— Buell Motorcycles founder and former Harley-Davidson engineer Erik Buell has announced performance details for his new electric FUELL Fllow motorcycle.
The 73-year-old East Troy motorcycle engineer’s latest creation is an all-electric motorcycle aimed at urban and suburban riders with more torque — or tire twisting power — than a new Ford F-350 and a 150-mile range. Buell is known for including innovative technologies on his designs, such as putting fuel inside a motorcycle frame and bolting brake rotors to the wheel rim instead of the hub. He hasn’t stopped with the Fllow.
“We broke away from the classic motorcycle architecture — with radical new ideas and materials — to give you the acceleration of a superbike with the nimbleness of a light middleweight motorcycle,” Buell said in a release.
While it’s capable of accelerating from a stop to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, riders still have enough storage in the 10 gallons of space to keep a full face helmet and a bag on board.
Buell was a former Harley engineer and the head of former Wisconsin-based motorcycle companies, Buell Motorcycles and Erik Buell Racing, which collectively produced over 130,000 bikes. He founded Buell Motorcycles in 1983, starting in a barn in East Troy.
FUELL is headquartered in New York. Buell, current Ferrari Formula 1 team Principal Frédéric Vasseur, and executive and investor Francois-Xavier Terny founded the company.
The Fllow will also heavily rely on U.S. manufacturing, with assembly slated for America, according to the press release.
Buell argues two wheels are the way to the future.
“Worldwide, the movement to change our habits is accelerating,” he said. “Urban transportation should be a comfortable personal tool empowering us to better live our multitasking lives. A well-designed two-wheeler becomes one with the rider, with speed and range far beyond the rider’s ability. Those great two-wheelers make you feel like you have superpowers!”
The new motorcycle’s motor integrated into the rear wheel is one of the biggest electrical innovations, providing 47 horsepower. The lithium battery pack that’s a structural piece of the chassis provides the ability to update battery packs for future upgrades too.
The rear wheel motor and fast charging socket can also be upgraded as new tech becomes available.
“I will myself be striving to develop those close and personal rides into the future, so every FUELL product not only feels familiar, like part of you, but also pushes out of the past and flies you to the future,” he said.
A 15 horsepower version of the bike will also be available for markets with varying licensing requirements.
Recharging the bike at a Type 2 fast charger will take about 30 minutes while recharging at home could take between 1.25 and 10 hours, depending on the rate of charge, and costs about $2, according to a press release.
That’s about $10 cheaper than it costs to fill up most of Buell’s previous two-wheeled creations.
But the new bike is not designed to be a replacement for a gas-powered touring motorcycle, according to the release. It’s designed specifically for urban use with highway capabilities, as the 85 mph top speed is not much higher than the legal limit on most interstates. The 150-mile range would also decrease if riders only use highways and freeways.
See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/fuell-fllow-ride-into-the-future/
Watch a video on the FUELL Fllow here: https://www.wisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Erik-Buell-Presentation.mp4
— Twin Disc, a Milwaukee-based manufacturer of power transmission products, has announced plans to relocate its engineering operations to Mount Pleasant.
The company yesterday announced the expansion plans, with developer St. John Properties Wisconsin building the new 15,500-square-foot building. According to a release, up to 46 workers will be located at the new site once it goes online in early 2024.
“This location is much closer to Twin Disc’s new Headquarters in Milwaukee and offers improved accessibility, proximity to industry partners and allows us to tap into a larger talent pool,” Vice President of Engineering Dean Bratel said in a statement.
See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Twin-Disc-Expansion-Press-Release-FINAL-JULY.docx.pdf
— The USDA is providing $7.1 million in additional funding for a new wastewater treatment facility being built in Osseo.
The federal agency’s Rural Development division in 2020 approved more than $8 million in loans and grants for the construction project, according to the release. Last month, it approved another loan for about $6.3 million and a grant of $850,000 for the project, due to higher project bid costs.
The community’s existing wastewater treatment facility was first built in 1961, and later upgraded in 1985 and 2001. USDA says parts of the facility “have either exceeded their useful life, are operating over design capacity, experiencing operational issues, or were not designed to comply” with newer phosphorus limits.
Construction is slated to wrap up by October 2024.
See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/u-s-dept-of-agriculture-invests-7-1-million-to-improve-wastewater-infrastructure-for-rural-residents-in-osseo-wisconsin/
— Gov. Tony Evers has announced more than $20 million in grants to 21 municipalities to fund public improvement projects.
Projects to be funded by the Community Development Block Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development include road improvements, repairs and expansions; sidewalks; sewer and water infrastructure; and community facilities. The grants are for communities with populations of 50,000 or less.
See the release:
— Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard plans to reintroduce legislation to remove the sales taxes for menstrual products and ensure they are available in bathrooms in state-funded buildings.
“It makes no sense that Viagra, potato chips and KitKat bars are not taxed in Wisconsin because they’re considered to be necessities when tampons and pads are because they’re considered a luxury,” the Madison Dem said.
Agard spoke to reporters yesterday along with Binti International founder Manjit Gill and local advocates after a roundtable discussion on accessibility of menstrual products. Binti, a charity headquartered in the United Kingdom, seeks to increase access to menstrual pads, educate girls about menstruation, and fight stigmas.
Agard said her legislation stalled in the past. She said Republicans resisted eliminating sales taxes for menstrual products “even though the Republican Party claims to be the party of wanting to reform taxes.”
But she said some of her Republican colleagues have shown interest in both pieces of legislation this session.
Gill said some of her nonprofit’s chief goals are to eradicate the stigma surrounding periods and improve access to period products.
“Lots of girls miss school every month because they don’t have access,” Gill said. “And it also stops us in the workplace when we go home once a month to go buy period products or change because we don’t have products in the workplace — it affects all of us.”
Watch the press conference here: https://wiseye.org/2023/07/26/news-conference-menstrual-equality-roundtable/
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— Ellen Nowak has joined ATC as the multi-state transmission utility’s vice president for regulatory and government affairs to oversee state and federal regulatory affairs.
Nowak previously served on the state Public Service Commission.
<b>Correction:<b/> An item in yesterday’s News Summary should have said that SPEAK.STUDIO is based in Brooklyn, Wis.
#TOP STORIES#
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#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
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# ECONOMY
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# EDUCATION
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# MANUFACTURING
– Milwaukee manufacturer nixes Wisconsin plant closure, but still plans layoffs
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# MEDIA
– Trade Press Media moving headquarters to Wauwatosa
# POLITICS
– Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s political director steps down as 2024 election approaches
# SPORTS
– Jim Leonhard, former Wisconsin defensive coordinator and interim coach, joins Illini as an analyst
# TOURISM
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# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
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