The COVID-19 health crisis slowed the progress of many motorcycle brands, especially electric mobility startups. Arc is one such company, and it’s bringing back its Vector model in a big way.
The Vector started life as a Jaguar Land Rover-branded electric motorcycle concept. Unfortunately, the prototype proved too expensive for production, so Arc Founder and CEO Mark Truman spun the concept into its own business. The Vector eventually debuted at EICMA 2018. Fanfare and coverage followed in the months following the unveiling, but Arc went dark during the pandemic.
Now, Arc is back, and Truman believes it’s primed to change the electric motorcycle market with innovative battery design.
"Imagine when electric motorcycles are the only kind of motorcycles that are actually allowed on the road. We want young kids to be saying, have you seen that battery over there? Look at that battery, isn't that beautiful?” Truman considered. “Which is a slightly weird concept, but that's what we set out to achieve.”
Beyond design, Arc is also focused on improving performance. The brand will designate 10 top-tier customers as Arc Angels. Each member will receive a limited Angel Edition (AE) Vector motorcycle and participate in Arc-organized track days to help develop the Arc Pilot System’s human-machine interface (HMI) technology.
"These customers will get the ultimate peek behind the curtain,” explained Truman. “They'll effectively become part of the development team. They'll become a test rider. There'll be invited to track days initially to try the system in a closed-circuit environment.”
As a part of the three-piece interface, the Zenith Helmet not only doubles as a key fob but also displays rider notifications, navigation, rear-view camera, and speed/revs. The Arc Origin jacket alerts the user to roadway dangers with haptic feedback. Even with all those high-tech doodads, the Vector needs to ride well on its own. According to Truman, the outlook is encouraging.
"We've had numerous test riders and they all say the same thing, which is, on the twisty stuff this bike handles and changes direction, like nothing else that they've ridden and feels like a much smaller bike than it actually is,” claimed Truman. “This bike weighs 235 kilos, so it's a pretty big bike. But it doesn't feel like that."
