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● Roam partners with Colorado State University’s Rapid Prototyping Lab to manufacture the electric motorcycle frame in Kenya.
● The newly designed frame cuts material use by 15% and boosts battery efficiency by 6%, adding 10km of extra range to Roam Air.
● The innovation will enable key repairs to be made 80% faster, directly increasing daily earnings for motorcycle taxi operators.
Roam, Africa’s fastest growing electric mobility company in 2025 by Financial Times, has partnered with the United States’ Colorado State University’s (CSU) Rapid Prototyping Lab (RPL) to build Africa’s first robotic motorcycle frame design. The collaboration introduces a low-cost robotic welding system and a redesigned lightweight frame aimed at reducing material use, lowering costs, increasing local production, and improving battery efficiency, all without compromising load capacity.
Conventional robotic welding systems cost upwards of $100,000, but Roam and CSU engineers are aiming to prove that affordable, open-source alternatives can deliver world-class results. Their redesigned motorcycle frame is expected to reduce weight by 7 kg, from 27 kg to 20 kg, while cutting the number of welded components by nearly a quarter and the number of welds by 15%. Roam Air will now be projected to weigh about 102 kg without a battery, 122 kg with a single battery, and 142 kg with dual batteries.
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This lighter frame reduces material use and manufacturing costs without weakening the motorcycle, with tests showing that load capacity remains unchanged at 240 kg. For riders, the benefits are immediate: less weight means greater performance and up to 6% better battery efficiency in common ride conditions, translating into 10 km more range. Serviceability has also been improved. Replacing the motor, a task that once took nearly an hour, will now be completed in under 10 minutes due to a more accessible chassis design, resulting in an 80% reduction in downtime that directly improves daily earnings for boda boda operators.
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Habib Lukaya, Roam Country’s Manager - Kenya, said: “Brilliant ideas from Colorado find their best impact here in Kenya. This affordable robotic tech doesn’t just build a lighter, better bike, it builds a new skill base and creates jobs that have never existed here before.”
Tamsin Izard, CSU Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Team, said: “Working with Roam on this shows how automation can advance local manufacturing. The team is showing that advanced manufacturing doesn’t have to come with high costs, and it can be adapted to meet real production needs in Kenya.”
