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May 20, 2024
Dear Fllow community,
Our last few updates focused on the technical aspects of the bike. For this update we’ll take a look at the ergonomics:
Ergonomic Improvements for 2-Up Riding
The Fllow has always been intended for 2-up riding. It has passenger pegs and grab handles, However, the stylish yet short seat has led a number of people to ask whether it can comfortably accommodate a passenger. Our early prototype was capable of taking a passenger, and we did have two people on it at one point. However, it wasn't very comfortable for either the rider or the passenger.
In the CAD image above labeled "Initial Structural Tail," (see below) you can see that both the rider and the passenger fit on the seat.The blue line indicates the back of the passenger, positioned right at the end of the seat.
Even with the passenger sitting as far back as possible, the rider and passenger are still very close to each other. Considering the additional size of their helmets, it’s easy to imagine that they would practically be touching.
To make the bike truly capable of carrying two people comfortably, we needed to lengthen the seat slightly while sticking to our plan to keep the overall bike short.
In the Proposed Structural Tail image above, you can see we've extended the seat by about 100 mm and altered the contour of the seat so the back edge no longer tapers to a point. The passenger now can slide back to a comfortable position and sit all the way back without the seat profile making them prone to sliding back.
This adjustment not only gives the passenger more space but also repositions the passenger pegs and grab handles for better stability. Originally, they were close to vertically in line with the rider’s hips, which was less than ideal for stability. Now, the feet are positioned slightly forward and the grab handles further back, creating a more stable triangular support arrangement (as opposed to a straight line). This helps the passenger to better support themselves during both acceleration and deceleration.
It means better comfort for the passenger, and more room for luggage as well.
The FUELL Fllow Team
April 30, 2024
Dear Fllow community,
As the development of Fllow moves forward, we're excited to bring you more updates.
Another positive meeting with the e-motor supplier
We had a highly fruitful meeting with our motor supplier during our visit a few weeks ago.
In addition to spending time with the R&D team, we explored some products they're already mass-producing for other clients. Their manufacturing lines are state-of-the-art and focused on producing high-quality yet affordable products. We spent the rest of our visit reviewing the Fllow project and were presented with some impressive work they have been doing.
The output of this work is set to reduce the tooling required and enable us to get the Fllow motor into production more quickly. We should even beat our weight target for the motor!
We’ll continue to share more as the project moves closer to production while being respectful of proprietary information.
In the meantime, here are some photos from our recent visit:
The FUELL Fllow Team
April 3, 2024
Dear Fllow community,
We know with warm weather arriving (maybe not quite yet here in Wisconsin), riding motorcycles is on everyone’s mind so we wanted to give you an update on Fllow.
New President
First of all, we are very excited to share with you that Gary DeMel, former Intel Executive, joins FUELL as President and is also an investor in the Company. Gary DeMel is a seasoned executive renowned for his ability to bring groundbreaking products to market and achieve unprecedented growth. In his role as President at FUELL, Gary will in particular take charge of overseeing operations for both the e-bike and e-motorcycle lines.
Meeting with Wheel-Motor Manufacturer
This coming week our new president, Gary DeMel, and our Director of Sourcing and Manufacturing, Ed Laben, will meet with our wheel-motor manufacturer to review scheduling and tooling plans to get production motors into manufacturing as quickly as possible. Adding Gary’s experience and expertise to critical parts such as the motor will be key to a rapid and high-quality Fllow delivery. The rest of the engineering team will join in on these meetings via video call so we can be back here in Wisconsin working toward the next iteration of pre-production bikes. We hope to be able to share some exciting news about the motor with you soon.
3D Models
In the virtual world, optimization is still in process. For parts with very complex geometry such as the frame, we commonly simplify the 3D models initially. This speeds up the meshing in our analysis tools and allows our engineers to make initial iterations more quickly. Critical features and overall geometry are maintained, but small details and styled features are removed or suppressed. Below is an example of the simplified version of the frame.
Once we have the results we are looking for in the simplified model we return to the complete model for the final analysis iterations.
As you can see comparing the simplified and complete models, some details, such as the side stand mount (which will be looked at as an independent analysis) are removed, but the overall geometry remains. The differences in the models may seem minor, but they significantly impact the time to solve for the various load cases we apply.
One key structural element still needs to be added in the image above. The Fllow’s magnesium battery housing is a stressed member of the frame. By using the battery housing to stiffen the chassis we can reduce the overall vehicle weight. The battery housing is also going through the same process first in a simplified version and then complete. Finally, it is brought back together with the frame for an overall chassis analysis and evaluation
This part of the development process is not nearly as exciting as throwing a leg over the final product, but it is very important in getting us to that point.
We’ll share some more information as we make progress on different components, including the wheel motor - still respecting confidentiality and making sure we’re not opening trade secrets!
The FUELL Fllow Team
February 8, 2024
Dear Fllow Community,
It's been a while since our last update and we are back with some exciting news.
Expanding the Fllow team
Once again, we’ve focused our resources on moving the Fllow development along as quickly as possible while maintaining the quality you deserve and have been remiss with updates.
The first of our updates is focused on resources and expanding them.
We are pleased to welcome two new members to the Fllow team. Cameron Bunne has joined the team as a vehicle design engineer. Cameron is a Wisconsin native with extensive hands-on engineering experience. Also joining the team is Tim Pryga. Tim is a vehicle technician on the Fllow project and comes to us with decades of 2-wheeler development and testing experience at Buell, EBR, and Harley-Davidson.
In addition to new team members, the FUELL network has just undergone a significant upgrade to help the team work more quickly and efficiently and help us get updates to you more timely.
Focus on Vehicle Development
On the vehicles side, over the next few months, the updates are not necessarily going to be that exciting because we’re entirely working in CAD. And most of what we’re doing with the in-wheel motor and the HV battery is proprietary, and patented, and we’re not going to be able to share pictures, parts, or even detailed explanations - not only because it is part of the development process but also because we don’t want to give too much to our competitors!
On a less strategic yet important Fllow part - we made significant progress industrializing the headlight. Vehicle lighting seems simple but lights must meet a strict list of regulatory requirements and pass a long and extensive test program, so it’s important to focus on parts such as the lighting early in the project.
We were able to preserve the striking styling of the headlight you’ve seen on the prototype - see below a screenshot from Dean’s computer:
We do understand that many backers are expecting updates and reports - although this has never been something that has been part of our product development process before, we’ll make sure to share what we can as often as we can.
And please also understand the nature of the process and the sensitivity of some information or even pictures.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we push the boundaries of innovation together.
The FUELL Fllow Team
December 27, 2023
Dear FUELL Community!
As promised, we would like to keep you informed about our progress and the latest developments for the FUELL Fllow e-motorcycle.
Over the past few months, our engineering team has been heads-down working on a multitude of details crucial for delivering your Fllow e-bike but not that “exciting” to talk about.
Product development is filled with tons of intense moments, like throwing your leg over the latest generation of test bikes. Still, it also comes with less charming tasks, such as planning distribution, running simulations, or optimizing machining. That’s largely what we are in the middle of currently, but here are a few of the less mundane things we’ve been working on.
Even though the Fllow isn't intended to carve up corners like a superbike, we are still focused on great performance and handling. Proper chassis stiffness is a key component of this. We've included an image below of our frame weldment going through optimization for stiffness and strength. The sizable open volume in the center underscores Fllow's massive storage volume.
Optimization of the structural electronics housing is also underway.
In addition to spending time at the screen on simulation, we are also working with the physical prototype to be sure Fllow delivers its design intents.
For instance, our testing determined that the bar end turn signals, while aesthetically pleasing, weren't ideally suited for a bike designed for urban commuting and parking in city centers.
Being out at the end of the bars, they are very susceptible to damage. They are the first point of contact in any tip-over and are prone to damage from people or objects running into the end of the bars.
We've addressed this by migrating the turn signals inboard a bit. This change aligns with our core design philosophy and helps reduce the number of parts we need to tool.
The front turn signals will now use the same lens and other internal components as the rear turn signals. For those of you who liked the look of the bar end signals, we are looking to offer an accessory kit that includes them.
The FUELL Fllow Team
