Motorcycles

Arc releases naked photo of its frameless Vector electric motorbike

Arc releases naked photo of its frameless Vector electric motorbike
The Arc Vector would fit quite nicely in the Wayne Manor garage in matte black
The Arc Vector would fit quite nicely in the Wayne Manor garage in matte black
View 6 Images
The Arc Vector would fit quite nicely in the Wayne Manor garage in matte black
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The Arc Vector would fit quite nicely in the Wayne Manor garage in matte black
A bespoke walnut wood finish on top looks amazing
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A bespoke walnut wood finish on top looks amazing
The headlight, tank, subframe, seat and tail unit are all a single piece
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The headlight, tank, subframe, seat and tail unit are all a single piece
The Vector goes up the hill at Goodwood
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The Vector goes up the hill at Goodwood
Hub-center steering always looks wild
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Hub-center steering always looks wild
The Vector's carbon fiber battery box is the key component in its monocoque frame
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The Vector's carbon fiber battery box is the key component in its monocoque frame
View gallery - 6 images

It's been a rocky road for the UK's Arc motorcycles thus far, trying to bring what it calls "the world's most advanced fully electric motorcycle of its kind" into reality. Since we first saw this terrific-looking machine in 2018, the company's been crowdfunded, invested in, put into administration and bought back by its founder.

Still, the company claims it's more or less back on track now working on getting the first of its customer bikes built, and three years going through the wringer hasn't made the Vector look any less slick.

It's not what you'd call a performance monster, peaking at 103 kW (138 horsepower) and 200 km/h (124 mph), but it'll hike its skirt up and sprint just fine, with a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 3.2 seconds. It also claims an impressive 436 km (271 mile) range, although that's likely only possible dribbling along around town.

Underpinning Arc's claim to world's most advancedness is a projection-based HUD smart helmet, developed in conjunction with Hedon, complete with a rear view camera and voice controls – as well as an armored undershirt type thing with built-in haptic feedback that can be set to alert riders to danger, give "feedback on the bike's dynamic position," or bop along playing music through the haptics in something called "Euphoric mode." Alrighty then.

Hub-center steering always looks wild
Hub-center steering always looks wild

Recently, the company released an interesting shot of the Vector with its bodywork removed, and it's worth a look, because it reveals just how little bodywork there actually is on this thing.

The Vector's carbon fiber battery box forms the majority of its monocoque frame. The motor bolts to the back, with the rear swingarm mounting directly to the motor casing, and the hub-center steering system and front swingarm bolt to the front of the battery box.

The Vector's carbon fiber battery box is the key component in its monocoque frame
The Vector's carbon fiber battery box is the key component in its monocoque frame

The bodywork, such as it is, is tiny; there's a bellypan underneath to hide the fairly utilitarian-looking motor, and there's a very pretty one-piece section that lays on the top, linking the headlight unit to the tank, subframe and tail unit. That's it. And it looks amazing, particularly when they customize the top stuff with some nice polished walnut wood.

"The architecture featured in the images is now production-ready, and a number of production-spec Vector motorcycles will be out in Spain for final sign off and homologation over the coming months," said Arc Founder and CEO Mark Truman in a press release. "We have a very healthy order book and customers are already going through our new commissioning suite in Central England to individually tailor each Vector motorcycle so that they are all unique."

The Vector goes up the hill at Goodwood
The Vector goes up the hill at Goodwood

The bike's been seen on the move, albeit barely. A prototype went up the hill at Goodwood in 2019, but not with what we'd call an overabundance of gusto. Maybe the rider had his undershirt in Euphoric Mode. We look forward to finally seeing one ridden in anger at some point. Or perhaps just being bimbled about the high streets between the "commissioning suite" and the fancy watch and monocle shops. It is, after all, a £90,000 (US$120,000) motor bicycle.

Source: Arc Vehicle

View gallery - 6 images
5 comments
5 comments
LiamKoot
I would be more than happy with that Landy in the background! This seems like a rather sensible E-Bike made to look extra-ordinary. By the sounds of things most of the technological features seem not be bike related and rather the paraphernalia attached to the rider - even if it is powered by the bike. They should perhaps look at developing stand alone versions of the rider based equipment that can be sold to any bike enthusiast.
paul314
Seems like an awfully high center of gravity.
ljaques
I was reading in "sedated mode" until I hit the "euphoric mode" button after seeing the lowly $120k price tag. (thud)
How does that front suspension react when it hits a depression or bump while turning? High unsprung weight, high CG. Ouch.
Why do almost all electric motorcycles have to be futt bucking oogly? Who set that mandate, eh?
Saaay, isn't that the first Woodie motorpsych? With about 57 moving parts in the steering gear, what could possibly go wrong?
Thud
Paul, can you tell how much cereal there is in a box by looking at the outside of the box? No. So you can get no idea where the center of gravity is on this bike by looking at the outside panels. Judging by the positioning of the brake calipers though, it sure looks like they had CG in mind when laying out the bike.
Arcticshade
Not pretty i agree, interesting component placement i appreciate the technical aesthetics but all in all does not come together into a sleek beautiful curvy package. It could've looked much better.

There is some prettier ones like the
Lightning ls-218
One from Triumph and
Ducati

But not as pretty as they can be yet.
With the advantage of no tailpipes and protruding engine parts they need to take more advantage of the clean tail look such as enhancing it by making single swingarm designs. ( which some companies have done but fail aesthetically in the mid to front sections of the bikes overall giving a it partially balanced look.