Bristol, England — Motorcycle News reports that Team Blackswan are developing several electric motorcycle projects. In particular, they inded to build a 1000bhp lithium electric drag bike.
This drag bike is being used as a rolling test-bed to develop the powerplant for the boat (they want to beat the speed record for an electric powered boat) and car (ditto) and to take on the Americans Kilacycle which “in Scotty Pollacheck’s hands has run a 7.89s @ 168mph standing quarter-mile.”
BOULDER, Colo. — The world’s fastest electric motorcycle is the KillaCycle.
Its creators, Bill Dubé and Eva Hakansson, are debuting their cycle in educational institutions aruond the country.
In May, 2009 professor Jean Koster (aerospace engineering) welcomed the Killa Cycle and its creators to his Alternative Energy Electric Vehicles class, the first of its kind at CU.
Koster wishes to start a major project to build electric vehicles at CU in the next few years.
“The way Dubé and Hakansson designed the vehicles and how they approached the whole development is similar technology to what we would like to follow,” Koster said.
The KillaCycle dragbike goes from zero to 60 mph in less than a second. Dubé said the vehicle is silent, aside from some chain and tire noise.
The bike is powered by an A123 Systems lithium ion battey, which he said are the world’s most powerful and the next generation of batteries. The bike weighs 653 pounds, including 200 pounds of battery weight.
Dubé is a scientist at CU’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and works on his bike in his spare time.
“I do this as a hobby,” he said. “I use my disposable income to build this. When it comes to the electric vehicle, it’s all about the battery.
The KillaCycle made electric drag-racing history in October 2008 with a new world record at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, covering a quarter mile in 7.89 seconds at 168 mph.
Source: ColoradoDaily.com
New York — Cars and trucks are reducing their fuel usage and converting to electric power. Motorcycles will be following suit – in particular because motorcycles pollute more than regular cars do.
You can find plenty of examples of home-built and independent production electric motorcycles on the internet and at small dealers nationwide. However, none of these are ready for mass-production quite yet.
However, just as gasoline powered engine technology has improved over the years, so will electric motor technology. Motorcyclists will embrace these noiseless motorcycles, once they arrive.
There’s quite a bit to like about electrics in motorcycles. For one, the torque of an electric motor is seamless, and acceleration is very fast. Recently, the “Killabike,” an all-electric drag bike, ripped through the quarter mile at 155 miles per hour. (Check out the video of this on YouTube.)
Honda expects to bring a viable production electric motorcycle to light in 2011 or 2012.
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