Could Damon Motorcycle’s technology show up on a Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, or Suzuki?
In case you missed it, Damon Motorcycles revealed their HyperSport electric motorcycle at CES. I wrote about the bike over at Web Bike World. The motorcycle is packed with innovative technology that sets it apart from the competition.
I had a chance to talk with the company’s CEO Jay Giraud. In that conversation, he mentioned that Damon Motorcycles has considered working with other companies—like Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha—and allowing those companies to use Damon’s proprietary technology.
The Possibility of Damon Working With Other Bike Manufacturers
Giraud told me that at the beginning of Damon the folks in the company were trying to decide if they should build a halo bike to showcase the technology to the world or actually go all-in and try to compete with their own bike.
Eventually, the team decided it needed to make its own bike.
“When we kind of discovered this thing and started riding it for ourselves, we thought we can’t lean on motorcycle companies to take our idea of motorcycling to the future,” said Giraud. “We’re going to have to do it ourselves.”
With all that said, Giraud did say he wouldn’t count-out licensing the technology to other manufacturers. “I wouldn’t say no,” Giraud said.
Other Manufacturers Have Tested Damon’s Tech
He went on to say that Damon has shown its technology to Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki. “They love it,” he said. “They love the tech. They tried CoPilot. They tried Shift. They’ve tried our powertrain.”
Giraud made it sound like they had some good conversations and meetings with several manufacturers but that things just never really got there.
“Certainly we’re interested in engaging with them,” he said. “In my experience with building three automotive technology companies, I’ve interfaced with the OEMs for 12 years straight now on the subject of disruptive technology. It’s just they have a hard time, and they don’t need to disrupt the status quo.”
With that in mind, it makes sense that if Damon were to disrupt the market enough in a similar way that Tesla has done in the automotive space, then there’s a possibility that companies could either create similar technology or work with Damon to license that technology.
It’s something the CEO seems open to. If the Damon safety tech (CoPilot) and the rider ergonomic tech (Shift) are as good as Giraud says, then I think the other manufacturers need to make that move.
