The 1973 Oil Crisis had long-term ramifications for many industries and certainly for millions of people who relied on oil and gas to power their vehicles. Many businesses got their start in that era as people tried to figure out how to get around gas lines and shortages, and a lot of electric vehicle (EV) companies sprouted up, including one that made this 1975 Auranthetic Charger. This one is listed here on eBay in Yucca Valley, California and the seller is asking $1,995. Actually, they say it’s located in the Mojave Desert, which is about 2.5 hours northeast.

As with most battery-powered vehicles, this one may not be too popular among the Barn Finds family as most of us have gas and oil in our blood, sometimes literally (skinned knuckles, etc.). I think this early 1970s EV era is pretty interesting as it spawned a lot of unusual vehicles such as the CitiCar, Comuta-Car, and many other oddball tiny EVs, along with the Auranthetic Charger series of mini bikes made in Los Angeles, California for only a few years.

I ended up buying a very rare first-year 1973 Auranthetic Charger mini bike after writing about it in May 2016 here on Barn Finds. From my research and in talking with a gentleman who bought out the remaining inventory after the Los Angeles factory closed sometime after the mid-1970s, he said the single-seat basic model with a decal on the “tank” rather than a badge as seen here is rare. But, they’re really all rare. Mine isn’t street legal as there are no turn signals such as the later models had like the one shown here. The rear rack is handy for college students, who would probably be the target demographic for this unusual bike, or would have been in the 1970s. These bikes were about $500 new in 1975 and that’s $2,900 today, and they weigh about 210 pounds so they aren’t light.

The controls are close to what you’d expect on almost any motorcycle, except the twist-grip throttle is unusual in having two distinct clicks, or speeds. You probably noticed the heavy-duty battery frame on the bottom and figured out that this one is powered by two 12-volt car batteries! The throttle has two speeds, twist it a little bit and it runs on one battery, go a little more and the second battery kicks in. Sort of a very weak turbo, and the top speed is probably 25-30 mph with a 40 to 50-mile range so it’s a classic early EV in not having a very usable range other than neighborhood travel on back roads. I can attest that they are fun to ride even at 25 mph. The “gas tank” actually houses some wiring, a plug on the side for a built-in charger that’s better left unused, the ignition key, and a meter to see the battery voltage. Here’s a YouTube video where one is brought back to life with a huge new battery pack. They didn’t make them in 1972 as far as I know, especially a “fancy” one with crash bar and all of the goodies shown on the one in the video. Here’s another video showing a nicer restored original one.

A previous owner painted the fenders on mine and I started to do a cosmetic restoration, since everything else worked perfectly, but ran into trouble with the rusty front forks, steering hub bearings, and things like that. It’s been sitting for several years now and I need to get back to it. I bought a huge box of NOS parts along with a later 1975 carcass, the model with turn signals, racks, a longer seat, etc., and then never did anything with it. The 1-hp motor sits below that square orange fiberglass cover and there would have been an orange molded fiberglass battery cover to finish off the look. You’ll find political harmony and world peace before finding that cover so you’ll have to make do with having your batteries uncovered. For two grand, I don’t know if anyone will jump on this one as it clearly needs some cosmetic work, but it would be fun to restore and show this at a vintage motorcycle show just to see the reaction.