Citizens aware of caring for the environment are increasingly turning to electric alternatives such as bicycles, scooters and motorcycles to meet their daily transport needs due to their practicality, ease of use and sustainability. In addition to this, they are much more affordable than an electric car and have lower maintenance costs.
But what about those who are passionate about the comfort of an electric motorcycle but who require considerable storage capacity to transport their things? One of these people is the German designer and mechanical engineer Albert Ebenbichler who, seeing this need, decided to invent his own urban electric motorcycle with a total of 70 liters of storage capacity.
And it is that this motorcycle incorporates a practical and unusual central storage compartment to be able to locate, for example, an airplane cabin suitcase or two briefcases. Ebenbichler decided to call his new vehicle Fat Albert, as a wink to refer to “pleasure in transport” (FAT is the acronym for “freude am transport” in German).
This idea has been so revolutionary that it is no coincidence that a few weeks ago it was awarded the prize for the best invention of the year at the prestigious German Innovation Awards event. It should be noted that the vehicle has passed the strict German homologation regulations without any problems and is already in production.
A motorcycle aficionado, Albert Ebenbichler is a creative eccentric who runs his own company and conceived the Fat Albert in the garage of his home in Esslingen. In doing so, he enlisted the support of manufacturers specializing in motorcycle sidecars and a technical service provider with experience in the field of energy certification.
The electric motorcycle is built around a large trunk, so for its design to be feasible, some adjustments had to be made compared to a conventional motorcycle. For example, accessibility when getting on the motorcycle is somewhat compromised, but nothing that cannot be fixed with some flexibility in the legs when riding it.
With a tubular steel chassis, it features a robust appearance with telescopic forks at the front and a seat height suitable for users of any size. It weighs 95kg, including its two 60V 20Ah battery packs, and has a total permitted weight of 210kg. Thus, depending on the volume of the motorcyclist, it is possible to carry more or less things in the trunk. The bike also has a luggage rack at the rear.
In the intermediate version of the range (DYN), the power of its motor, integrated in the rear wheel, is 3 kW (equivalent to 4 CV) and thanks to it, 45 km/h can be reached. According to the manufacturer, it has a range of up to 120 km (depending on the version) and the batteries are removable. These fully recharge in approximately four hours from a standard household outlet.
There are four variants of the Fat Albert, which is already on sale. Three of them have reverse gear for better maneuverability in the city. The most basic is the ECO, which has small wheels, a 2 kW motor and a range of 40 km (4,970 euros); the aforementioned DYN (5,960 euros) has a range of 50 km and more equipment than the previous one. The superior version is the DYN, with 120 km of autonomy (6,590 euros).
Apart from these three versions is the TAF Edition, a special edition with the fairing and trunk made of carbon fiber, with a power of 4 kW and that can reach a top speed of 70 km/h (although its autonomy is of 70 km). In the attached video you can see the latest edition of the German Innovation Awards, where this original electric motorcycle was awarded.
