2010 TTXGP Announces PRO2 Class
Hot swap MotoCzysz E1pc battery packs.
New rules for the 2010 TTXGP at Isle of Man were announced this weekend. A new class called PRO2 will run 2 laps of the 38 mile mountain course in addition to the 1 lap PRO class. Teams will be allowed to pit and swap out batteries or forgo the pit stop and run both laps on the same batteries. Current battery technology would make two laps at a competitive pace on the same batteries difficult. Even if battery technology expands at the rate of Moore’s law we will probably see all teams pitting in Pro 2 and utilizing hot-swap batteries to make get in and out quickly.
Dropped from the TTXGP is the Open class. This class was interesting because it put a soft cost ceiling on the motorcycles that competed in the event. Each entry was required to be available for sale after the event for $32,800 including the charger so the teams were faced with the question, how much technology are you willing to give away for that price? The winning GPR-S based Electric Motorsport bike was sold to the Isle of Man government after the 2009 race and is now touring various ev events in Europe.
There are also new rules that revolving around safety which have not been explained. The biggest safety concern in the 2009 TTXGP seemed to be DC motors locking up after melting down as experienced by the eRockit team. This is a problem with electric machines because most of them are direct drive, no clutch to pull if the motor seizes.
Source: eGrandPrix.com | Photo: Amadeus Photography
In: Racing, TTXGP · Tagged with: 2010, 2010 TTXGP, eGrandPrix, Electric Motorcycle Racing, EV Racing, PRO2, Racing, TTXGP
CP+B Brammo Interns Video
Interns giving mad props to CP+B
On May 27 2009 Brammo won an eBay auctionfor 38 interns for 3 months from Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Not long after the fledgling group of marketing professionals began posting pics, information and links to stories on their blogs and to twitter. They even leaked a few nice tidbits about Brammo that almost cost them their job. Lucky for them and us, Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher is a social media believer himself and embraced the interns transparency on the web. Craig’s belief in the interns and his winning bid recently paid off in a big way with a video created by the interns went viral on YouTube. The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, The Huffington Post and other sites picked up the video and two days late it has over 40k views. 
In: Brammo · Tagged with: Brammo, CP+B, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Interns, Marketing, Video
EnerTrac Corporation Electric Hub Motor
EnerTrac Electric Motorcycle Hub Motor.
Update: See EnerTrac’s limited time offer at the end of this post.
In order to understand the beauty of electric motorcycles you need to look beyond the silence, ease of maintenance and lack of emissions. Electric motors have only one moving part, the rotor inside the motor. They are small and powerful and becoming more so every year. So why should the motor have to sit in the motorcycle frame attached to the wheel by a power robbing chain coated with the slick stuff electric motors are supposed to eliminate?
Mark Gelbien and his company EnerTrac Corporation believes the motor belongs in the wheel itself. Mark has developed a turn key electric motorcycle solution called the EnerTrac Hub Motor. The MHM-602 model is a 3rd generation version of the motor that will fit any swing arm with a minimum 7.5 inch gap. Most gaps are larger so it is centered with shims supplied by EnerTrac. Each time a customer purchases a wheel to fit in their donor bike EnerTrac has never fitted it’s motor to, Mark will engineer a plate to attach the rear brake disk to the hub motor and any other mounting hardware needed. This is included in the price. For more information on the technical specs take a look at the EnerTrac specifications page.
In: Parts · Tagged with: conversion, eGrandPrix, Electric Lifan, Enertrac, Enertrac Corporation, Hub Motor, Mark Gelbien, TTXGP
Zero Redefines Dual Sport With The Electric Zero DS
Zero DS Electric Dual Sport Motorcycle
Zero Motorcycles added the Zero DS to its fast growing product line. It is built on the Zero S supermoto platform and has similar specs. A 17″ knobby front tire replaces the S models 16” front. The 16” rear wheel wears a 90/10 street/dirt tire and the front has a DOT legal 50/50 tire. The futuristic projector headlight of the S is replaced by a classic rally style headlight similar to a BMW HP2. Top speed is down 5 mph from the S to 50 mph. Front suspension travel is up 2” front to 10” total and remains at 9” for the rear. Zero also has luggage available as an add-on. It can all be yours for $9,950 minus the federal tax credit of $1000. The price you pay could be even less depending on incentives established in many states. As Domenick at AutoBlogGreen points out, you can find a list of state incentives on Zero’s web site.
In: Zero Motorcycles · Tagged with: dual sport, Electric Dualsport, Enduro, Zero DS, Zero Motorcycles
2009 AMA TTXGP eGrandPrix At Mid Ohio
TTXGP eGrandPrix Founder Azhar Hussain on the Zero S.
This weekend was the first time electric motorcycles took the track on US soil in an AMA event dubbed the TTXGP eGrandPrix. Through out the day Saturday there was a crowd gathered around the electric motorcycles at the TTXGP tent. Even after 7 PM when most of Mid Ohio Sports Car Course was mostly cleared out more motorcycle enthusiasts stopped by to talk. Despite the fact there was not a single bike in attendance that touched the Isle Of Man for the TTXGP it was an amazing experience to meet the people who made it happen and see the bikes on the track. Azhar Hussain, the founder of the TTXGP was happily mingling with the crowd and even took the Zero S for a spin. See the video after the jump.
In: Racing, TTXGP · Tagged with: AMA, Azhar Hussain, eGrandPrix, Electric Motorsport, Enertrac, Mid Ohio Sports Car Course, Mission Motors, Native Cycles, Norton Electra, Schultz Engineering, Team Zion, TTXGP, Vintage Motorcycle Days, Zero
eGrandPrix Electric Motorcycle Pics and Tweets
This weekend is the eGrandPrix at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days. @tgintz and @skadamo (me) will be tweeting pics from the event if all goes smoothly and cell phone reception cooperates.
eGrandPrix an electric motorcycle event organized by the same people who made TTXGP happen at Isle of Man this June. Big names in the electric motorcycle manufacturing will be in attendance and also some guys with their electric conversions.
The following teams and maybe some others will do exhibition laps at various times through the weekend:
Electric Motorsport
Zero Motorcycles
Shultz Engineering
Enertrac
Red Valley Motorsport
Brian Richardson
Richard Steiner
Word has it we may see a few other big names too. If you are there come by to check out the teams by the TTXGP booth.
Wish us luck on the live updates. You can keep an eye on them below or by following us on twitter. Now it’s time for a really long drive :D
Edit: Had to delete the twitter feed widget. Internet Explorer could not display it and it would stop downloading this site.
Brian Richardson’s Norton Electra
Brian Richardson's Norton Electra Electric Motorcycle
Brian Richardson always dreamed of owning a Norton. In 2008 he could not buy one new so he took a 1966 slimline featherbed frame, a brushless AC Motor capable of 50 HP and 100 pound-feet of torque and built an all electric Norton Electra. He finished it off with a 1957 MV Augusta/Norton dustbin faring giving it a very streamlined profile.
Electric Norton Electra
Electic motorcycles are limited by their battery capacity and energy management is very important so steamlining makes a lot of sense. Brian did a very nice job making it look great too. You can read more about it on Brian’s Norton Electra blog and see it race this weekend (7/24 to 7/26) at the eGrandPrix at the 2009 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days in Lexington Ohio.
Here is a video of the bike in action and moving pretty quickly.
Source: Norton Electra Blog
In: Homebrew, Racing · Tagged with: Brian Richardson, eGrandPrix, Electra, electric motorcycle conversion, Electric Motorcycle Racing, Homebrew, Norton, Norton Electra, Racing
Red Valley Motorsport Amplux
Red Valley Motorsport Amplux based on a Yamaha RD250
Tony Helmholt took a 1975 Yamaha RD250 with a blown motor and began working on converting it to electric. The Amplux uses a 36V Etek motor, three 12 volt lead acid batteries and a 6 speed gear box to achieve 91 mph top speed and a 24 mile range. It has a fully programmable speed controller which is updated using a laptop connected to the electronics in the bike. Custom 200 LED headlights keep draw low for the lighting system. Tony is working on an updated version with a fully customized frame and twice the power and range.
Look for Tony and the Red Valley Motorsport Amplux this weekend at the eGrandPrix 7/24 to 7/26 at Vintage Motorcycle Days. Here is a video of the bike in action.
Source: YouTube, VisForVoltage, EV Album
In: Homebrew, Racing · Tagged with: 1975, conversion, eGrandPrix, electric motorcycle conversion, Etek, Gear Box, Homebrew, Lead Acid, Racing, RD250, Tony Helmholt, Yamaha
Mark Miller Meets The MotoCzysz E1pc
After 5 months of planning and building, numerous electrical shocks and 30 miles of track testing the MotoCzysz E1pc Digital Superbike was crated and shipped to the Isle of Man for TTXGP. The American racer, Mark Miller did not even see the bike until it arrived on the Isle Of Man for the first electric TT. The first time he cracked the throttle the bike was on a stage being presented to the press. Here is Mark’s first reaction to 3 electric motors spinning the back wheel of an electric motorcycle capable of 150 mph.
Source: YouTube
In: TTXGP · Tagged with: Mark Miller, Michael Czysz, MotoCzysz, MotoCzysz E1pc, Press, Racing, TTXGP
Electric Motorsport Takes Second At ReFuel
Electric Motorsport Pro Class Bike Testing
Hot off their 1st place Open class victory at the TTXGP, Electric Motorsport took 2nd place at ReFuel, an alternative fuel vehicle race at Leguna Seca. An electric powered go cart took first place. The Electric Motorsport / Native bike was the fastest motorcycle beating out the funky dual swing arm PMW Shocker which took 3rd. Based on video posted to YouTube they entered their Pro Class bike that never showed up at the Isle of Man for the TTXGP. I am not sure that this is the bike that took second place though.
Comparing video from the ReFuel race to videos taken by Electric Motorsport during TTXGP testing you can see battery placement is the same in both bikes. I guess MotoCzysz was not the only entry to consider an under seat battery pack. Hopefully we will see this bike at Mid Ohio for Vintage Motorcycle Days.
Here is the video of the Electric Motorsport bike in the “cork screw” at Leguna Seca (skip to 45 seconds in):
Below is a video of Electric Motorsport CEO Todd Kollin testing the Pro Class TTXGP hopeful.
In: Electric Motorsport, Racing · Tagged with: Cork Screw, Electric Motorcycle Racing, Electric Motorsport, Leguna Seca, Native Cycles, Racing, ReFuel, Todd Kollin
