Boutique motorcycle manufacturer Confederate Motors has announced that  the company will be renamed Curtiss starting January 2018. Confederate  has been famous all over the world for stunning exotica, radical  designs, and imaginative engineering. After reaching the pinnacle of  motorcycle building, the brand has decided it's hit a wall. It's time to  go in a different direction as Curtiss, with a fresh name and a switch  to EV technology.

Curtiss has partnered up with Zero Motorcycles in order to power their  new creations with electric motors… And while Confederate used to sell  their masterpieces at astronomical expenses, Curtiss hopes to provide  beautiful electric bikes at more accessible prices.Confederate’s name change comes amidst a nationwide conversation  about America’s controversial Civil War history. "I think we lost a lot a  business with that name," Chambers told the Los Angeles Times, during  the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2017. "We've missed out on branding  opportunities. So, it's time to retire it."

The Curtiss name is taken from Glenn “Hell Rider” Curtiss  (1878-1930), the American aviator, industrial designer, and motorcycle  pioneer. In fact, the aerospace manufacturer Curtiss-Wright is a  consolidation of his company and that of the Wright brothers — but the  man is equally legendary in the bike realm as a turn-of-the-century  racer and engineer. He was known for mounting aircraft engines onto his  own Hercules bicycles, very early on.In 1903, Glenn Curtiss set the very first motorcycle speed record riding  one of his original Hercules bicycles, which used a 1,000cc V-twin  taking him up to 103 kph. Later on, he wowed the world by stitching four  engines together to create an incredible 4,000cc V8, which he mounted  on another Hercules bike to set a 219.31 kph speed record in 1907. It  took another 23 years before it was beaten.That is why Curtiss Motorcycles (formerly Confederate) has chosen to  name its very first electric motorcycle the “Hercules”, which will be  unveiled in May next year.
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