Curtiss Motorcycles raising money and talking trash

Today is the last day of a fundraising effort on Wefunder by Curtiss Motorcycles, the company now dedicated to making high-end electric motorcycles that got its start as Confederate, making high-end, V-twin internal-combustion motorcycles. The company has unveiled some prototypes and will begin taking deposits for its first electric motorcycle, the Zeus (shown above), this year. But for now, income is still based on sales of the old internal-combustion model, the Warhawk.

Curtiss has already raised nearly $400,000 on Wefunder from individuals not deterred by the combination of less than $85,000 in annual net profit, more than 10 times that amount of short-term debt and no products currently for sale except for the gas-engine bike it now considers obsolete. With any investment like this, it's not about the current numbers, it's about the potential, and Curtiss CEO and Board Chairman Matt Chambers speaks of the future in enthused tones of a prophet. Just watch this company video to see what I mean.

I'm not sure what "subliminal data" is, but he does express an air of confidence. Consider that in another post on the site Chambers predicts that "should the market grow as we project through 2030," Curtiss sales will hit $964 million. Of course if you read through the materials you also find some less rosy notes, such as the lawsuit against them, the payment plan with the IRS on back taxes owed, and the fact that no matter how many new shares are sold, Chambers will still have voting control.

From promotion to trash talking

Now Chambers has apparently gone beyond issuing optimistic predictions. I'm not on his mailing list, but several other outlets, most of them covering tech beyond motorcycling, reported that he sent out an e-mail announcing plans for a $30,000 electric motorcycle — compared to the more typical $75,000 price for a Curtiss — to be called Psyche. If you wondered if the price is coincidental to the cost of Harley-Davidson's $29,799 LiveWire, Chambers quickly cleared that up.

"I've got something I've always dreamed of, a clean shot at Harley, exposing the hollow seemingly cynical nature of their EV effort," Chambers was quoted as saying. Referring to Harley-Davidson CEO Matt Levatich, Chambers added that Curtiss "is the precise hard knock out punch he didn't see coming."

That's some pretty tough talk from the CEO of a company with $84,634 in net income about the CEO of a company with $531 million in net income, especially since the LiveWire will soon be on sale at dealers while the Psyche is still just an idea on a computer screen. Harley-Davidson has plenty of things to worry about (and plans to address them), but those issues are more like the slow drip of water torture than a knock-out punch. And I don't think Curtiss is one of those worries.

If one is a bit cynically inclined, one might even suspect the trash talking is a way to draw more attention to the Curtiss fundraising effort.

Judge for yourself.

Meanwhile, if you want to invest in Curtiss, head over to Wefunder. Shares cost $0.20 each and the minimum investment is $1,000. If you miss out on this round. don't worry. Curtiss plans to be back in six months to raise more money. If they're reporting nearly a billion dollars in sales in 11 years, however, it won't matter.

As they always say in the prospectus, all investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Consult your personal financial adviser, tax attorney, and maybe some chicken entrails and tea leaves for guidance.