Electric Motorcycles

February 4, 2009 Mission Motors emerged from stealth start-up mode at TED2009 today, unveiling a truly landmark motorcycle and one which will no doubt be creating rumblings through every motorcycle manufacturer in the world as you read this. The Mission One is almost certainly the world's fastest production all-electric motorcycle, but at the same time catapults electric motorcycles into contention as genuine sports motorcycles. With a top speed of 150 MPH and a range of 150 miles, the Mission One rivals existing sportbikes, but it's the torque of the electric motor which will make ALL the difference - 100 lb-ft from 0 rpm all the way to 6500 rpm – by comparison, a 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 produces 85 lb-ft at 10,000 rpm and the torquiest motorcycle on the market, the 2.3 litre Triumph Rocket III, produces 147 lb-ft.  Read More

January 13, 2009 Start-up Xtreme Green is set to release several new and highly desirable electricity-powered machines in 2009, including a 4kW (5.4 bhp) motorcycle, a 3kW (4 bhp) scooter, a 250 pound Jetboard for watersport enthusiasts with a top speed of 35 mph, and three-wheeled Police Mobility Vehicle (see image gallery). The 266 pound lightweight motorcycle is the one that appears most likely to succeed in the marketplace in the short term, with a top speed of 65 mph, 2-3 hour plug-in charge time for the built-in battery charger, and a range of nearly 100 miles. Pricing has just been announced at US$7000 and with that much power and negligible running costs, we suspect the new company has lucked out in delivering the right product at the right time.  Read More

Honda has been quick to signal some radical changes in direction to enable it to endure the tough times expected in 2009. Following news that it is cancelling all F1 racing involvement and development, and likewise with the successor to the NSX sports car, the company has announced it intends to pursue ever cleaner automotive technologies and the most exciting of its announcements is that it will have an electric motorcycle on the market before the end of 2010. Honda’s original core product was the motorcycle and history shows that motorcycle sales remain strong in difficult times – the Honda announcement of an electric motorcycle is likely to spur rivals Yamaha and Suzuki into action, with both having shown fantastic electric bikes already, and both afraid to give Honda a head start in what will surely be a massive market.  Read More

UPDATED It’s the first electric superbike and though its range is considerably less than the first modern four-stroke superbike, the 1969 Honda CB750, its top speed of 125 mph (200 km/h) is almost identical. Yesterday the first prototype of the TTX01 Electric Superbike was showcased at a press conference for the 2008 NEC Bike Show. Built to demonstrate the potential of electric sports motorcycles for the first emissions-free Grand Prix, the initial prototype is based on a Suzuki GSX750 frame and running gear and runs two 43 bhp Agni Lynch Electric motors arranged in line with the frame. Together, the motors produce 125 Newton Metres of torque and both have been modified to withstand high RPM using Kevlar-reinforced armatures. The vision is to create a lightweight, carbon fiber framed 2WD TTX02 with "hot swappable", 20 kilowatt hour battery packs, regenerative braking and a production run of 50 machines in 2010 with a target price of GBP20,000.  Read More

Patents lodged by Austrian Competition Motorcycle Manufacturer KTM indicate that a hybrid 2WD dirt bike is not far away. Common sense dictates that a motorcycle with both wheels driven (2WD) will go around corners faster and with greater surety than one equipped only with the motorcycle’s traditional rear-wheel drive, much the same as 4WD cars offer superior traction to their rear or front wheel drive brethren. A lot of interesting development work has been done over the last decade with Yamaha offering Ohlins 2WD system on selected enduro bikes in Europe, Christini developing mechanical AWD (aka 2WD) kits for Honda and KTM dirt bikes and KTM talking publicly about its hydraulic 2WD development. Now it appears KTM is to employ a small electric motor on each wheel to supply additional torque when it’s needed. A recently filed set of patent applications heralds some exciting prospects.  Read More

The KillaCyle has again caused record-keepers to reach for their erasers with a world beating run of 7.890 seconds for the quarter mile at the Bandimere Speedway in Colorado. The day out for owner/designer Bill Dube’ and his team was topped off by an earlier run in which the 500hp two-wheeler set a new top speed mark 174.05 mph.  Read More

While we still have some time to wait before affordable mass-market electric cars like the Chevy Volt hit the market, there's other options available if you want to swap the petrol station for the power point to handle your daily commuting - like this US$8000 electric motorcycle from Electric Motorsport. The GPR-S goes between 35 and 60 miles on a full battery, while offering performance levels similar to a Honda CBR125 and a top speed of 60-70mph.  Read More

REVISED July 31, 2008 Given the reluctance of the big four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers to sacrifice their existing markets by introducing electric motorcycles, the window of opportunity for small and innovative manufacturers to work with the Chinese manufacturing powerhouse to create pollution-free motorcycles that run at negligible cost is wide open. A new electric-only motorcycle manufacturer hit the scene this month in Thailand, moving the country ahead of many first world countries in the quest for sustainable transport. It borrows quite a bit from what has been before, but it looks the goods.  Read More

June 25, 2008 The world’s oldest racing venue, the Isle of Man, is set to reinvent itself by holding the world’s first clean emissions Grand Prix. This new and very exciting chapter in auto racing history is set to begin next June (2009) when the, the TTxGP, will be held over just one 37.7 mile (60.7 km) lap of the famous Isle of Man TT circuit. The traditional world of motorsport has been slow to grasp the urgency with which the world needs to clean up its petroleum-burning act, so a new group is planning the world’s first Clean Emissions Grand Prix race. Regulations are due in about a fortnight from now, with the intention of showcasing a diverse range of clean emission two and three wheeled vehicles capable of reaching Grand Prix race speeds. The event will be staged during the traditional TT motorcycle races and there are plans to offer the event internationally as part of a series. The world’s oldest racing venue, the Isle of Man, is set to reinvent itself by holding the world’s first clean emissions Grand Prix. This new and very exciting chapter in auto racing history is set to begin next June (2009) when the, the TTxGP, will be held over just one 37.7 mile (60.7 km) lap of the famous Isle of Man TT circuit. The traditional world of motorsport has been slow to grasp the urgency with which the world needs to clean up its petroleum-burning act, so a new group is planning the world’s first Clean Emissions Grand Prix race. Regulations are due in about a fortnight from now, with the intention of showcasing a diverse range of clean emission two and three wheeled vehicles capable of reaching Grand Prix race speeds. The event will be staged during the traditional TT motorcycle races and there are plans to offer the event internationally as part of a series.  Read More