SAN FRANCISCO, Ca — Founded in 2007 by three engineers, San Francisco-based Mission Motors has set out to remake the electric motorcycle landscape. Their Mission One has a top speed of 150 miles an hour.
“We wanted to make something that could compete head to head a gasoline motorcycle,” said Mission Motors CEO Forrest North.
A lot of people assume gas-powered motorcycles are a greener choice than cars because they use less fuel, but the California Air Resources Board claims that gas-powered motorcycles put out 10 times more pollution than cars.
Mission Motors bike produces no pollution thanks to high capacity batteries. A rider can get nearly 150 miles on a single charge. (The battery then takes 2 and a half hours to recharge.)
“This is the first motorcycle of its kind that allows you to have all of that performance that you want as a motorcyclist as well as be kind to the environment,” said Mission Motors VP of Engineering Mason Cabot. “The big differences are the delivery of torque – it just comes on at the start – you’ve always got torque available and you are always in the right gear, there’s no shifting.”
The cycle has no clutch and no shifter. The bike does whatever you need automatically.
“When you lose and strip away the sound of the gas motor you suddenly begin to hear the other things – you hear the road – you hear the other drivers on the road,” said Cabot.
Mission motors is taking reservations for the limited edition bike. There will only be 50 Mission One bikes delivered in 2010. A bike costs $69,000.
“We believe that starting with the luxury justifies the technology costs it also allows us to get best technology out there and build the brand and show the world what electric vehicles can do,” said North.
The Mission One participated in the Isle of Man TT race, one of the world’s premier motorcycle races, on June 12, 20o09, in the first no-emissions motorcycle rally ever held.
“Initially our aim is to move down into commuter vehicles something someone could drive to work commute. At a price point they can afford and will save them money in the long run,” said North.
