HERE IS THE ALL-NEW ELECTRIC ARC Vector, arguably the most advanced motorcycle, with hub steering, carbon swingarm front and rear, no conventional frame, Öhlins suspension, Brembo Stylema brakes, and fully electric. Hand-made in England, with its price starting at £90,000 (Rs 82.80 lakh).
ARC is the brainchild of CEO Mark Truman, who set out to create something special: the world’s most advanced electric motorcycle. To create a bike free of the constrictions of noise, emission, heat, exhaust routing, and a thousand other conventional petrol bike limitations. He started with a blank piece of paper, then let his imagination and brilliance run wild.
The ARC Vector was revealed to the public at EICMA back in 2018, stunning the motorcycling world with its dramatic hub-centre steering and claimed range (436 kilometres) and recharge time of just 40 minutes. However, the company went into administration in 2019, when key investors removed themselves from the project.
Unperturbed, Mark and his company bounced back and earlier this year conducted the bike’s final testing, with former BSB and MotoGP racer James Ellison at the helm.
With the first bespoke and British-made Vectors now reaching customers, we took one of the very first bikes to leave the factory for a quick spin close to ARC headquarters near Coventry in England.
The ARC is unique. There is no conventional frame; the chassis is the housing for the battery and motor, similar to Ducati’s Panigale and new MotoE race bike. Hub-centre steering allows a very steep head angle of 20 degrees compared to a normal sports bike’s 24 to 25 degrees. The pivot point of the front shock is below the front wheel spindle, which, unlike other hub-steering models, allows the front to dive slightly like a conventional telescopic fork. The hub steering also allows the ARC to run a light spring at the front which can cope with the weight (235 kilograms) better than conventional forks.
Both rear and front arms are carbon-fibre, as are the wheels (by BST).
