Zaiser Motors gives us a new look at electric motorcycles

When the pandemic hit, Anthony Cross was faced with a daunting choice: should I continue publishing Salt magazine or venture into something equal or more beneficial to the community?

The Colorado-based publisher took his lifelong love of cars and his desire for a more sustainable world and came up with an idea: a new path forward in electric motorcycle manufacturing, with partially interchangeable parts .

Then he found a full team of experts and ready to hit the ground running and set out in Colorado’s bustling tech area to make his new dream come true.

That brings us to Zaiser Motors, a testament to the power of innovation and entrepreneurship – and the speed of Cross. In September 2021, after introducing the Silhouette, the world’s first electrocycle, Zaiser announced a redesign of its platform to produce a second, smaller motorcycle, the Arrow, through a WeFunder page campaign that achieved its goals in just six weeks. The Arrow has a range of 160 miles and a top speed of 100 mph, while the Silhouette has a range of 300 miles and a top speed of 120 mph. Each electrocycle saves up to 12,000 pounds of C02 emissions per year thanks to the bike’s 100% electric fuel.

The Electrocycle began rolling off the line in 2022, followed by the Arrow.

The technology is new and trendy, as Cross pointed out. “Electric motorcycles have kind of been in the background with our push for renewable and alternative energy vehicles,” he said. “But they exist. We couldn’t even think of something like our bikes without Zero, which has been around (since 2008). They have led the way, so much so that legislation is just starting to catch up. 10 years ago it was difficult to convince legislators that electric motorcycles were around the corner, but now that the technology is proven and we are thinking a lot more about solutions to save the climate, everything has improved a lot . It’s more tangible; you can reach out and touch it.

Zaiser Motors’ unique modular system allows for maximum customization and durability/replaceability of parts, including the battery, to meet the expectations of other rapid development cycles within the industry and further extend the life of each vehicle. With this design, Cross notes, the company can quickly move toward two things that will evolve rapidly over the decade: fuel sources; and the durability and recyclability of the bicycle components themselves.

“Our biggest expenses are batteries and motors, especially batteries,” Cross said. “We’re working with a few people to try to move beyond lithium a little bit. We look for ways to recycle what already exists and make it the best and most efficient possible. All of our components must have a certain level of removability/recyclability. You are building an electric vehicle with components that are potentially harmful to the environment. It would therefore be foolish to present yourself as a green solution without thinking about the future of these batteries. We really want the whole body to be recyclable in the future.

One of the most satisfying aspects of Cross’ whirlwind transition from publisher to electric motorcycle manufacturer and CEO, he says, is the type of community that comes with renewable energy, sustainable product manufacturing and creating future solutions for very important current problems. Have something as hot as moving
with less fuel and more efficiency, it doesn’t hurt either.

“It’s a hot technology, and when you have a hot technology, you have a lot of networking and a lot of ideas that one person might not think about a lot, but someone else sees utility,” he said. “Right now, it’s very community-based and very collaborative. You have to be involved with other companies, have relationships with them, know a lot of people. This also applies to our suppliers, our battery suppliers. I love it. This is how things are done, as opposed to gatekeeping and ultra-competitiveness.

For this, one of Zaiser’s short-term goals is to make assemblies of Silhouette, Arrow and future models partially interchangeable, so that customers don’t have to replace entire models just to get upgraded versions or latest specific parts. “If you bought a bike in 2022 and then came back in 2025, we could swap out the batteries, or the motors, or whatever, to keep it on the road in the future,” Cross said. “It’s also key to sustainability, and it doesn’t have as big an economic impact as you think.”

All of this plays into Cross’ life as an entrepreneur who seems to find ways to create and tinker in business contexts, whether it’s producing and recording music (he’s also a musician), magazine platforms, electric motorcycle frames and fuel sources.

“I was guided by the wind in a way,” he said. “When Salt was no longer viable… my goal was always to help the community and the planet while generating the funds necessary to achieve that goal. The timing for Zaiser was perfect. The team fell into place immediately. I’ve always had a technical background, I’ve worked on classic cars and motorcycles, I’ve always been a handyman and repairman, I’ve always loved engineering. I’ve always loved bikes, bike design and object design in general, so this was a lightbulb moment. ■