Birmingham Motorcycle Maker To Specialize in Electric Bikes

BIRMINGHAM, AL - For nearly 30 years, Matthew Chambers has been building motorcycles in Birmingham. When he established Confederate Motors in 1991, he aimed at building the best bikes on the market, with a signature rumble that customers came to love. Fast-forward to 2017 when he changed the name to Curtiss Motorcycles, named for aviator and rider Glenn Curtiss, who set multiple motorcycle speed records., and Chambers now wants to be the industry leader in electric motorcycles.

Chambers told Alabama News Center, “We’re taking everything we know from 30 years of making motorcycles and applying it to the future technology under the Curtiss brand.” (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Patch morning newsletter.)

The company recently unveiled its “Hot Rod Gods” line of electric motorcycles starting with Zeus, expected to be available to order later this year, and Helena, which is slated for a 2020 rollout. Curtiss has spent the past few days introducing "Zeus" to the world. The motorcycle was unveiled to the public at The Quail Motorsports Gathering at Quail Lodge and Golf Club in Carmel, California, on Aug. 24. Curtiss then had two of the motorcycles on display at the National Drive Electric Week kickoff event at Brookwood Village on Sept. 8.

Harley-Davidson is coming out with its own line of electric motorcycles and other established companies are expected to follow suit. Chambers said he welcomes the competition. “We think we can take it to them pretty good with better design, better technology, a more interesting brand,” he said.

“It’s perfect for us because we’re a small company. The market is small, but it’s going to grow 50 or more percent a year for the foreseeable future. So it’s an amazing coming together from a purely business sense. You have a small company that can organically scale as the market scales. So, in a sense, we’re best suited to be the leader in the battery electric motorcycle market relative to Harley-Davidson or Indian or any one of the larger companies. It’s an extremely positive opportunity for us.”

Photo and research by Michael Tomberlin/Alabama News Center