Aiming to give a personal touch to their debut bike, Italian Volt 3D prints parts of its Lacama electric motorcycle to change its shape and characteristics.

Time was that brand power alone distinguished something as a luxury. However, it has become apparent in recent years that luxury now lies in bespoke services.

Indeed, Deloitte’s Global Powers of Luxury Goods Report for 2016 notes a shift in the “path-to-purchase”,  with consumers demanding more personal service and dictating where and how they engage with brands.

Look to any high-end auto marque and you’ll see they have a coach building division. Dedicated to pimping wheels for the wealthy, these teams make each auto that pass their hands a unique machine. And perhaps looking to insert itself into this arena for motorcycles, comes Italian Volt.

A Milanese startup founded by motorsports and business professionals, riders and designers, the company is channeling its founders’ passion for two-wheels into a distinctively customizable, high-end electric motorcycle – the Lacama.

Better still, the bike is energized by the agility and flexibility offered by 3D printing technologies. Most of the Lacama’s customizable bodywork is 3D printed.

Personalizing the Italian Volt Lacama

The fact sheet for the Lacama – Italian Volt’s first bike – claims some impressive numbers. A 0-80 percent charge time of 40 minutes and 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds catch the eye. Brembo brakes and Öhlins suspension also feature. But the juicy part for us is the bike’s 3D printed bodywork.

Each of the 12 bodywork elements fabricated on 3D printers is available in 5 variant styles. These bodywork parts – customizable in an array of colors – are how Italian Volt will allow Lacama owners to customize their bike.

Speaking to ALL3DP,Project Manager Pierluigi Marconi said:

“For Lacama we are using a Stratasys Fortus 900 that can realize parts in nylon 6 with quiet good performance in terms of rigidity, resistance and painting. With such technology we can personalize the design following customers’ particular requests.”

This influence over the design means that the company’s roadster bike could, in fact, end up more akin to a cafe racer, or scrambler.

It’s worth noting the project is currently only in prototyping. Meanwhile, Italian Volt is also engaging its first round of investment in the first quarter of the year. Eventually, the aim is to be taking orders for the Lacama bike from September this year.

Source: Treehugger