HILLSDALE, Mich. — Sean Hilbert brought Cobra Moto from Ohio to Hillsdale in 2006.
“We sell dreams in many ways, right?” he said.
The organization makes and sells motorcycles.
“But, a lot of athletes, the young athletes that ride our bikes and race our bikes are aspiring professionals even aged 8-12. A lot of them can turn pro at 16,” Hilbert said. “What we’re doing is we provide the finest competition motorcycles on the planet, and a lot of them use those to propel themselves through their amateur career and work towards their pro career.”
Recently, Cobra Moto’s electric minicycle helped them make it to the top three of the Michigan Manufacturers Association’s Coolest Thing Made in Michigan, outlasting 37 other competitors.
“Things like parental controls, a parent can come in and meter out performance a little bit at a time as their child improves in their skill, in their experience,” Hilbert said. “It’s quiet and a minicycle doesn’t take much space to operate. We can essentially suburbanize or kind of semi-suburbanize the sport whereas now, our IC engine bikes are too noisy.”
He says this could revolutionize motorcycle racing.
“Parents often have to load up and drive an hour, an hour and a half, just to get to a practice track,” Hilbert said. “If you have an acre backyard, you can make a small practice track, so we’re just trying to open the sport to a whole new group of people that wouldn’t have otherwise. Then finally, young families grew up with electronics right? They didn’t grow up rebuilding their lawn mower like I did. They grew up gaming and whatnot. So, they’re very comfortable with electronics. That whole generation is going to be much more amenable to an electric product versus a gasoline engine powered product.”
Hilbert will find out sometime in November if Cobra Moto becomes the Coolest Thing Made in Michigan. If they do, he says their big win will be a good pat on the back, and more importantly, recognition that they made one of the coolest products in Michigan.
“This bike and our products are very much made in Michigan,” Hilbert said. “That’s something we’re extremely proud of. We make everything here in the state of Michigan. We make our own batteries, our own electric motor, the control system. We’ll write out the software and even things like wheels and brakes and frames and bodywork are all made right here in Michigan.”
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