric drive systems, but also a “total design concept” as the real “new paradigm.”

Only by studying the past, emulating the evolutionary norms of our industry and embracing the newly evolved “total brand design” concept, will any new E2W company be able to tell the compelling story necessary to grow its new brand in today’s crowded and highly competitive marketplace.

ROBRADY is well known for their design prowess in the electric scooter and super bike world, but this is their first foray into the electric bicycle market. Fritz Maffry of the Dynamo Group, who is currently reviewing the db0 3.0 for North American distribution, sees the bike as a breakthrough, with the “same caliber of design DNA as products from Apple or Sony”. Maffry has been reviewing the bike and commented that “a crowd gathered when we were on our test drives” and feels that ROBRADY and DK City succeeded in elevating the design game in electric bicycle market. The Dynamo Group, which specializes in commercializing breakthrough light electric products, is keeping an eye out for future collaborations of ROBRADY and DK City – as Maffry states: “Can’t wait to see what they have coming next”.

ROBRADY has several interactive displays planned for their booth this year. In addition to the db0 folding bicycle, they will be featuring their XTools floating fishing equipment, Identity Stronghold Secure Sleeves, and the Vectrix VX-1 Maxi Scooter. They will be reaching out to technology companies to offer design, production and capital solutions. Dickie Herbst, Director of New Ventures for ROBRADY, will be available Friday morning at the booth and is looking forward to meeting with technology groups in the Tampa Bay area. Matt Leiter, Director of ROBRADY capital, will be available Friday afternoon as well.

CoolTECH, hosted by the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, is annual event featuring a display of interactive experiences designed to showcase the coolest technology coming out of the Tampa Bay region and beyond. Attendees check out cutting edge technology, gain insight from industry leaders and take part in interactive voting for the coolTECH Awards. The event attracts hundreds of attendees from the technology and business community and has something for everyone including industry leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, researchers and students. CoolTECH 2010 will take place June 4 at MOSI in Tampa.

ROBRADY design is a multi-disciplined product design and development studio that offers its multinational client base—including General Electric, Mercedes-Benz, Dell Computers, Parker Hannifin, AT&T, Merial and Volvo Penta—progressive industrial design, mechanical design and engineering, graphics /packaging / GUI / web and eCommerce design, market research, brand and retail development, complete rapid prototyping and production program management. ROBRADY design stresses comprehensive speed-to-market product solutions by collaborating to identify the greatest areas of opportunity and producing innovative designs to deliver profitable product solutions. ROBRADY delivers design, production and capital solutions to their clients in support of their research to reality philosophy.

As the ROBRADY Powersports video came to an end and the music slowly faded to silence, the full-stage projection screen went up high enough for me to come onto stage while riding a Vectrix electric maxi-scooter. What was not completely apparent at the time was that the stage was a bit slicker than I remembered from rehearsal and the adrenalin was probably racing a bit more than anticipated. So, as I gunned it back stage and the rear end of the scooter proceeded to brake loose and began to swing out from underneath me, I adjusted the steering, flew into the focused spotlights, and let off the throttle as I jammed on the rear brake– leaving a generous amount of tread across the remainder of the stage. Bottom line- it must have looked good from the audience! What else matters?

Wow! It’s great to be in Chicago! Riding this bike never gets dull. Riding this bike on stage definitely never gets dull…

For those that may not know, this is a 100% electric scooter. It has a top speed of 62MPH, a range of 40-50 miles (depending on terrain and the need for speed) and, it is one very quick ride. Seriously, the electric motor is attached directly to the rear wheel and once you move the throttle, there is no delay- you’re off to the races. It’s also important to note that this is the first, commercially available, scooter of its kind. It is legal to ride on any road in the world- this is serious electric, zero emission transportation. And, this is available today!

To be perfectly honest, whenever I’m speaking to a group, I’m always selling- ALWAYS. My studios, our creative capabilities, you know- sell, sell, sell… “Got to respect the payroll”… However, for now, that’s truly the furthest thing from my mind.   For that, I want to thank Dave Mason, Greg Samata and Kevin Krueger for the invitation to speak here today and everyone at CUSP for the tremendous hospitality- Thank you.

Today, I’d like to talk about this maxi-scooter and the story behind it … A very personal story

As you saw from my video, I’ve designed a number of products. But this one is special- very special. The story of this scooter and the program that launched it is a story about the love for design– a story about passion for beautiful forms. And, what story wouldn’t be complete without tragedy and heartache? … but more on that later.

This particular story starts in Pasadena California – at the Art Center College of Design, where I graduated many life times ago. I survived the grueling all nighters that were an all too regular event, and through it all I gained a world-class education that was the springboard for what was to become my first company, ROBRADY design.

After I graduated, I landed what one might consider as every young man’s dream job— designing boats for Cigarette Racing in Miami Florida. Yes, there actually is a “Cigarette Racing Team”. Remember “Miami Vice” and all the cool go-fast boats? Well, that was my mission out of Art Center and project number one was this little guy— 42’ long, 8’ wide, five seats, and twin 1000+HP engines arranged in staggered formation. This is a rush like none other.  I’ve had fighter pilots ask for rides— really. And as for green… well, not so much. But I was young. I thought I was on top of the world… and then– the recession of 1990 hit. Anyone remember that one? It might pale in comparison to our current situation, but it knocked me out and I thought I was down for the count. It was a very low time for me personally. Things went dark… very dark…

As fate would have it, I moved to Sarasota, Florida- why? I literally have no idea why – it just seemed like a nice place to land at the time (and it truly was). With no clients – no projects – I did what every young, unemployed designer does.  And “no”, I didn’t start working at ‘Starbucks’.

What I did do was to hire myself– and thus ROBRADY design truly began. With my energetic passion for design and in an effort to legitimize my world, I assigned myself projects with radical deadlines— mind you fictitious deadlines with fictitious clients, which would require me to pull all nighters (really) so that I would feel engaged. “Alive” as a designer… Fortunately, this actually paid off and I began to build my design business – one client at a time.

As I started getting real clients, I landed a great one— Yamaha! I ended up designing their first jet boats and a number of WaveRunners. It was a very exciting time with a lot of great people and a whole lot of fun!

Then, one day, about one life-time ago, as luck would have it, I received a group of visitors to my rather new studio. You see, a group had come down from Rhode Island to look at some very special Electric Vehicle technology that belonged to the company in the building next to mine. Those friends of mine (“EV Rider”) told the Rhode Island company (at the time called “Breeze Acquisitions”) about their neighbor who was doing fantastic work for the mighty Yamaha .

Well, if I was doing Yamaha work, I must be good— perhaps I could design their new electric scooter?   This is where the young entrepreneur / designer enters and says—“ABSOLUTELY… Not a problem… love to do it… Got lots of ideas on the subject!”

Now, I should confess that I’d never been on, let alone designed, a scooter before. But who was I to say anything to the contrary… “Have sketch pad, will travel…”  And thus this adventure began.

After several years of working closely with what was to become the “Vectrix Corporation” we were ready to take on the world and develop our first vehicle.  But where did it start?  …. Well, with this little sketch— … this little sketch launched me on an adventure I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Our design program started with a lot more sketches, a few tons of clay, and about a billion hours of love, sweat and tears. Well, no tears, but it was a lot of sweat! We worked on top of an actual frame to make sure we were clearing all the “hard points”. We sat on it in every possible way and were constantly honing the ergonomics, the mechanical clearances, and the lines, the lines, the lines! The lines and forms had to be perfect! The challenge was to create beautiful forms without crashing into all those batteries we were trying to conceal. We tried to imagine how it would work. And for that matter— would it work?

As the clay model was completed, we first digitized then rebuilt the design in the computer. I now had a mechanical engineering department that was on the task. It was a great time at the studio— well, let’s say it was an interesting time at the studio.

Everybody pitched in and helped with anything that needed to be done. We all joined the Rapid Prototyping department and became builders, sanders, painters, and welders. This was a project that brought wives and friends in at night to help out—sanding, prepping, whatever, to meet the insane deadlines. My wife (who is a fantastic graphic designer, an awesome chef, and in the audience today) brought in meals: crock pots of chili, spaghetti, soup, sandwiches, muffins in the morning, anything to keep the team focused­ and alive!   Focus, focus, focus!

Well, up to this point in my career, I could always point to an event or two at Art Center that defined pain as I new it. My Art Center experience defined what it was to deliver on impossible deadlines. That was-before this. This program did it for me, nothing before and (thank god) nothing since has ever been so difficult – or, put me under so much pressure! … We were now working around the clock to hit our deadline!

You see, for me, I was constantly getting calls from the Officers at both Vectrix and Parker Hannifin— our 12 Billion dollar development partner. All very, very concerned that I wasn’t going to be done for the Miami Fuel Cell Symposium deadline (November 3^rd, Monday, 2003…  5pm… sharp)! I remember thinking back to the days when I first took on the job of designing scooters– what would the entrepreneurial / designer say? I told them all, “it takes time to get it right and we were right on schedule. Get out your best suits for Miami and be ready to take center stage with the talk of the show- no doubt about it!” Then, I would proceed to throw up.

Well, not really– but I can say I felt like I’d been run over more than once. I honestly wasn’t sure what I’d do if I missed hitting this deadline! One could leave the country— but Parker is a global Fortune 500, where do you hide from that?  More to the point, what was I to say to (literally) all my other clients who had been graciously put on hold for a month or two? (While the entire studio focused solely on Vectrix- talk about “all in and let it ride”!). What was I to say to all the people in the studio who were working day and night to make this radical deadline? Talk about pressure! Time to take my own medicine… Focus, focus, focus. Yea, I’m not sure that was working anymore, but the only feeling worse than all the mounting pressure was the “concept” that I might miss a major deadline. Now, that was daunting!

Well, nothing like basic fear, sleep deprivation, a ton of talent (not me mind you, my team!), and the fear of having to avoid the reach of Parker by relocating to a small island in Antarctica to keep one focused on hitting deadline.

We pushed the scooters into a waiting van at 10 AM on the morning following the last all-nighter– on the day of the show. I remember passing out on the cement of my parking lot and how great it felt– like a bed of feathers. I could have fallen asleep right then as if I was in the Palace of Versailles.

But –  it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Oh, no, no, no– somebody had to get to Miami for the Premier!

My wife drove me and the projects’ lead prototyper, Radar (yes, when you’re a celebrity builder, one name will do), four hours to the show. Nearing arrival in Miami I said that I just wanted to go to the hotel and crash out— for about a month. Well, right then, Peter Hughes, Chief Technical Officer and VP of Engineering for Vectrix phoned me in the car. “You must come to the show!” My heart sank— I didn’t have an ounce left to give. I would have been rejected at any blood clinic for being on empty. What more could he possibly want now?  Well, Peter caught his breath and went on to say that I “had” to come to the show to experience the rave reviews the bikes were getting and I’d regret it forever if I missed out. Everyone loves it! Get over here!

Well, this is where the (very tired) entrepreneurial / designer wakes up (just) long enough to say— “ABSOLUTELY… Not a problem… love to do it… Got lots of ideas on the subject!!!” Zzzzzzzzzzz……

Yea, it was a great opening…. Peter’s comments were right on target– we were the hit of the show. And, Yes, we had met the deadline.

Now lets fast-forward a bit. Based on the prototypes we had built for Miami, we went on to the production level design work. We refined the design, sharpened the forms, honed the ergonomics, engineered every single body panel to the “nth” degree. We developed the industrial and mechanical design for the lighting systems, and worked very closely with the truly incredible team at Vectrix to test, coordinate, homologate, and prepare the billion or so details for the bike to enter production… and so it did.

As a side note, during this period of time, I became a father. I’m not going to say that this was quite like that, but I will say it’s an incredible feeling to finally see every ounce of my love for design and my passion for beautiful forms roll down the assembly line with so many people, working so very hard, to make each and every one just right. It’s just incredible.

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned, a story like this has many chapters. I just wasn’t expecting the next chapter to be Chapter 11— thus the tragedy. Although Vectrix filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month, the bright side is that there are several groups vying to capture this product and re-launch the company. That is the true power of this design, this product– this fantastic vehicle.

In closing, I love this scooter (I said it was personal), because my team helped bring it to life. We drew it, we sculpted it, and more importantly, I believe ROBRADY design became what it is today because of this ride. There have been many designs that I’ve created, but there has been no other project that fueled me to grow, to develop as a designer, or pushed me so far beyond my wildest imagination. I owe a lot to this little electric scooter…

The award announcement has been featured on a number of websites including Autoblog Green and Core 77:

Florida-based ROBRADY design has just racked up a GGDA for their Vectrix Electric Super Bike, a zero-emissions piece of bad-assery that also got nods from the people at Red Dot and IDEA.  -Core 77

The Green GOOD DESIGN™ award is a very specialized edition of the GOOD DESIGN™ program which emphasizes the importance of sustainable design by developing public awareness about companies that are doing the best job in sustainable design for world environments.  Green GOOD DESIGN™ 2009 recipients represent the world’s most important manufacturers and design firms and leading FORTUNE 500 corporations that are forwarding a new emphasis on a more sustainable design and environment worldwide.