Team Drives Project : ARES Motorcycle Toward Production Through Its Manufacto Process

Real Motors, an engineering initiative developing what it calls Future Machines™, has named former LiveWire CTO Vance Strader its chief technology officer. Strader will help bring the Project : ARES electric motorcycle to market and advance Manufacto, the company’s approach to designing and building its next generation of machines.

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Real Motors is an engineering initiative founded in 2022 by engineers Trent Dingman (left) and Michael Feng, (Right) exploring humanity’s future through mechanical projects it calls Future Machines. The team has now added electric motorcycle trailblazer and engineer Vance Strader (Middle) to the team as the company's first CTO.

Strader brings decades of motorcycle engineering experience and is a trailblazer in EV. He worked on Harley-Davidson’s electric motorcycle program from its early development through the launch of the first LiveWire motorcycle in 2019, later serving as LiveWire’s CTO. He previously held engineering roles at Buell Motorcycles. At Real Motors, he will guide ARES from prototype toward repeatable production, including the supply chain, manufacturing processes and quality systems needed to deliver its intended performance and craftsmanship.

“Our mission goes beyond crafting an exceptional motorbike; we are assembling a dedicated group united by engineering excellence and an intuitive grasp of rider desires,” stated Trent Dingman, co-founder and head of operations and communications at Real Motors. “Vance adds deep motorcycle development expertise to our lineup. We are thrilled to welcome him as we transition ARES into production and continue our broader quest to construct machines imbued with spirit.”

Founded in 2022 by Dingman and fellow engineer Michael Feng, Real Motors explores humanity’s future through mechanical projects it calls Future Machines™. Its first, Project : ARES, is a retro-futuristic electric neo café racer shaped by the company’s Electric Analogue philosophy: using advanced technology to make the connection between rider and machine more visceral and expressive.

The current Project : ARES release, Lot 01, features a 65-kW permanent-magnet synchronous motor drive and a 13.4-kWh nickel-cobalt-manganese battery. Limited to 250 motorcycles and priced at US$20,000, Lot 01 is available to reserve now with a fully refundable US$500 deposit.

Manufacto: Engineering Freedom Beyond the Gigafactory

Manufacto is Real Motors’ vision for the next chapter of advanced manufacturing. It brings production, rapid prototyping and R&D into one engineering-led environment. By combining engineering with AI, robotics, additive manufacturing and new production methods, Real Motors aims to reduce the labor and capital barriers to making complex products—and give engineers more freedom to create what riders actually want.

“Engineering begins with imagination,” said Michael Feng, Real Motors co-founder and design engineer. “Manufacto closes the distance between what we can imagine and what we can make real. ARES is our first expression of that freedom.”

ARES is Manufacto’s first proving ground, but Real Motors’ ambition extends beyond one motorcycle. The company envisions each Future Machine™ as both a product and an opportunity to explore materials, construction, performance, human interaction and emotion.

“A future machine isn’t defined by a spec sheet. It’s the total experience: how it’s engineered, how it’s designed, how it feels and how you connect with it,” said Strader. “Technology matters, but the real breakthrough is when all of those elements come together to create something people genuinely desire to ride.”

Real Motors will showcase Project : ARES Lot 01 at the Barber Vintage Festival in Alabama, Oct. 9–11, and at EICMA in Milan, Italy, in November. Take a ride on Ares Lot 01

About Real Motors

Real Motors is a Greenville, South Carolina-based engineering initiative founded in 2022 to explore humanity’s future through mechanical projects called Future Machines™. The company works to close the gap between what can be imagined and what can be purposefully created. Its first Future Machine, Project : ARES, explores the relationship between rider and motorcycle through engineering, performance, design and emotion. Learn more at real-motors.com.

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“Engineering begins with imagination,” said Michael Feng, Real Motors co-founder and design engineer. “Manufacto closes the distance between what we can imagine and what we can make real. ARES is our first expression of that freedom.”