DERBI GPR EV Geared Up To Shock The Competition
Last month a video of the DERBI GPR EV showed up on YouTube. It was posted by someone who appeared to be working with Sevcon and it was hard to tell if Derbi was behind the bike. I recently found the blog of Derbi Project Manager Carles Carrera. And guess what, he has a detailed picture of the Derbi GPR EV front and center.
Carles describes the ground up development methodology DERBI and their partners used in designing and building the bike over the course of 3 months. He cites flaws in Brammo, Zero, Quantya, Vectrix mentioning thier “poorly developed mechanical platform” and saying they fail to deliver an electric motorcycle that has all drive components communicating in an orderly fashion.
The electric Derbi was engineered to have it’s batteries, motor and controllers to work together like a tradition ICE motor’s carburetor, engine and fuel system. The GPR EV even appears to utilize some sort of transmission and has a traditional gear selector. The left hand lever could be a rear brake or a clutch lever.
UPDATE: Carles informed me the bike has 2 gears.
One thing that has me scratching my head is “Benelli” etched into the frame spar. As far as I know Derbi and Benelli have no current affiliation. I could be wrong about this. Anyone know the connection?
No mention of racing in TTXGP or ePower but Carles might (hope, hope) be hinting at it in his last paragraph, last sentence…
And what the hell is Vema-Vogt-Perm-Sevcon-DPS? They are a group of companies working together to integrate it’s own world class product into a world class drivetrain. DPS is in charge of the batteries, Sevcon is in charge of the controller, Perm for the motor, Vogt for the engineering and Vema for the integration on coordination. And it proved to be a winning team.
Source: EF Motion
In: Derbi, News · Tagged with: Carles Carrera, Derbi, Derbi electric motorcycle, Derbi EV, Derbi GPR EV, DERBI Nacional Motor, Derbi Product Manager, EF Motion, gearbox, geared electric motorcycle, pictures, transmission
Plug Bike And BrammoFan On EV Cast 11/23
If you follow me on twitter you know 50% of my RT’s (retweets) are of Harry Mallin (aka BrammoFan, aka eMotoRules). He wrote yesterday’s post about Azhar getting mugged. He also loves to pick on me about my poor editing skills, typos and misspellings here on Plug Bike. It is all much appreciated. :D
Like most of my electric conversations most of my conversations with Harry have been over IM, twitter or email. I have never spoken to him in person.
Tomorrow that will all change for better or worse. Pretty cool, but the really big deal is we will both be guests on The EVCast tomorrow, 11/23. The Saturday EV Cast host, Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield invited us on to talk electric motorcycles and needless to say I can’t wait. I very rarely talk (with my voice) about electric motorcycles with people who don’t look at me like I have three eyes or get really pissed off. (usually my friends while sitting around the camp fire) :D
It will be great to have a conversation with a few folks who closely follow electric and I’m sure I will learn a lot. EVcast, Nikki, Bo, Ryan, Joe, Shannon and the guests have taught me quite a bit about electric drive already and keep me in touch with the 4 wheeled ev world.
If your not a subscriber search itunes for “The EVcast” or pull it into your favorite cast software and start downloading. You can also catch us live at 12:00 PM Eastern time and razz us in the chat room. Hope to see you there.
In: News · Tagged with: Bo Bennett, brammofan, eMotorRules, EVcast, Harry Mallin, Joseph Lado, Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, podcast, Ryan Levesque, Shannon Arvizu, skadamo, The EVcast
TTXGP gets mugged on “The World According To Gary”
Gary Radnich, sports guy on KRON 4 News in San Francisco, chatted with Azhar Hussain about the upcoming TTXGP at nearby Infineon Raceway, May 14-16, 2010. The race signals the start of the North American Championship Series of the TTXGP, and the first electric motorcycle race in the United States. The TTXGP ran the first electric motorcycle race in history last June at the Isle of Man, during the TT races.
Radnich opened with “why do we need [electric motorcycle racing?]”
“We have a desperate need to push these technologies forward, and motorsport is really the fastest way of getting it from the lab to the road.”
Radnich asked if bike fans will notice differences in speed and noise.
In: Racing, TTXGP · Tagged with: Azhar Hussain, brammofan, eGrandPrix, Electric Motorcycle Racing, emotorules, EV Racing, Infineon, Infineon Raceway, Mavizen, Racing, TTX02, TTXGP, TTXGP North America, zero carbon
Epo-Bike First Confirmed FIM ePower Entry
Christian Amendt, an engineering student out of Germany is the first confirmed entrant of the ePower Electric Motorcycle Race series. Using what might be called a quantified version of Lotus’s “performance through low weight” philosophy, Christian converted a Honda RS125R to electric using a “half the weight, half the power” design.
The 115 Kg (253.5 lb) electric race bike weighs 187 lbs less than the triple motor MotoCzysz e1pc. The theory is light weight will allow the 96 Volt, single motor, 3 kWh Epo-bike to out perform a 2 or 3 motor bike that weighs over 400 lbs with the batteries needed to power them. The Epo-Bike uses a Lemco D135 (predecessor of Agni 95) DC motor, LiFePO4 batteries from an undisclosed manufacturer and an Alltrax AX7425 controller to achieve 74Nm of torque and reach a top speed of about 111 mph.
Like most of the “exclusive” TTXGP entries, it does not seem Amendt has anything against the competing series. The FIM ePower series is merely more convenient given his location and time constraints. This is a step in the right direction for ePower who has seen TTXGP gain a hand full of entrants over the last few weeks. FIM will run ePower races on WSBK and MotoGP race weekends which should have a strong draw for race teams looking for visibility in the up and coming electric race scene.
See more pictures and a video of the epo-bike on the track after the break.
In: Racing · Tagged with: 96 volt, Christian Amendt, Epo-Bike, ePower, ePower teams, EV Racing, FIM, Honda, Racing, RS125R
The Devil’s In The Details, 666 Goes Electric Racing
"The Details"
If you are still reading after that title you are one of Plug Bike’s true fans. Thank you for your support!
666 Road Racing Ltd. announced they will be running a Mavizen TTX02 in the UK TTXGP electric motorcycle race series. The companies day job is manufacture of quality carbon fiber race parts with high durability and exceptional attention to detail. How does a carbon fiber parts company decide to get into racing?
In: News · Tagged with: 2010 TTXGP Teams, 666 Racing, 666 Road Racing Ltd, Jonathan Shepherd, level playing field, Mavizen TTX02, Nick Potts, teams riding Mavizen, TTXGP UK Championship Teams
CRP Racing eCRP 1.0 First Look
Azhar Hussain, Lord Drayson, Livia Cevolini (CRP Owner), Franco Cevolini (CRP Owner), Giampiero Testoni (CRP Partner)
The UK Minister of Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson took wraps off the Italian CRP eCRP 1.0 electric race bike at the 4th Annual MIA Cleaner Racing Conference at NEC, Birmingham. CRP Racing combined their strong race bike development background with race proven Team Agni electric drive technology to create a bike for teams who want to race in the TTXGP series. At this point the bike is exclusive to TTXGP and not available to race in the FIM ePower Series. CRP has not announced plans to field a race team in TTXGP.
CRP Racing eCRP 1.0 Specs
FRAME: Aluminum double beam
REAR SWING ARM: Aluminum Alloy
FRONT SUSPENSION: “Upside-Down” telescopic hydraulic fork OHLINS Stem dia. 43 mm
REAR SUSPENSION: OHLINS Hydraulic progressive shock absorber
FRONT BRAKE: Floating Braking Wave diskDisc dia. 320 mm
REAR BRAKE: Single Braking Wave diskDisc dia. 220 mm
CALIPER: Four pistons radial “Brembo” caliper
WHEEL RIMS: Forged Aluminum Marchesini Front Rim – Size 3.50″x17’’ Rear Rim – Size 5.50’’x17″
FRONT TIRE: Front Tire – Size 120 x 70-17
REAR TIRE: Rear Tire – Size 165 x 60- 17
WHEELBASE: Wheelbase –1376 mm
MOTORS: Dual DC “Agni 95” electric motors.
VOLTAGE: 72 V
BATTERIES: 6 KW/h Batteries Pack52 packs (4 sets of 13 packs each)
CONTROLLER: Size 480mm x 150mm x 60mm
CHARGER: Zivan NG3 – 96 V
BMS – Battery Management System
WEIGHT: 175 Kg.
CHARGING TIME: 2h
ENDURANCE RANGE: 25 miles (depending on track conditions)
SPEED: 112 mph
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- Azhar Hussain, Lord Drayson, Livia Cevolini, Franco Cevolini, Giampiero Testoni
Image Source: Facebook
Spec Source: Road Racing World
In: Racing · Tagged with: Cleaner Racing Conferance, CRP Racing, CRP Racing eCRP 1.0, eCRP 1.0, Franco Cevolini, Giampiero Testoni, Livia Cevolini, Lord Drayson, Racing
Quantya Snow Bike Prototype
Quantya Snow Bike
Quantya USA posted pics of a snow bike they are working on. Details beyond the pictures are slim but it is basically a Quantya MX with a snowmobile inspired track where the rear wheel would be and a ski where the front wheel usually sits.
The bike is being developed and tested in by Quantya HQ in Switzerland. The rear track provides great flotation and traction in all snow conditions but saps a good amount of power. Over the next 6 months Quantya is experimenting with different battery and motor power combination’s to find the best mix of performance and battery life. I would also guess they might be researching how to keep the batteries warm or resistant to voltage drops as cold temperatures have a negative effect on a packs charge.
In: Quantya · Tagged with: electric snowmobile, Quantya, Quantya Switzerland, Quantya USA, snow bike, snow riding, snow track
Stealth Electric Bomber, A Two Wheeled Identity Crisis
Quick, what has two wheels, handlebars, a motor and goes over 40 mph?
A motorcycle – wrong!
Sorry, that was not fair. I left out pedals and crank arms. So OK, now guess what it is?
A moped – wrong again!
Ok, enough with the semi-cleverish intro. I’m talking about electric mountain bikes. Big travel downhill mtb’s with an electric motor, batteries, cranks and motorcycle like top speeds. Why bother with pedals on a bicycle that does 50+ mph and weighs 100+ pounds?
Find out why after the break.
In: Other Makes · Tagged with: 72 volt, AUS, Crystalyte, electric bicycle, electric mountain bike, Hub Motor, Melbourne, pedelec, range anxiety, Stealth Bomber, Stealth Electric Bikes, Stealth Fighter, X5
Mavizen Introduces Factory Support Service, Training And Insurance
Azhar Hussain and his TTX02 Mavizen
Late last year Mavizen announced the TTX02 race bike with the intention of eliminating reasons for teams to pass on electric motorcycle racing. The TTX02 is a fully electric race bike based on the KTM RC8 rolling chassis and TTXGP winning Team Agni drive train. Today Mavizen and TTXGP founder Azhar Hussain rolled out supporting services for teams that still might be on the fence.
For aspiring racers with pour social skills or lack of budget for the team Mavizen offers a factory support service of your race bike including transporting it from race to race. It sounds like all you have to do is put on your leathers and ride. The race plastic is all you really own with this package and you can put whatever sponsor stickers on it you want.
Race teams that would like more control over the bike they race can take a 4 day course on electric motorcycle technology and maintenance and become Mavizen Certified. Each course is held the day before the UK TTXGP race series events and teaches you the ins and outs of electric motorcycle drive, wiring, software, maintenance and pitfalls. (see full description below) The course is only available in the UK and costs £900 ($1,454 USD) plus fees.
Finally, if you just want to ride a TTX02 on public roads Mavizen sell you electric motorcycle insurance so you don’t have to educate your coverage provider when you inform them electric motorcycles exist. No mention of cost but it is only planned for UK and other parts of Europe at this point.
Azhar and crew are obviously putting a lot of thought into greasing the wheels for their eGrandPrix racing series. Electric motorcycles already provide a level playing field that allows privateers to beat big dollar companies in high profile races. The new services rolled out today could keep this phenomena alive through 2010 and beyond and may bring us some more great underdog stories. More details as they are available.
Mavizen Certification Course Schedule
2010
Day 1 (July 2nd Cadwell Park, Lincolnshire):
Theory – Batteries, Motors, Controllers, Chargers
Technologies. Cost/Benefits
Building Battery Management Systems
Safety Systems
Day 2 (July 16th Snetterton, Norfolk)
Controllers
Motors
Safety Systems
Day 3 (September 10th, Castle Combe, Wiltshire)
Software Systems
Construction
Wiring Considerations.
Safety Systems
Day 4 (October 1st, Brands Hatch)
Performance
Strategies
Future Considerations
Wrap up
Safety Systems
Spaces are limited so book early.
The course cost is £900 (+VAT) for all four days. The package includes all training, paddock passes to the TTXGP Races.
Mavizen TTX02 owners are eligible for a 40% discount.
Source: Mavizen
In: Mavizen · Tagged with: electric motorcycle insurance, electric racing, factory support, insurance, Mavizen, Mavizen Certification, Racing, services, training, TTX02
Yamaha EC-03 Electric Scooter Planned For Summer 2010
Back in October ’09 Yamaha displayed a few scooter concepts at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. The X shaped EC-f and EC-fs were cool looking electric powered scooters but Yamaha did not give a whole lot of information about them. Their future is uncertain.
The third model was an updated version of the electric Yamaha Passol, a prototype that first debuted in 2002. The 2009 version is called the EC-03 and the video below describes the design philosophy as “Light, Smart, Clean, Silent”. Kazuki Takahashi, Director of EV Development Department at Yamaha also mentions the EC-03 is planned to be released this summer 2010.
The 99 pound, aluminum framed EC-03 is powered by a permanent magnet synchronous motor that has a maximum output of .6 kW. Yamaha’s 8 years of research into the electronics result in smooth acceleration and start-ups which they call Yamaha Motor Control System. Cool design features include a forward tilting seat for access to the lithium ion battery pack and an on-board charger.
Check out the video after the break.
In: Yamaha · Tagged with: 2010, concept, EC-03, electric scooter, Kazuki Takahashi, Passol, prototype, Scooter, Yamaha
