Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired
ALAMEDA, California – If you’re anything like me, you value your life. Which means you’ve probably avoided motorcycles despite their stellar fuel economy, small footprint and ability to weave through traffic like a snake through grass. But the benefits of riding a bike are often outweighed by their inherent vulnerability, not to mention the lack of creature comforts and cargo capacity.
Lit Motors aims to change that.
This is the C1, the first prototype from San Francisco-based Lit Motors. It’s a fully electric, fully enclosed two-wheeled two-seater. And when the production version arrives in 2014, the C1 will come complete with airbags, a seatbelt and a smartphone-connected infotainment system. But that’s not the cool part.
Underneath the passenger compartment are two gyroscopes that keep the C1 constantly upright. That means it stays standing while stopped and can pirouette through traffic like the best from Honda, Yamaha and Ducati.
How much force would it take to knock the C1 on its side? According to Lit, a small elephant would have to hit it broadside to put the C1 on the ground.
The C1 prototype you see here is rear-wheel-drive for now, but the production version will be all-wheel-drive (two-wheel, if you prefer), with power provided by a hub-mounted electric motor good for 110 horsepower. Weighing in at between 800 and 900 pounds in production spec, Lit estimates a zero-to-60-mph time of around six seconds, with a 120-mph top speed and a range of 220 miles between charges thanks to the 8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack mounted in the floor. Charge times vary depending on your outlet, with a household standard 120V juicing the C1 up in around 6 hours or around 4 hours using the 220V outlet powering your dryer.
It all sounds too good to be true, which is why I’ve trekked across the bay to Alameda, California, for an exclusive spin in the C1.
Measuring in around 115 inches long and 40 inches wide, the C1 feels larger on the inside than its dimensions suggest. While the C1 concept Lit Motors has been showing (built by the same team behind the refreshed Light Cycles in Tron) packs seating for two, the rear throne is more of glorified shelf than a proper bucket. In the prototype, a series of computers and controls occupy the rear passenger area, all of which will be mounted underneath the floor panel once production begins.
The rough hand-bent aluminum and steel body panels and piecemeal chassis framing are simply a way to test all the various systems, motors, gyros and suspension components. Understand, this C1 is a rolling proof of concept; a two-wheeled testbed of technology that allows the team to tweak and iterate all the various hardware and software as they get closer to a final product.
Which is why it broke on us – thrice.
After an initial drive by Lit Motors founder and CEO Danny Kim, the C1 suffered a software glitch that only allowed one of the gyros to function properly. After an engineer whipped out a laptop, performed a series of tests and reset the system, we got the go-ahead.
And then a belt broke.
Daniel Kim, Lit Motors Founder and CEO. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired
While it’s doubtful Kim and his team were pleased with the C1′s debut-day glitches, it gave us a chance to see the hardware that keeps the bike upright as the Lit team completely removed the gyro magic from the chassis.
In its current form, the two gyros each put out 266 pound-feet of torque as they spin, keeping the C1 upright no matter the speed or angle. In final production form, the combined force of the pair of gyros will max out at around 1,300 pound-feet, enough to keep the C1 vertical while stopped, at steady-state cruising and planted to the road at a maximum lean angle of 45 degrees.
The ability to simply pull the entire gyro setup from the chassis is a design decision that will make it to production, allowing the C1 to be serviced quickly and efficiently, much like the battery pack mounted to the floor of the Tesla Model S. It also helps when something goes awry during its maiden voyage in the eager hands of someone outside the Lit Motors studio.
Being a prototype, battery capacity on this lone tester is currently capped at 3kWh, with the rear motor outputting around 75 hp. Current weight, sans windshield, side windows and a glass panel that will make up the roof, will be around 800 to 900 pounds in final form, but currently, the stripped-down prototype is tipping the scales at around 650 pounds, or close to 800 pounds with driver.
The C1's front wheel/tire combo. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired
The suspension and brake components are a mashup of production bits pulled from existing motorcycles and custom built, machined aluminum pieces Lit Motors developed in-house. The front wheel/tire combo is donated from a Ducati 848, while the massive rear meat comes off a Harley-Davidson Fatboy.
Included in the system is a patented regenerative braking setup that uses the gyros as kinetic capacitors that tap out around 86-percent efficiency. The regen effort will be honed over the coming months to provide a subtle amount of “engine braking,” much like you’d experience in a traditional bike or one of the handful of electric vehicles currently on the market.
With the belt replaced and the gyros whirring away, I opened up the thin door, slipped into the Eames-style classroom seat and was greeted by a traditional array of controls.
There’s a Momo steering wheel connected to an exposed steering shaft that turns the front wheel, with a few displays, toggle switches and wiring coalescing into the makeshift dash. Below that are two traditional pedals – a brake and accelerator – which makes the C1′s cabin familiar, if sparse.
A Harley-Davidson Fatboy tire and wheel on the rear of the C1. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired
I’ve been informed by Kim and Co. that I need to sit bolt upright, otherwise the gyros — working at a much lower capacity than their production counterparts — won’t be able to keep the C1 steady if I’m constantly shifting my weight.
Visibility up front and to the sides is phenomenal, although the aluminum panel out back means rearward vision is all but nonexistent, particularly with the lack of a rearview or wing mirrors.
I stretch a bit to reach the steering wheel when I’m given the green light to push the throttle. It takes a bit of force to get the C1 moving, but once underway, it moves with the kind of smoothness I’ve come to expect from other EVs.
I’m told to keep the speeds low, so I cautiously give it more throttle and hit maybe 10 mph before pressing firmly on the brakes to bring the C1 to a halt.
While the gyros mean the C1 stays standing even while stopped, there’s an additional benefit over a traditional bike: reverse. A metal switch on the dash allows me to switch from forward to reverse, and within a second I’m hauling backward at an impressive clip.
The C1's gyro-stabilizers. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired
Another stop, another flick of the directional switch and I get back up to speed quickly before coming to a stop once again. Because of an issue with the gyros, I’m unable to test its ability to handle a few turns.
Mildly disappointed but still impressed, I throw it into reverse again, back up to the starting point and hop out. The C1 stays standing as my weight shifts from the floor panel to the ground; the body twitching almost imperceptibly to keep itself righted.
Yes, the C1 works as advertised, but there’s obviously much more to do before it’s ready for primetime.
This first C1 prototype is the work of Kim and his half-dozen-strong team, along with an initial investment of around $200,000.
Lit Motors will need millions more to complete the next round of testing and upgrades, along with getting the interior and sound deadening sorted, the all-wheel-drive system functional and the rest of the body components up to production spec. Not to mention getting the C1 50-state legal, something a partnership with a major automaker would certainly help along.
But the seed has been planted, the hardware works and in two years’ time, you and I could be among the first to plunk down the $24,000 Lit Motors estimates the C1 will cost.
I’m smitten, if skeptical. But if this is the future of personal transport, I’m all on board.
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