FUELL Fllow: Ride Into the Future

Following its significant validation success on Prelaunch.com, FUELL Fllow, the e-commuter of the future, designed by the legendary engineer Erik Buell, is now opening orders.

 

 

Leveraging his decades of experience, Erik Buell makes a stunning comeback unveiling his visionary concept of a futuristic urban e-commuter with seamlessly merging style, performance, and groundbreaking technology.

Erik Buell: Why does the World Need Fllow?

Behind this provocative question was first a lot of research and studies about the evolution of mobility, how cities will evolve in the future (becoming “smart cities”), and if 2-wheelers still had a place in the fast-paced changing environment.

Here is how Erik Buell summarized it:

“When I look to the future, there is one compelling solution for urban/suburban transportation. Well, two actually, two wheels… two wheels in a single track with green power. Whether it’s a human-pedaled bicycle, a pedal-assisted electric bicycle, or an electric motor, two wheels are the clear solutions for urban mobility.

Mass transport works to some extent, but it’s just not a pleasant experience, and it only gets you vaguely near the place you want to be. It’s also a very expensive endeavor that burdens city budgets. Sometimes these huge expensive vehicles are full and sometimes nearly empty. In either case, they keep running from point A to B at Y o’clock even though you need to get from C to D at Z o’clock.

In Europe where streets are smaller, the support and infrastructure for two-wheelers are exploding. In the US it is starting as well. In Asia, two-wheelers have always been the solution, and now the growth is in making them greener, less polluting, and less noisy. Replacing the 60 million new gasoline-powered two-wheelers sold annually with electricity creates a huge impact on quality of life.

Worldwide, the movement to change our habits is accelerating. Urban transportation should be a comfortable personal tool empowering us to better live our multitasking lives.

A well-designed two-wheeler becomes one with the rider, with speed and range far beyond the rider’s ability. Those great two-wheelers make you feel like you have superpowers!

We have to blend this feeling with the needs of today and tomorrow. So quite frankly, innovation is critical – you cannot build a new future hanging onto the old ways. New urban electric vehicles must not only feel approachable but also integrate with the digital environment and technology that is part of our society.

The world needs Fllow!

There is no argument that currently, with battery technology as it stands, gas-powered motorcycles designed and used in traditional ways seem to be a more rational choice. Yet when you take into account the growing restrictions in city centers, and you focus on the duty cycles on urban/suburban use, the relevance of new types of urban scooters and urban motorcycles makes a lot more sense. Even more so when you integrate high voltage systems into your design, to make them compatible with automotive fast charging stations already installed in those areas.

We started developing the Fllow e-moto range with looks that speak of style and sport, but the real surprise is it includes the utility that urban and suburban commuters need. We broke away from the classic motorcycle architecture – with radical new ideas and materials – to give you the acceleration of a superbike with the nimbleness of a light middleweight motorcycle.

We are designing the Fllow with a high voltage system, that allows charging in competitive times with filling a gas tank. We are doing it with a smart design that has more onboard storage than most scooters. And of course, we are integrating all the connectivity and safety technology required for an augmented ride, as for all other product classes.

I will myself be striving to develop those close and personal rides into the future, so every FUELL product not only feels familiar, like part of you but also pushes out of the past and flies you to the future!”

Who is Erik Buell and why does it matter?

Fllow is the brainchild of Erik Buell, our legendary CTO, and of our engineering team – all senior engineers with years with Erik at Buell and EBR before joining him in the FUELL endeavor.

Erik Buell is the Founder, former Chairman, and CTO of the Buell Motorcycle Company, which eventually merged with Harley-Davidson from 1993 to 2009.

He is a pioneer of modern race motorcycle technology, as well as a world-class engineer and inventor. He created some of the most innovative and usable motorcycles to date, using inventions like a hollow aluminum frame to house the fuel and create chassis rigidity. More than 130,000 motorcycles with the Buell name have been produced to date.

Erik has an incredible experience in motorcycle development, industrialization, sourcing, manufacturing, and homologation, and brings unparalleled expertise in chassis, powertrain, and overall two-wheeler engineering.

For a project as complex and ambitious as Fllow, his leadership is a great reassurance for all – for future customers of course, but also for designers, engineers, suppliers, distributors, importers, and investors. Fuell and Buell, do you get it now?

 

 

What FUELL is trying to achieve with Fllow

FUELL’s vision is to put freedom, technology, and emotion back into urban travel by offering riders something different, innovative, upgradeable, and attractive.

Fllow is the result of a convergence of ideas on how to create urban mobility solutions utilizing the best application for electric powertrains (low speeds, rapid acceleration, zero-emission, zero noise, short distances, denser charging infrastructures) and integrating technology for safety and connectivity.

Going into more detail, we established this functional brief and set these targets for Fllow:

Usage/Users

Urban/suburban vehicle, re-inventing the pleasure of riding a meaningful machine in an urban environment with pollution constraints/legislation.

Main designations

Comfortable, easy to ride, powerful acceleration, significant in presence, enhancing to the rider, distinctive. Unique and substantial storage capability and practicality in urban environments.

Design

Minimalistic, utilitarian, integrated, strikingly different, and beautiful

A contemporary take on an urban e-commuter with electric powertrain constraints

Price, Range, Performance

Target price of $10,495 ($12,995 MSRP), with at least 150 miles / 240 km range in real city traffic condition

With a quick charge as fast as a “traditional stop for gasoline”

Highway capable speed

The Fllow that is presented to you today is the fruit of months of engineering, research, and design to meet these targets. And we did it!

Engineering innovations on Fllow

Fllow is about rethinking the traditional architecture of a gas-powered 2-wheeler, taking into consideration the amazing new opportunities (and challenges!) that an electric powertrain is presenting.

Among the technical innovations, we’re introducing on Fllow:

ELECTRICAL INNOVATION

• Axially Integrated Transverse Flux motor uniquely integrated into the rear wheel – very high torque from 0 rpm up, and lightweight (patent pending)
• Battery pack integrated into chassis – structurally forms the major part of chassis (patent pending)
• Ability to update battery packs for new technologies and upgrades

CHASSIS INNOVATION

• Optimized Powertrain Integration – components located to optimize chassis handling and optimize power flow (patent pending)
• High-strength lightweight alloy castings (including magnesium)
• Advanced Braking System (patent pending) allowing to drop the rear brake pedal
• Integrated chassis and powertrain management with traction/wheelie control

Let’s get started with Fllow

Fllow has the luggage capacity and practicality of a large scooter but appears and handles like a mid-size motorcycle. It is nimble and agile for threading through heavy traffic, accelerates like a superbike, and is highway capable. Your dream commuter, silent and non-polluting.

Fllow has been conceived and designed as a viable urban e-commuter, with 150 miles of urban range, less than 400 lbs weight with a very low center of gravity, 10 gallons of storage, space for a passenger, and a quick charging port to use existing stations.

 

 

Meet the team

We have different backgrounds but share a love for quality, engineering, purpose, and good design. Based around our legendary CTO, our core team is seasoned with many years of experience.

 

 

 

 

Building a functional 1:1 real-size Fllow concept

We first defined the target features and specs, and started designing and engineering Fllow in computers and renderings. But we felt rapidly the need to have a working concept to progress faster in the development of Fllow.

We’ve built a functional concept – meaning that it is very close visually to the production model, yet doesn’t have all the features and performance of the final version. But good enough to see Fllow “in the flesh”, to sit on it and start riding!

Building a functional concept bike of Fllow allowed us to validate many engineering designs and share practical briefs more easily with suppliers and partners.

 

 

Premium specs

Amazing torque, large urban range, integrated fast charge: Fllow was designed for the urban rider’s needs. Practicality, with storage for a bag and a full-face helmet. The low center of gravity makes it feels extremely light and easy to ride. There is even a 15hp version to meet reduced licensing requirements.

Let’s dig together into the amazing specs of Fllow:

 

-ENGINE

Powertrain	Advanced technology, proprietary electric wheel motor (patent pending) 750 Nm (553lb-ft)
Power	47 hp continuous (Fllow-1S) 15 hp continuous (Fllow-1)
Torque	750 Nm (553lb-ft)

 

  

– PERFORMANCE

Speed max (sustained)	85 mph (140 kmh)
Range (Urban)	150 miles (240 kms)
0-100 km/h	3.5 sec

 

– DIMENSIONS

Weight	400 lbs (180 kg)
Wheelbase	1370mm
Seat Height (unladen)	30.1″

 

 

– POWER SYSTEM

Battery Capacity	10 kWh
Battery Type	Li-Ion cylindrical cell array in structural magnesium housing
Battery Voltage	400V
Recuperation	Rear wheel regenerative braking activated automatically by application of the linked braking system (patent pending)
Recharging	Quick charge or home w/ Onboard or accessory Fast Chargers
Charge Port	CCS
Charging Rate	750W on board, 3.3kW & 6.6kW available accessory fast chargers
Recharge Time Supercharger/CCS	~30 min (CCS Type 2, DC)
Recharge Time Home	100% Charge: ~10 hours (Onboard), ~2.5 hours (3.3 kW Optional), ~1.25 hours (6.6 kW Optional)
Typical Cost to Recharge	$2

 

 

– CHASSIS, COMPONENTS

Chassis Material	Magnesium Monocoque (MonoStruct Technology)
Storage Capacity	50 liters (patent pending)
Front Suspension	Inverted Ø 40 mm telescopic forks
Rear Suspension	Single sided swingarm. Rear shock with adjustable preload
Front Brake	Hydraulic disc ABS
Rear Brake	Integrated
Front Wheel	2.50 x 17″
Front Tire	110/70-17
Rear Wheel	4.00 x 17″
Rear Tire	140/70-17

 

An urban range of 150 miles / 240 km, with a charge time of less than 30 minutes

With e-vehicles, the limitation is energy, the strength is social responsibility. Real e-vehicle plans must be built around these facts. Too much manipulation of the social image of e-motorcycles has occurred – one should actually deliver viable products.

FUELL believes it is most critical to get products out that are truly viable today, and then expand into new markets as the technologies grow.

Fllow packs 10Kwh of batteries to reach an urban range of 150 miles or 240 kilometers. Of course, riding at full speed on the motorway is not going to give you that range – but remember, Fllow was designed as an urban electric commuter, capable to go on highways, and not as a replacement for a gas-powered touring motorcycle.

Thanks to its high-voltage architecture, charging times become acceptable. On a fast charger – those used by electric cars and now widely available, the charging time is less than 30 minutes. And as you never charge 100% of the battery, but rather from 20% to 90% usually, the real charging time is around 15 minutes. Just enough to get a coffee, check emails, and be back on the road.

 

 

It gets even easier at home, where Fllow can be plugged into a wall outlet, or to a home charger.

Upgrade your Fllow over time

 Fllow was designed in a modular way to evolve with technology and allow for upgradability.

The battery pack module (which contains the onboard charger, BMS, and DC-DC converter – all linked together by battery technology), the rear wheel motor, and the fast charging socket can be upgraded over time, as your requirement evolve and new technology becomes available.

 

 

As for the connected dashboard, it receives regular updates, so you always have access to the latest software version.

Made in the USA

Erik Buell and his legacy team are bringing to FUELL a unique experience in designing, setting up, and operating flexible low-cost two-wheeler assembly lines ranging from 1,000+ units/yr (EBR) to 15,000 units/yr (Buell Motorcycles)

Fllow will be assembled for production in the US, and parts and components will emphasize the US and/or western provenance. A truly “made in the USA” e-commuter!

The secret?

Low part count and assembly time allow for smaller assembly facilities and a lower assembly cost. Compared to a gas-powered equivalent, Fllow has 60% fewer parts, and is assembled in 40% of the time…

The Wheel Motor – an original invention from FUELL

The wheel-motor refers to the electric motor housed in the rear wheel, specifically developed by FUELL for the Fllow, removing secondary transmission (chain or belt) while maintaining power and keeping weight acceptably low.

 

 

We knew we needed wheel designs that would work with the large-diameter electric motor technology we are considering: transverse flux. We have come up with a design that works well with this technology: the design allows a sealed housing for these large-diameter designs, but keeps everything as light as possible and allows wheel/tire changes without disturbing the motor seals. Also, a design that would prevent any wheel rim and spoke deformation from lateral and vertical loads from being transferred to the motor housings.

Because the drive motor is a large diameter, the drive torsion forces go from the rotor out to the rim, therefore the spokes from the rotor carry no torsional loads, only road loads – like the ZTL brake system physics.

Fllow is fully connected and can onboard the most advanced safety system

Fllow’s dashboard is connected to the rider’s phone, on which an app offers all practical information and functionalities:

• Ignition (also Key Fob)
• Location
• Charge level
• Alarm (if incident)
• Opening of storage, saddle, access to charging port
• Navigation
• Service manual and maintenance alerts
• Contact with FUELL

 

 

Additionally, Fllow can onboard the most advanced safety system, developed in partnership with iRider: a tech company bringing to market the world’s first complete safety and connectivity system for light mobility vehicles – collision warning, blind spot detection, active road navigation, and more.

Availability

FUELL Fllow is available for order at a $10,495 price ($12,995 MSRP). As we exceed our targets, prices will be subject to change. To stay up-to-date with any potential price drops or special offers, please follow our official order page https://www.fuell.us/products/fuell-fllow-e-motorcycle