Siemens unveils first all-electric custom chopper

Anybody who's even remotely interested in motorcycles has heard of Orange County Choppers (OCC). For those who haven't, OCC is a world-famous New York based custom chopper building workshop owned by the mustachioed tough, yet loveable Paul Teutul Sr. and his family who also star in the reality show called American Chopper. Siemens USA, a company dedicated to creating technologies that are helping to produce, deliver, consume and conserve energy more efficiently and cleanly teamed up with the guys at Orange County Choppers and commissioned them to build the world's first all-electric 'green' custom chopper.

Of course, Orange County Choppers is not new to alternative fuel sources, already having built choppers powered by flex-fuels and natural gas. Over the course of one month, Teutul Sr. and his fellow bike builders completed work on the "Siemens Smart Chopper". This bike represents many firsts not just for OCC, but for custom choppers in general. Built purely out of recycled materials, the Siemens Smart Chopper is powered by an advanced DC Motors Inc. Series Wound 8" motor that has a peak output of 27 horsepower. While that may not seem like much, it is enough to let the chopper hit a top speed of 160km/h, and has a range of just under 100km on a full charge. The bike also features LED lighting by Osram Sylvania, a company owned by Siemens.

During the unveiling, Teutul Sr. commented that while building an electric bike out of recycled materials was something completely new for them, he and his team enjoyed the challenge a lot. Teutul also quipped that while he doesn't believe that electric bikes will surpass conventional ones in the foreseeable future, energy efficient technologies are increasingly important for both manufacturers and consumers. 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.