AMD 252 July 2020 American Motorcycle Dealer 252 July 2020 | Page 26

Damon Motorcycles "Speak Millennial" and Brings
In Tech and Expertise from Alta and Mission
Vancouver, Canada based electric
motorcycle start-up Damon has
followed up news earlier this year
about its "Shape Shifting" limited
edition, Founders Edition Hypersport
Pro electric superbike with Arctic Sun
and Midnight Sun.
The 'Shift' system transforms the riding
position between sport and commuter
modes with the push of a button.
These Hypersport Premier editions also
feature unique paint schemes, a
single-sided swingarm and top-of-theline
brakes and suspension. Damon
says that Arctic Sun and Midnight Sun
will retail for USD $39,995.
The 25 available Founders Editions
sold out straight away, with hopeful
buyers securing their bike with an
online order and a non-refundable
$1,000 deposit. The Hypersport Pro
featured Brembo brakes, Öhlins
suspension and the company's
proprietary 360 degree Co-Pilot radar,
telematics and camera based collision
avoidance system - AWSM (Accident
Warning System for Motorcycles) - and
'Shift' system to electronically adjust
the riding position on the move.
Damon cites a 200-mile range with a
200 hp top speed generating 197 bhp
and 200 Nm (147 ft lb) torque - with
a weight of around 200 kg, the
Hypersport Pro will allegedly make it
to 60 mph in less than three seconds.
The company has also announced that
it has hired former Alta Motors talent
and acquired the IP portfolio of
Mission Motors. Mission and Alta were
two San Francisco Bay Area electric
motorcycle developers who folded - at
various stages both had been in
development deals and financial
relationships with Harley-Davidson to
help develop the 'LiveWire' before
Harley set up its own Silicon Valley EV
R&D facility.
Alta was at the cutting-edge of electric
off-road competition machinery and
made enduro and motocross
machines before ceasing trading at the
end of 2018; Mission built the multiple
record-breaking Mission R that set
electric land speed records and
competed at the Isle of Man TT Zero
before folding in 2015.
Derek Dorresteyn, who is a former cofounder
of Alta and is now COO at
Arctic Sun
Damon, is quoted as saying: "The
purchase of the Mission Motors IP will
add to Damon's capability to build the
highest performance drivetrains in
motorcycling. Mission was a technical
leader and we are happy that some of
that competitive DNA has passed into
the Damon Hypersport."
Damon says it has attracted over $3m
in funding and "several hundred" preorder
deposits since it unveiled the
Hypersport at the Consumer
Midnight Sun
Electronics Show at Las Vegas in
January. A limited run of the two new
Hypersport HS and Premier
motorcycles "will address our preorder
backlog."
Gaining traction with Millennials, "the
technologies we have developed at
Damon have been a huge hit," said Jay
Giraud, co-founder and CEO.
"Millennials have driven a 3X growth
in used motorcycle purchases since
2007 - they represent a volume of pent