For more than 10 years, Cleveland CycleWerks co-founder Scott Colosimo has been turning out a line of lightweight, fun, and affordable gas-powered motorcycles.

Rubber met the road when the company debuted in 2009, starting CycleWerks with $9,000 and a dream of building a working man’s bike.

Colosimo began transitioning all manufacturing from China to Ohio in 2010, opened a dealership in Gordon Square in 2013, and has continued to look forward toward the next big thing in the industry.

CycleWerks’ new e-mobility platform—The FalconThe Cleveland Institute of Art transportation design professor (and graduate) is now preparing to unveil CycleWerks’ new e-mobility platform—The Falcon—on Friday, March 20, at the Crawford Auto and Aviation Museum.

“Instead of just a motorcycle, we have an entire tech platform we’re launching,” he says. “To the consumer, it’s an e-motorcycle.”

Colosimo is keeping many technical details and images of the new bike under wraps until the big unveil, but he does promise that bike lovers at all riding levels will be impressed.

The Falcon converts from e-bicycle, to moped, to full-fledged motorcycle. “This vehicle grows with the customer,” Colosimo boasts. “If you want an electric bicycle, we can lock the system down so it’s just an e-bicycle. If you don’t care and you do have a full [motorcycle] license, it can be a full motorcycle.”

There are two models in the initial Falcon design—the Falcon 01 and the Falcon BLK—with the Falcon BLK being slightly more tweaked out, Colosimo says.

Beginning with the March 20 event, Colosimo will issue 20 e-motorcycles under the Founders Edition release, followed by 50 units in the second release. He says he plans to begin large-scale production of the Falcons by 2021.

Both the Falcon 01 and the Falcon BLK models are Bluetooth enabled and take 45 minutes to charge the battery to 80% (an hour-and-a-half for 100% charge). The Falcon BLK runs on two batteries, which can travel up to 180 miles on a full charge.

In moped mode, the bikes can go up to 27 mph, with the Founders Edition models capable of unlimited speed in motorcycle mode. The mass production line will have maximum speeds of 65 mph.

The motorcycles will be manufactured in Cleveland, using predominantly local partners. Colosimo says more than 20 manufacturers contributed to this high-tech product.

“The vast majority are in Ohio,” he says, adding that Lorain County Community College’s manufacturing department is making parts, and the Youngstown Business Incubator is working on some of the technology parts.

“This is a Cleveland-centric vehicle,” says Colosimo. “It’s about supporting Cleveland, giving [the city] manufacturing jobs and tech jobs. I think Cleveland’s future is in manufacturing and integrating technology into manufacturing. Now is the time to start focusing on Cleveland.”

Cleveland CycleWerks co-founder Scott ColosimoColosimo says the goal is to make the Falcon, like CycleWerks’ other vehicles, affordable. The first release models will sell for $7,000 to $15,000.

“We’re trying to keep the value of it and keep the cost down,” he says. “We will reduce the price as we really get cranking on this."

Although CycleWerks will not allow sneak peeks of the Falcon, Colosimo does promise that motorcycle fans will be enthused. “It’s a mix of classic and very, very modern,” he says. “We didn’t want the first bike to be a spaceship, so it’s a classic body frame with a modern design. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised.”

Colosimo also says this is the beginning of Cleveland CycleWerks’ growth. “It’s signaling a massive change for our company,” he says. “We didn’t want to continue to be a small business. We want to grow our company.”

Colosimo says pre-sales of the Falcon start at Friday’s event, and it will take about three months before the first pre-orders hit the road.

The #FalconRising launch event takes place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, March 20, at the Crawford Auto and Aviation Museum in the Cleveland History Center, 10825 East Blvd., in University Circle. The free event is open to the public with free food and drinks.