Video Of MotoCzysz Taking The Win Over Lightning At Laguna
Check out this video of the e-Power grid at Laguna Seca. There is some great footage of the bikes before, during and after the race. Besides hearing the National Anthem playing at Laguna Seca, one of the coolest part is seeing Michael Czysz take the win, passing Barnes feet from the finish line while both were passing Christian on the Epo-Bike. Czysz was 5 seconds down from Barnes in the first lap due to a fault shutting the e1pc down at the start and a difficult pass.
Michael Czysz has a good summary of his perspective of the race on his blog. Here is how he describes the finish…
Going into T11 for the last time, I closed up to within 1 second behind Barnes. A nice drive, no trip… and a win could be possible. As we started down the straight for the finish line I was focused on the drive and Barnes and didn’t even see the bike we were lapping until Barnes went left to make his pass. My closing speed on both bikes was very high. I quickly veered right and made the pass for the win on the outside shoulder of the track.
Check out the video of the e-Power race after the break.
In: e-Power, Racing · Tagged with: 2010, e-Power, FIM e-Power, finish, Laguna Seca, Michael Barnes, MotoCzysz, Video
Test Ride: Native X Electric Supermoto Prototype
ATGATT, unless you had to travel light and were offered a ride on a prototype ebike.
The Native X electric supermoto is the latest prototype bike in the Electric Motorsport line and is quickly becoming their best known, thanks to its starring role in the TTXGP …um …pits. Its rough-edged looks are borrowed from the SACHS X-Road and an impressive stack of lithium tied to the DC motor inspire the inner hooligan.
At the tail end of my time in San Francisco during TTXGP week, I stopped by Oakland, CA to visit Todd Kollin, Raul Aguilar and Martin Guerra at Electric Motorsport HQ. If you’re looking to build a prototype for an electric vehicle in the powersports segment, Electric Motorsport is the go-to shop. Many big names in electric motorcycle manufacturing have more have worked with EMS for prototyping, to source parts or to buy parts for their electric powersports products.
This puts Electric Motorsport in a unique position of having a solid financial base under their Native brand of eMoto products. It also gives them boat loads of industry knowledge. Need a four wheeler that disassembles to fit down a manhole cover and does not fill tight places with exhaust fumes? EMS can and is doing that for a customer. Check out Urban Moto to find out more about these guys.
Click the break to read more and see a video of the bike.
In: Electric Motorsport · Tagged with: California, Electric Motorsport, electric supermoto, EMS, eSupermoto, ev prototyping, manufacturer, Martin Guerra, Native X, Oakland, prototype, prototyping, Raul Aguilar, supermoto, Todd Kollin
2011 TTXGP Rules Wiki Wrapping Up Soon!
2009 Team Agni Plastic At Elkhart Lake TTXGP Round2
The eGrandPrix organization has been working hard all season to bring electric motorcycle racing to the world. With 3 electric motorcycle racing series in 3 parts of the world and a final in Spain, it is the most extensive electric race series to date. Azhar Hussain and the TTXGP crew are all-in on this electric motorcycle racing thing and they need your help to make it better in 2011.
For most of this year the TTXGP Technical Rules Wiki has been open to anyone who wants to help shape the TTXGP racing rules for 2011. Harry Mallin, a man dedicated to the success of the electric motorcycle industry, moderates and runs the TTXGP Wiki. Check out some tips on how to get started editing the TTXGP Rules Wiki and dive in. Don’t worry about making mistakes, everything can be changed back or moved to the right spot.
“We have had some great discussions on the Wiki about many subjects, including racing classifications, automatic shut-off switches, and streamlining,” said Mallin. “People need to check out the rules, and then click on the tab on the top of the page, marked ‘discussion,’ in order to see where the real debate is happening.”
Mallin indicated that people from many walks of life are participating in the Wiki. “We have former racers, current teams, race fans, and electrical engineers making contributions to this Wiki. We have folks from the U.S., Great Britain, Spain and Sweden who have made comments.”
A “snapshot” of the Wiki will be taken on August 15, 2010, and that version of it will be submitted to the Technical Advisory Panel of the TTXGP to be considered for the 2011 Rules. The Wiki will continue past that date, but any comments made after that date will affect the 2012 Rules.
Less than 2 weeks left to shape the 2011 race season!
In: TTXGP · Tagged with: 2011 TTXGP Rules, eGrandPrix Wiki, electric motorcycle racing rules, emotorules, rules, rules wiki, TTXGP race rules, TTXGP Rules, wiki
Brammo Empulse RR Pack’n Heat At e-Power
Brammo Empulse RR At Laguna Seca. Credit: AsphaltAndRubber.com
I’ll be honest, when I read tweets from Laguna Seca saying Brammo had a shot at beating MotoCzysz or even Lightning I was thinking… “wow, that is a very nice thing to say when the bike Brammo scrambled to prep for the race broke down and you know @brammoCraig is listening… no chance.” Then I saw some tweets that made me think twice.
I hope I’m not the only one who assumed Brammo was going to regear and dress up the 2009 TTR for track duty at the e-Power race at Laguna Seca. After all, the Empulse prototype was visually very close to the TTR. But I think I’m starting to get it now.
First I saw Brammo drop the price of the Enertia 33% just months after it went on sale. I then saw them introduce a 100+ mph electric sportbike with 100 mile range setting a new standard for price, speed and range. Now I see pictures of the Empulse RR up close and it may have finally clicked. Brammo wants to win at everything it does. I thought third place at the 2009 TTXGP was pretty good but to Brammo it is not acceptable.
More after the break…
In: Brammo · Tagged with: bloating, Bramo Empulse RR, Empulse RR Laguna, empulse vs empulse rr, evolution, gas, Laguna Seca, pouch, pouch cells, sapa, swingarm
FIM e-Power Practice Pictures and Updates
Brammo Empulse RR At Laguna Seca via AsphaltAndRubber.com
Asphalt And Rubber posted a pic of the Brammo Empulse RR on the track at Laguna Seca. It was the first one I saw and possibly the first published picture. Unfortunately a failure in a one-off piece will keep the Empulse off the grid tomorrow. Craig Bramscher says Brammo will race again this year. TTXGP at VIR being the most likely guess at where they will end up.
e-Power Practice Results
MotoCzysz had the best lap at 1:50.377. Lightning motors was one second behind at 1:51.358 followed by DR Motors another 1 second behind (1:52.266). Check out the rest of the practice times at RRW.
Zero Motorcycles Test Rides
Zero Motorcycles have many bikes waiting for test rides.
Julie @futurefluff posted a pic from the Brammo Empulse unveiling. I’m sure BrammoFan will have full update soon.
I will update this post with more pics as they come.
In: e-Power · Tagged with: Barnes, e-Power, Empulse, Laguna Seca, Lightning Motors, Michael Barnes, MotoCzysz, practice times, Zero Motorcycles
Count Down To FIM e-Power At Leguna Seca
Image Credit: AsphaltAndRubber.com
This weekend is e-Power at Laguna Seca and I am going to do my best to break down the field and give a rough guess at how the teams stack up. This is no easy task but I’m feeling brave.
There are a few new names and many of the usual suspects on the grid which should make for some great racing throughout the field. Each electric race bike has it’s own strengths and weaknesses resulting from the level of funding the team has and techniques used to put down power and get the most out of the little energy stored in the heavy batteries on board. The clear favorite to win is Michael Czysz riding the e1pc D1g1tal Superbike he designed and built. As you work your way down the field the riders experience is also vastly different from team to team making picking the ranks very difficult. Some are new to racing electric and some are veterans with 2 years under their belt.
Lightning Motors A Contender for the podium
In: e-Power, Racing · Tagged with: 2010 e-Power Laguna Seca, e-Power, Electric Motorcycle Racing, FIM, Laguna Seca, Mazda Raceway
135 mph Roehr eSuperBike Ready To Order
The twin AC induction motor, 135 mph, 100 mile range ROEHR Motorcycles eSuperBike is ready to order, making it the fastest production electric money can buy. With $2000 down you can have one in your driveway in six weeks. The eSuperBike uses 7.7 kWh of LiFePO4 batteries for an electric drive system running at 96 Volts. Nominal current is 800 amps with a 1200 amps peak. The eROEHR Battery Management System monitors the battery health and self diagnoses the bike’s electric drive system.
At 500 pounds for the eSuperBike ($27,595), ROEHR is depending on 96 HP to get the bike out of the turns. The smooth, high coverage composite body provides aerodynamic looks and helps deliver high top speeds on the straights. This formula has served Lightning Motors well in the TTXGP North American series. It will also be MotoCzysz’s strategy when Michael Czysz and the e1pc take to Laguna Seca this weekend for the first FIM e-Power race on American soil. The e1pc has been said to weigh as much as a Goldwing. With today’s battery technology this seems to be a winning formula for electric motorcycle racing.
In: News, Roehr · Tagged with: AC-20, electric crotchrocket, full fairing, LiFePO4, Roehr, ROEHR eSuperBike, ROEHR eSuperSport, ROEHR Motorcycles LLC, Sportbike, superbike, twin motor
SWIGZ.com Pro Racing Out For Seca, Shooting For VIR
Chip Yates and the SWIGZ.com Pro Racing team have been hard at work putting together the electric race bike equivalent to 600cc petrol bike performance. The team showed up at the first TTXGP race at Infineon this year with their bike but it was not ready to race as they had hoped. Turns out the Headway cells they sourced did not live up to the performance and weight spec they were promised. 50 grams over the 300 gram spec translated to just shy of 40 lbs of unplanned weight. Now $12,000 in the hole Chip and Team started looking for new batteries and are hoping to have the $40K worth of new cells from a different manufacturer in hand this month. The plan is to race at Virgina International Raceway for the final leg of the TTXGP North American series if the batteries are delivered on time. Unfortunately for Yates and the fans FIM e-Power is not going to happen for them in 2010.
In: e-Power, TTXGP · Tagged with: Chip Yates, e-Power, Headway, Headway cell weight, Headway cells, SWIGZ.COM Pro Racing, TTXGP, TTXGP VIR
FIM E-Power Grid For Laguna Seca Announced To Riders
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Laguna Seca FIM e-Power Grid
UPDATE: FIM posted an updated list here. SWIGZ.com Pro Racing will not attend e-Power at Laguna Seca.
FIM will hold its first e-Power race in the United States at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California next week. Seca is not only one of the best known tracks in the US, it is also smack in the middle of Lithium Valley. There are some familiar names in the list and a few new ones. AMA pilot Aaron Gobert will be riding the just announced Brammo Empulse. Gobert is no stranger to Brammo’s fast bikes, he did some track testing time with the TTR before last year’s TTXGP.
Unfortunately, it seems Epo Bike might not make it due to airline tickets lost in a travel agency bankruptcy. This is really a tough break for the team and for the fans. The Epo-bike was upgraded and ready to take on the world with the same speed-through-light-weight philosophy that helped Tork win last weekend at the Snetterton TTXGP UK
If you are going to Seca I am jealous. Please feel free to rub it in but don’t expect me to like it. :D
Listen to Gobert’s thoughts on the TTR (the basis for the Empulse) in the video after the break.
In: e-Power, News · Tagged with: Aaron Gobert, Brammo TTR, e-Power, electric racing Leguna Seca, FIM e-Power Leguna Seca, Leguna Seca
Introducing A Trio of Brammo Empulse Sportbike Prototypes
Today Brammo is unveiling a prototype of the 2011 Brammo Empulse series of electric sportbikes. The Empulse 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0 are Brammo’s answer to many of the complaints motorcycle riders have about the current production electric motorcycles, a full embrace of the market for race inspired electric sportbikes and a continuation of their consumer electronics industry inspired philosophy of rapidly delivering better technology for less money.
All three Empulse models have a 100 mph+ top speed, a 60% improvement over the Enertia’s 60 mph top speed. No more anxiety about riding in the right lane with no go-juice on tap. The $9,995 Empulse 6.0 has a 60 mile range, the $11,995 Empulse 8.0 has an 80 mile range and the $13,995 Empulse 10.0 has a 100 mile range. No more range anxiety and with tax credits in some states bringing the price of the Empulse 10.0 down to $7000, much less financial anxiety.
In: Brammo, News · Tagged with: 10.0, 2011 Brammo Empulse, 6.0, 8.0, Brammo Digital Powertrain, Brammo Power, Brammo Power Battery Pack, Brammo TTR, Bramscher, Empulse 10.0, Empulse 6.0, Empulse 8.0, ev motorcycle, prototype
