Five years in, Damon still says its HyperSport electric motorcycles are coming

After covering the unveiling of Damon Motorcycles first electric models in 2019, I’ve seen the company promise repeatedly that its bikes are still coming. Now that we’re entering the sixth year of coverage, Damon says it’s serious this time. And the company is now showing off a new partnership that could help it cruise closer to manufacturing.

The latest update on Damon’s winding road that presumably leads to production is the announcement of a new battery partner. Damon has just shared the news at CES, detailing how E-One Moli Energy Corp’s tech will see Molicell batteries land in its HyperSport electric motorcycles.

As the company shared, the partnership is expected to help Damon’s bikes “deliver more range, higher power, and shorter charge times than industry competitors.”

“Molicel’s innovative and superior battery technology will further position Damon at the leading edge of EV tech,” explained Derek Dorresteyn, CTO, Damon Motorcycles. “Additionally, Molicel’s recently announced British Columbia manufacturing plant will shorten supply chains for battery cells and improve the responsiveness of our North American motorcycle manufacturing activities.”

To show off the new batteries, Damon pointed to a recent demonstration of its Molicel-equipped HyperSport motorcycle stacked up against a “state-of-the-art 2023 model 1000cc superbike” held on a private, closed-course track at Thunderhill Raceway in California.

The electric sportbike’s 150 kW (201 hp) liquid-cooled motor helped it achieve comparable acceleration compared to its 1000cc riding partner, though speed and acceleration graphs provided by Damon show smoother curves.

Damon reports 40 patents to its name covering a wide range of technologies included advanced rider aids and a system that it calls embedded Shift™ active ergonomics.

The bikes will also include 4G connectivity as well as “proprietary AI-enable cloud” that should help the bikes “continually adapt to a rapidly changing world, setting a new standard in performance, safety, and rider experience.”

The company isn’t only sitting on a pile of patents, but also a stack of more than $70M in funding so far. Damon also touts over $85M in deposit-backed reservations, representing at least 3,400 pre-ordered motorcycles.

If things go according to plan, Damon hopes to complete soon a merger transaction that would see it listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol DMN.

That all sounds great, but production sounds even better. Here’s to hoping we’ll get some news on that front soon, too.