---
title: "Airbus Subsidiary Shows Off the Light Rider, a 3D-Printed Electric Motorcycle"
description: "And you thought their airplanes were expensive."
date: "2016-05-24"
modified: "2016-05-24"
authors:
  - name: "Jonathon Ramsey"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jonathon-ramsey"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/motorcycles/3637/airbus-subsidiary-shows-off-the-light-rider-a-3d-printed-electric-motorcycle"
categories:
  - "Motorcycles"
  - "News"
  - "The Garage"
tags:
  - "Airbus"
  - "Electric Vehicle"
---

# Airbus Subsidiary Shows Off the Light Rider, a 3D-Printed Electric Motorcycle

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/052416-light-rider-3d-printed-bike-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

German company [APWorks](<https://www.apworks.de/en/scalmalloy/>) does one thing: 3D printing. The company’s unique selling proposition is that it is wholly owned by Airbus and specializes in additive layer manufacturing that benefits from the research and development know-how of one of the world’s largest aerospace companies. The three-year-old [company seeks to become](<https://www.apworks.de/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/07/APWorks-Backgrounder_EN.pdf>) “the biggest provider for industrial use and application of additive manufacturing technologies and solutions,” so it’s [rolled out a calling card](<https://www.airbusgroup.com/int/en/news-media/press-releases/Airbus-Group/Financial_Communication/2016/05/en_APWorks-Launch-Light-Rider.html>) guaranteed to get attention: the [3D-printed Light Rider](<https://www.apworks.de/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/07/APWorks-Backgrounder_EN.pdf>), which it calls an electric motorcycle but is more like an electric mountain bike with a dose of electric moto about it.

The hollow frame members make for a 13.2-pound frame that looks appropriate for a cameo in *Alien: Covenant*, built up of layers of APWorks’ [proprietary Scalmalloy](<https://www.apworks.de/en/scalmalloy/>) metal [just 60 microns thick](<https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/airbus-apworks-light-rider-3d/>). The aluminum alloy, developed in conjunction with parent company Airbus, is “a high-performance aluminum powder” that’s twice as strong as the aluminum-silicon-magnesium alloy [AlSi10Mg](<https://gpiprototype.com/blog/dmls-in-aluminum-inconel-or-titanium-is-it-worth-it.html>) often used for laser sintering, with a specific strength close to titanium but the light weight of aluminum. APWorks labels the latticework design “bionic,” probably because it wants to call attention to the “bionically optimized metal parts \[it makes\] for a wide range of industries, from aerospace to automotive and robotics.” We don’t think the word “bionic” means what Airbus thinks it means. It’s a clean look, though, with integrated cables and piping, and screw-on hard points printed into components.

![052416-light-rider-3d-printed-bike-art-1.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/052416-light-rider-3d-printed-bike-art-1.jpg>)
**APWorks**

The six-kilowatt electric motor with a swappable battery can get the 77-pound bike to a top speed of 49.6 miles per hour, accelerating from zero to 28 miles per hour takes three seconds, and a single charge is good for 37 miles. The stats make this a curious beast – lighter [than an electric motorcycle](<https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-s/specs.php>) but slower and down on range, [lighter than an electric scooter](<https://www.treehugger.com/cars/the-7-best-electric-scooters-from-prototypes-to-production-models.html#14640740212581&action=collapse_widget&id=0&data=>) but faster and still down on range. Compared to [the beefiest electric bicycles](<https://www.stealthelectricbikes.com/stealth-b-52-bomber/>), the Light Rider is heavy and no faster and still can’t go as far, [compared to a typical e-bike](<https://www.evelo.com/electric-bicycles/aries/>), the Light Rider is way heavier and faster… but still can’t go as far.

![052416-light-rider-3d-printed-bike-art-2.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/052416-light-rider-3d-printed-bike-art-2.jpg>)
**APWorks**

But APWorks says this is the world’s first 3D-printed electric motorcycle, so we’ll stick to that main event. The company will produce a run of 50 Light Riders, and because being first costs a lot of money, each one will command €50,000 – about $56,000 US. You can put your name on the list with a €2,000 deposit, but if a motorcycle costs this much, we wonder what they’ll charge for the [3D-printed twin-engine plane](<https://www.yahoo.com/news/airbus-boss-showcases-first-3-d-printed-motorbike-151300655.html?ref=gs>) they’re expected to reveal at the Berlin Air Show.

![052416-light-rider-3d-printed-bike-art-3.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/052416-light-rider-3d-printed-bike-art-3.jpg>)
**APWorks**

![052416-light-rider-3d-printed-bike-art-4.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/052416-light-rider-3d-printed-bike-art-4.jpg>)
**APWorks**

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