Electric motorcycle rides to Richmond
By Rich Holman • Contributing Writer
Originally Published 5/21/2009

    BLUE GRASS — A few weeks ago, an article in The Recorder reported on a newly built, electric powered motorcycle called the Norton Electra. This bike was created by Brian Richardson in the kitchen of his farmhouse in the village of Blue Grass in western Highland County.
    Richardson had just completed the motorcycle and had done some preliminary testing in coordination with engineer Dr. Robert Prins of the Alternative Fuels Lab at James Madison University. Since then, there have been several interesting developments that have affected Richardson's project.
    The first of these was the agreement of Stuart Garner, owner of the reconstituted Norton Motorcycle Co., to license Richardson's bike as a Norton. Garner reestablished Norton in England, its country of origin, after a company based in the United States failed in its attempt to once again manufacture and sell motorcycles with this legendary name.
    Garner intends to revive some of the most venerable model names, such as the Norton Commando, and has expressed strong interest in having an electric machine in the lineup. He has stated his desire to keep in touch with the testing and other developments involving the Electra project and may decide to visit the U.S. late this year or early in 2010.
    The engineering department at JMU, with assistant of Prins, has continued its strong interest in assisting with testing and evaluating the Electra. Richardson and Prins plan to take the bike to Maxton, N.C., where the East Coast Timing Association hosts land speed racing events. At these events, speed records are established for a wide variety of vehicles, including all types and variations of motorcycles. This should be a perfect venue to test the speed capabilities of the Norton Electra.
    As he was building this bike, Richardson had decided he wanted to use it for educational purposes and take it to various schools and other organizations around Virginia and talk about the experience of creating such a machine and demonstrate its running capacity where possible.
    In response to an invitation from the Governor's Motorcycle Advisory Council, he hauled the bike to Richmond on May 12 for its first such demonstration at the council's quarterly meeting at the headquarters of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
    After his presentation, he ran the bike on the motorcycle training range behind the DMV so council members could see it in operation. Observers were impressed with the finished look and the obvious handling, power and speed capabilities of the Norton.
    Making the best use of his day, Richardson took the bike on to St. Catherine's school for a second demonstration and finally to Collegiate School, where he attended high school. He and the bike were received with enthusiasm by the students. One young girl said when she begins driving, that is the vehicle she wants to have.
    After he had met with the students at Collegiate, the administrators suggested he come around to the back parking lot to "do one more thing." There, he was treated to a test drive of the new Tesla Roadster. The Roadster is an electric powered sports car built by a California company that has been backed largely by Silicon Valley investors. The designers and builders of the Roadster wanted to build in plenty of performance and fun-to-drive capacity. According to Richardson, his test drive convinced him they met and maybe exceeded that goal.
    To mark the perfect ending to a productive day, Richardson on the Norton Electra and the Tesla owner in the Roadster, drove away from the school for a few miles — the Norton Electra, built by a privateer on his farm in Blue Grass, and the Tesla, developed and produced by a well financed California company.