The Motorcycle of the Future Has Arrived [popsci.com]

[UFO]

This is the 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc...



Tomorrow it will race in the Isle of Man TT, the toughest motorcycle race in the world. The technology at work is so advanced, so unprecedented, that we may be looking not just at the future of motorcycles, but of all electric vehicles.  During practice this week, it reached a top speed of 140 MPH—besting its closest electric competitor’s 102 MPH.

The reason the all-electric race bike is here, 4,600 miles from its home in Portland, Oregon, is to prove itself. Ever since 1907, the Isle of Man TT has been the race for bike manufacturers and riders to show their mettle to the public. The thinking goes that if you can lap its 37.7 miles of tiny, twisty back roads with an average speed in excess of 100 MPH, you or your bike become indisputably proven. Well over 200 riders and a handful of spectator’s have been killed trying to do just that.

Read the entire article here:
http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2010-06/inside-story-motoczysz-e1pc-worlds-most-advanced-electric-motorcycle

[chornbe]

We've talked quite a bit about Czysz and electric bikes in general on the show. Glad to see this getting more press.  

[veefer800canuck]

Mr. Jetson, your cycle is ready.

[Rincewind]

That bike won the Isle of Man TT Zero event!    I love it's shark-like looks, and the oil-cooled electric motor.

http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2010/06/motoczysz-wins-tt-zero.html

These bikes sound like SATAN!  

[R Doug]

Cool.  

Michael Czysz and his crew have prooven to be very innovative.  I look forward to meeting him on Sunday, June 28.  He's one of my instructors at the Skip Barb Superbike School.  

[Busy Little Whiner]

Wicked looking and I like the intsant torque of an electric motor but the
current state of batteries means a bike that is short on range and heavy...

At first glance electric powered bikes seems like the answer but then
you do a direct comparison of range between a tank of gas and a bank
of batteries


Electric motors can produce power at a very competitive weight...
Current 4 stroke street bike engine and transmission are in the
neighborhood of 150 pounds and can produce 150 horsepower for about 1
pound per horsepower ratio... compare that with the motor of the
248-bhp Tesla Roadster which weighs 115 pounds... Add in the
transmission and controllers and the Tesla's total drive train weight
is still less than 250 pounds that pound per horsepower figure that is
better than our bikes...

Electric motors are really efficiency... 75% of the fuel energy in
your tank is lost to heat... only 25% of that fuel energy turns the
crank... compare that with the 90% efficiency of the electric motor...
only 10% of the electricity is lost to heat... not to mention the
Tesla is air cooled and does not require a exhaust system...

Electric vehicle manufacturers are reluctant to make direct
comparisons between gas and batteries preferring to de-emphasize
weight and range and stress recharging speed and cost.

Electric powered racer might be interesting but the only hurdle is the
batteries... current state of the art in battery technology just can't
compare to the energy in a ounce of petrol... gas still sports 60
times the energy of an battery... fill your tank with 5 gallons of gas
and it weights 32 pounds (6.4 lb per gallon x 5)... a 32 pound
Lithium-Ion battery would equal only 11 ounces of gas... that really
negatively effects range... you'd need about 456 pounds in batteries
to equal the energy of 5 gallons of petrol...