Siemens has teamed up with custom motorcycle shop Orange County Choppers to build a custom electric motorcycle. The “Siemens Smart Chopper,” which will be featured on the TV show American Chopper, was unveiled last month.
“We wanted to build this unique chopper to raise environmental awareness and reflect what the 69,000 employees of Siemens USA are doing to help America stay on the cutting edge of tomorrow's green economy,” said Daryl Dulaney, president and CEO of Siemens Building Technologies. “Siemens is already very much a part of the fabric of America, and our portfolio is one of the greenest in the business. Green is not marketing hype for us; it is in our DNA.”
Orange County Choppers built the Siemens Smart Chopper over the course of a month. Siemens also developed a compatible smart grid-ready charger that communicates with the utility to enable charging when the electricity is most affordable.
The motorcycle, Orange County's first electric chopper, includes recycled materials, an advanced DC Motors Inc. series wound 8-inch motor, LED lighting by Siemens' Osram Sylvania business, 27 peak horsepower, a maximum speed of 100 mph and a range of 60 miles on one charge, and an onboard charger that can be plugged into any 110-volt outlet.
“Building an electric bike from recycled materials was something new for us, but we definitely enjoyed the challenge and think that the end product makes a great addition to our wide range of unique motorcycles,” said Paul Teutul, Sr., founder of Orange County Choppers, based in Newburgh, N.Y. “While electric bikes probably won't surpass traditional ones for the foreseeable future, we also think that energy-efficient technologies are increasingly important for both manufacturers and consumers.”
The American Chopper episode featuring the Siemens Smart Chopper is scheduled to air on TLC on Thursday, Oct. 22. Siemens plans to showcase the Smart Chopper at energy and industrial tradeshows and conferences in the coming months. In 2010, the motorcycle will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to a charitable cause that will help benefit the environment.
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