The US electric motorcycle market is a niche within a niche. Motorcyclists still represent a tiny fraction of the traffic mix in the country where the automobile is king. While most motorcycles get better mileage and have lower emmissions than most cars, they still run on gas.
There are very few electric motorcycles on the market, even fewer being mass manufactured. The one that comes closest to performing like a “real” motorcycle is the Zero S. This 17hp machine with 60 foot pounds of torque is actually more enjoyable than some of the gas-powered bikes in the same horsepower class I’ve ridden. The massive torque of an electric motor makes the Zero the envy of all low-power motorcycles. Read the rest of this entry »
Conceived by designer Pierre Yohanes Lubis, the electric bike is much more planet friendly than say a petro-based vehicle. But, if the concept were to become popular it’s just unsafe enough to thin the herd. Read the rest of this entry »
Segway inventor Dean Kamen is developing a hybrid electric scooter that can run on almost anything that burns.
According to the patent, the bike has a small two-piston Stirling engine right under the seat. Though with an engine of that size, it really isn’t going to provide much juice - not much more than 5bhp.
A Stirling engine is based on tech which predates internal combustion engines by almost 100 years. It’s kinda like a steam engine in the sense that it uses external combustion. They use pistons for the crankshaft, but unlike the alternatives they have no valves for no gas ever enters or leaves the cylinders. Read the rest of this entry »
There has been a recent influx of electric-powered motorcycles, with brands the world over throwing their hat into the ring. The sucess of electric TTXGP earlier this month has drawn even more attention to electric motorbikes, and the FIM (Federation Internationale de Motorcyclisme) has announced that a new series exclusively for electric motorbikes will begin in the 2010 season.
The series is being spearheaded by Azhar Hussein, a British entrepreneur who wants to provide low emission bikes with a racing series that will promote clean, fun, and fast technology.
Today’s the TTXGP - the Time Trials Xtreme Grand Prix. And don’t let that misspelled word fool ya. It’s going to be one heck of a ride! In fact, it’s going be the world’s first zero-carbon, clean emission Grand Prix.
With twenty-three different electric bikes and sixteen riders, seven different countries will compete in this inaugural race. The event take place in the Isle of Man with teams from the UK, Italy, USA, India, Germany and Austria.
An e-Grand Prix? Um…I wanna go!
And if you’re bummed that you can’t make it, don’t worry. Organizers plan to showcase their contestants here in the States too. It will be at this year’s American Motorcyclist Association Vintage Motorcycle Days festival at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
Apple fanboys might still be drooling from yesterday’s iPhone 3Gs announcement, but I bet they never saw this coming: an electric superbike with an iPhone for all its instrumentation!
The MotoCzysz E1pc is one of the many entries in the TTXGP race this Friday. How the iPhone is integrated into the bike is still a mystery but features like its native GPS will surely be used. And whether it wins or loses, it definitely gets points for creamy white geeky goodness. Read the rest of this entry »
Richard Gryzch has built what he claims is the world’s first fully sun-powered electric motorbike.
A project that has taken him more than two years. In fact, to finance building the bike Cryzch sold his other motorbikes and even a house.
He calls the bike a Solar Flyer. A name inspired by those Radio Flyer wagons.
“Everyone told me I was crazy for doing it,” he said. “But I’m riding it and it works. And it could change everything. No gas, just hit the throttle and go,” he boasted.
Motorcycles are probably the softest challenge for anyone considering electric propulsion. Most bikers don’t stray too far from home, bikes are by nature lightweight, and unless you’re talking about a pumped-up crotch rocket, they don’t need to go stupid fast. The real challenge lies in marketing a bike with limited range and top speed with a high price tag, as battery technology still has a way to go in terms of affordability. But to that end Brammo, who soon plans to release the Enertia electric motorcycle to the market, has been beefing up their brand-building and marketing team by adding veteran players to their company.
Their new Director of Marketing is John Farris, who was GM’s Brand Marketing Director for the Chevy Silverado pickup truck and founder of Hardcard Holdings, a marketing consultancy who has worked with Toyota, Harley Davidson, and Red Bull among others.
The bike — which ran in production from 1969 to 2003 — was an unprecedented piece of machinery. It was the first to offer a front disc brake and an straight-4 engine with an overhead camshaft all on one affordable, production bike. Read the rest of this entry »
Editor’s Note: This is Chris DeMorro’s first contribution to Gas 2.0. Welcome Chris!
Very soon, you will probably see a Zero S electric bike riding around town, scooting down main streets and ducking through off-road shortcuts. This bare-bones, lightweight, and street legal electric bike goes on sale next month in America and Europe.
So if you’re someone who has been waiting for a pure electric solution to your destinations and you don’t need to go further than 60 miles round trip, get your checkbooks ready for the dent they are about to take. This electrimoto costs a whopping $10,000, more than a Ducati Monster 696 and is electrically limited to a 60mph top speed. But this bike isn’t about heart-stopping speed.
While riding an electric motorcycle powered by cordless-drill batteries, Scotty Pollacheck made drag racing history for the second time. He went from 0 to 60 mph in less than a second!
The KillaCycle® — originally designed and built in 1999 –uses a series of more than 1,200 batteries to power two motors which crank out 500 bhp. The bike can reach a jaw dropping 168 mph. Read the rest of this entry »
Back in February, Gas2.0 editor Nick Chambers introduced readers to the Mission One, built by San Francisco startup Mission Motors. The Mission One debuted at this year’s TED conference in San Diego, and is the brainchild of Mission Motors founder Forrest North.
Billed as the world’s fastest production electric motorcycle, the Mission One will have an opportunity to prove its mettle on the Isle of Man this June when professsional rider Tom Montano will pilot the bike at TTGXP, the world’s first emission-free Grand Prix.
First International Electric Motocross Sets Guinness World Records And Only Cost $100 To Power All 10 Dirt Bikes For 24 Hours.
History was made this past weekend at the 24 Hours of Electricross race when 10 teams, of over 50 competitors, raced for a full-24-hours-straight only stopping to change out batteries and riders.
This first ever endurance competition set two Guinness World Records: one for largest electric motorcycle race, and the other for the furthest distance traveled on an all-electric off-road motorcycle in 24 hours. In total, more than 4,000 miles were completed around the half-mile track.
Vespa scooter maker, the Piaggio Group, says they will be selling a plug-in hybrid scooter in the United States by early 2010.
According to HybridCars.com, if they do make good on their plans, the plug-in scooter will be the first manufactured plug-in on American soil - beating out the Chevy Volt by six months. Read the rest of this entry »
Gas 2.0 digs into the viscous world of biofuels and the fast-paced transit arena, exploring the technologies and substances that are the future of transportation.
