Archive for September, 2009
Great story in The Daily Green, with some links to the Popular Mechanics story “Top 7 Electric Motorcycles at the TTX GP—And How They Work”.
Thanks Ed!
i heart drew.
now THAT’S what I’m talkin bout!
“SolarCity and Rabobank will enable electric vehicles to travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles
SANTA MARIA, Calif., Sept. 22, 2009–SolarCity® and Rabobank, N.A., today announced a partnership to create the world’s first solar-power enhanced, fast-charge electric car charging corridor. When complete, the corridor will include four locations between San Francisco and Los Angeles (Salinas, Atascadero, Santa Maria and Goleta), allowing all-electric cars to make the trip using solar energy and provide for the fastest charge time available for public electric vehicle (EV) charges. The SolarCity owned and operated corridor, built in cooperation with electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, will provide a full charge in one-third the amount of time of other charging stations.”
Founder Larry Harvey discusses burningman and civilization. In particular urban planning.
a little more, well, classic design… more room too.
simply badass.
Via Gizmodo: “The bike broke the record on September 1, averaging 150.059mph, and reaching a top speed of 161mph. The most amazing thing is that this is not a prototype, but an actual production model. It’s the same as the first 300 bikes that will be available in 2010.”
Except, of course:
“The KillaCycle®, ridden by Scotty Pollacheck, made drag racing history AGAIN at Bandimere Speedway October 23rd, 2008. 7.89 seconds @ 168 MPH is a new official National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) record and makes KillaCycle® the world’s quickest electric vehicle of any kind in the quarter mile! This was the very last run down the strip for this season at Bandimere. What a great way to finish the year.
Lightning struck twice on the mountain as we set the new mark for top speed in an earlier run that afternoon, 7.955 seconds@ 174.05 MPH”
…not sure how they got to the “World Speed Record”, but still, good stuff.
This, from “tech”, at Electric Motorsport:
If you are riding this thing across the country I would have to say it is a first.
Since you like to compare drive and battery systems here is something for the website. This is a breakdown of the Isle of Man and Mid Ohio TTXGP Electric Motorcycle race results (w/ Type of Motor used and battery pack size) Also which bike hit the highest top speed at the race.
Isle of Man TTXGP team results – motors used – Size of battery
Best buy Pro Class
First place- Team Agni – 2 Agni motors – 10.5 kwh
Second place -Team xxl – One Seimens AC Induction motor – 9.5 kwh (highest top speed 105 mph)
Third place -Brammo – One liquid cooled brush-less Perm permanent magnet motor – 8.4kwh
Open Class
First place – Electric Motorsport – One AC Induction motor – 6.5 kwh
Second Place – Bare foot motors- On AC induction motor – 10 kwh (89 mph not confirmed)
Third place – Team Tork- one Agni motor – 6.5 kwh
TTXGP Mid ohio team results – motors used – Size of battery
Pro Class-
First place – Electric Motorsport – One AC induction motor – 8.4 Kwh (highest to speed 108+ mph)
Second Place – Nortan Electric – One AC induction Motor – 7.4 kwh (also hit 108 mph)
Third place – Enertrak – One Enertrak BLDC motor – Approx 5 kwh
Tech
OK, this is awesome.
Tom Miceli built the Ion during his final year at Appalachian State University. He studied industrial design, and his senior project required him to create something that reflected all he’d learned. Given his love for getting from Point A to Point C while passing Point B in a blur, his choice for a project was a no-brainer.
“I wanted something eco-friendly that didn’t sacrifice performance,” Miceli told Wired.com.
Thanks Ken!
First, Electric Motorsport, of Oakland CA.
I stumbled around and found mention of a “sepex” motor and controller bundle on their site, and have had a series of incredibly helpful emails from their tech support guy- who is identified only as tech@… – telling me about a number of things, most interesting being the problem of running a permanent magnet motor with a regenerative braking controller. Basically, it sounds like the single best way to blow up a controller.
The numbers on this motor are better than anything else, except for the Agni. We take a very slight hit on power/weight, but a huge jump in reliability. Oh, did I mention the motor and controller bundle are the same price as just the Agni motor? Sweet!
In our conversations, I found that they can also supply Agni motors (if I still wanted to run one…) and all the other stuff I needed. I already had a brief bit of info from them about the batteries and battery management system, so the idea of getting everything from one supplier, and actually getting some answers from that supplier, takes a whole lot of what a friend of mine likes to call “pucker factor” out of the equation.
Thanks, “tech”… I hope I can buy you a beer when I swing by Oakland in the Spring! And I want to get an Electric Motorsports logo on the bike, too… if not a paid sponsor, certainly moral support.
As for the status of the project- I’ve been sculpting the body panels to allow for maximum battery capacity and minimum air drag, and I think I finally have them to the point that the bike isn’t going to look like a Stormtrooper’s wet dream. I’ve settled on a high-impact polystyrene for the plastic, and David O’Brien, friend and co-conspirator, has a bigass vacuum-molder thingy. I’m hoping to pull a few panels within a week or two.
In the meantime, it’s back to the drawing board on the motor mounts- the new motor is a much different shape than the Agni, but should be no problem making the fit. Here it is- the D&D Sepex motor- Dia. 6.7, Length 11″, Weight 56Lbs
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