The Incredible 1970s Electric Motorcycle Powered By A Fighter Jet Starter

The Incredible 1970s Electric Motorcycle Powered By A Fighter Jet Starter
Nowadays, Mike Corbin is best known as a purveyor of custom motorcycle seats in a dizzying array of color combinations, with materials ranging from traditional leathers to exotic hides like alligator and stingray. 50 years ago, Corbin was in an entirely different role — one of setting records for the electric motorcycle industry.
Corbin’s journey to developing electric motorcycles was an interesting one. Always interested in anything mechanical, Corbin became an electrician in the U.S. Navy, followed by a stint wiring jet engines for Pratt & Whitney during the Vietnam War. By the late-1960s, support for the war was declining and Corbin reasoned that it might be time to diversify his business interests, leading to the birth of the motorcycle seat-making enterprise.
Between the counterculture movement, and the popularity of motorcycle films such as “Easy Rider,” Corbin’s eponymous motorcycle accessory business thrived. Nonetheless, the fuel crisis of the 1970s and a sense of wanderlust returned Corbin back to his roots as an electrician, and he began to experiment with electric-powered motorcycles.
A series of small electric scooters and mini-bikes were stepping stones to Corbin’s crowning achievement: a racing motorcycle called the “Quicksilver.”