SAN FRANCISCO, CA. August 3, 2011 — BRD Motorcycles announced today its new electric motorcycle, the RedShift, targeted towards off-road and urban use, and intended to outperform gas-powered equivalents. “We just want to make faster motorcycles” said CEO, Marc Fenigstein. “We’re a team of riders and racers with high-performance gas machines in the garage. We’re building the bikes we’d rather be riding.” Like a gas supermoto, only faster The RedShift SM, the urban version, was unveiled this evening in San Francisco at the Dainese D-Store SF. The unit is said to be a pre-production prototype, with production planned for 2012. The RedShift MX, the dual-sport version, is in parallel development. The models share a proprietary chassis and drivetrain, producing 40hp and weighing in at approximately 250lbs (240lbs in off-road trim). They feature fully adjustable suspension, with conventional wheel and sprocket sizes. “There are decades of development in modern motocross and supermoto chassis” said Chief Technology Officer, Derek Dorresteyn, a former proffessional racer. “We chose to harness the best of that while taking advantage of the torque and throttle response an electric motor delivers.” BRD states that this creates a familiar riding experience for seasoned motorcyclists, but one that provides riders more control, feedback, and confidence. Both versions of the RedShift use a 5.2kWh battery that should deliver about 50 miles of range based on other electric motorcycles in the market, but BRD refrained from specifying a range until further testing. Fenigstein clarified, “we expect people to ride the snot out of these in a way that hasn’t been possible on previous electrics – that’s going to affect the range and we want to be careful about getting the specification right.” Unique manufacturing approach creates a distinctive design The most distinctive feature of the bike is the chassis, made of two sculptural aluminum monocoque members. Chief Design Officer, Jeff Sand explains: “While the chassis geometry is conventional, packaging an electric drive-train required rethinking frame design. Starting with a clean slate, we developed a new methodology that allows tight integration of the drive-train components in a very dense package, while meeting our strength and stiffness requirements, and being manufacturable here in California.” The motorcycles will be sold through conventional motorcycle dealerships to ensure superb warranty and service support. Specifications and product images can be found at BRD’s website: ~http://www.faster-faster.com~. BRD plans to provide further information on the motorcycles at the 68th EICMA in Milan, Italy in November.