Inventor: From lawnmowers to electric cars

To better understand its workings, Ely Schless takes apart one of the first large scale lithium batteries used in a consumer product. Photo and video by Debi Smith | Daily Tidings

Tinkering with motors is what Ely Schless has been doing ever since he was put in charge of mowing his family's lawn at age eight. Listening to Ely, now age 52, excitedly talk in his shop at the end of East Main about what he does, and why, is mesmerizing.DT: What do you think it was that inspired you to be so interested in motors, in what makes things go?

Ely: Growing up in Florida, lawn mowers are things that most kids get acquainted with. That's what got me started to some degree. And my father died in a plane crash when I was four and my grandfather became more of an influence; he was a rather crotchety old Ford mechanic who'd worked on Model A's and T's.

My mother bought me a mini-bike frame at an auction for four dollars when I was nine. It had no motor so I took our lawnmower engine out and put it in the bike. It blew up. I got in trouble for that, but my mom always promoted my tinkering. We didn't have a lot of money and I never got much, but my mother always supported what I and my siblings were interested in. Having unconditional parental support is so important. My wife Krista and I try to do this with our sons Ryder and Kyle.

DT: What educational/career choices did you make as you grew up?

Ely: I quit school in the tenth grade so I could work full time in a motorcycle shop. I enjoyed school and was a good student, I just liked working on motorcycles more. I later got my GED, became an FAA certified mechanic, and worked on motorcycles and helicopters. I also raced motorcycles for 15 years.

DT: Before moving to Ashland you had a company in Los Angeles, Brand X Special Effects, that made mechanical gadgetry for the television and movie industry, could you tell us more about that?

Ely: Making an Eggo Waffle jump out of a toaster and land on a kid's plate, that was me. Remember the Snuggle fabric softener commercial, where the bear falls down into the basket of clothes? That was my mechanical bear. I made mechanical McNugget puppets and made magic wands for Ronald McDonald...the fun thing was that directors would come up with some crazy idea and since there were usually no budget problems, I could almost always think of a way to get it done.

DT: Since moving to Ashland 12 years ago, you've returned to your interest in the kinds of motors that move motorcycles, could you tell us about your company Electric Moto and the bike you are working on?

Ely: The Blade XT3 is a pure electric dual sport motorcycle that performs like a 200cc gas-engine motorcycle. It can be used for commuting and off-road riding. We are currently having battery issues, although we do expect to be releasing production vehicles by March.

About two years ago we decided to make a change to a more modern battery, from a lead acid to a lithium. We've always had cool bikes, but the batteries didn't have much run time. The new batteries will provide about four hours of run time. Electric vehicles have practicality issues because of their limited range so when you see something that quadruples the range it's a pretty big deal. But we're waiting for the battery technology to mature. The reality is that it's about ten years from the press release to when you're actually using the technology.

The thing that really matters is the insignificant details. It's the stuff that most people consider insignificant that takes a while to work through. You can invent a large lithium battery, but to bring it to the consumer level, where someone isn't burning their shop or house down by using it, is another thing.

DT: Your website, electricmoto.com, mentions your work with developing electric vehicles for some big car manufacturers, would you care to elaborate?

Ely: While in Los Angeles I did prototype electric vehicles for Honda, GM, and Volkswagen. Some of the cars I built for GM were used to test the batteries for the EV-1, "the car that died." In fact I have a world record, I think it still stands, where a Geo Metro went 1375 miles for 24 hours on the streets of Los Angeles County using a quick change battery system that I developed. The problem that killed the electric car, and I haven't seen the movie yet, and I know a lot of the guys in the movie and should probably see it, was the same thing I'm dealing with. It wasn't some conspiracy, it wasn't the battery manufacturer, or General Motors, or somebody worrying about oil profits, it was the battery technology. It was the ten-year thing I mentioned.

DT: Do you stay in touch with the automobile industry?

Ely: I do. I developed a gadget in 1990 that will dramatically increase fuel mileage on an average automobile, but it needs more development and I'm currently looking to Honda--I've a friend in the R & D department--for support.

DT: Any other inventions you're working on?

Ely: I've created the Smart Stick. It's an oil dipstick that instead of just having a loop at the end for your finger to grab actually has a display that tells you the quality of your oil. People change their oil because they're afraid if they don't their car will die. It's a fear thing. I'm willing to gamble that millions of quarts of oil are wasted daily due to lack of objective information. My Smart Stick has a sensor that measures contamination and oil quality. It's another invention that I shelved in the past but am looking at again. Sure, these inventions might have some "insignificant details" hanging. That's what drives me though, having an idea and then tinkering with it. Whether I'm some lunatic inventor or have something to show is yet to be seen and I know that.

DT: What person or moment has had the most impact on your life?

Ely: Kurt Vonnegut. I was 15 when I read Slaughterhouse Five. With Vonnegut's writing, even when it's serious, there's always humor. Humor about the human race and the crazy things we do. It makes failure seem like less of a problem. So many people limit their scope in life because they're not willing to fail at something. But the people who are willing to risk, and who sometimes fail, often say it was the failures that taught them the most.

DT: Which brings us to one of our favorite questions, is there anything you'd do if you knew that failure wasn't possible?

Ely: I'd do a 720 on my snowboard!

DT: What is the most important thing you've learned in life?

Ely: The value of humor!

Debi Smith is a local freelance writer. She can be contacted at debi@mind.net