The Hope Motorbike, a custom revamped Vetrix V1 Scooter, from Sam Aguiar of France’s Shiny Hammer is a futuristic, fully electric maxi scooter that is made-to-order.
The Hope Motorbike
You may recognize the name Sam Aguiar from the post on the Shiny Hammer home furnishings collection we featured a few years back. Transportation design is another of Sam’s talents.
Named “The Hope” the electric motorbike uses lithium batteries and a rear wheel engine. The sleek, ergonomic, fully electric steel-bodied bike has a a top speed of 75 mph and a max range of 173 miles.
Aguiar spent years refining the scooter’s design in order to create the sleek slope from dashboard to seat to tire. Laser-cut steel plates helped to form the basic framework and Once those were down, Samuel used modeling mastic to work out the final shape, before creating each panel out of fiberglass.
The front and rear sections were painted black, while the center sections were wrapped in aluminum plates, riveted to the fiberglass. The dashboard surround was laser-cut from aluminum, and the inside of the steering cutout was molded from carbon fiber.
“It was important for me to stay very ‘ergonomic’ to make the design usable. This is where you decide whether to keep your idea as a sculptural state, or to bring it to a functional state,” said Aguiar.
On the dash, the classic Vectrix gauges were re-arranged into a vertical assembly with requisite push buttons and the instrument panels give you the speed, battery level, projected range (based both on battery capacity and riding style) and more.
Under the hood, Samuel left most of the VX-1 intact. He swapped the stock 13”/14” wheels out for a 17” combo, using a Suzuki GSF item up front, and a custom-made, three part aluminum design out back, matched to the scooter’s final drive. The new wheels are kitted with a Brembo brake system for more grab.
Its also available in colors! Contact Shiny Hammer for more information.
SHINY HAMMER
information and photos courtesy of Shiny Hammer, Sam Aguiar’s instagram account and Bikeexif