Ready to get electrified at 150mph: Mission One Electric Motorcycle Hits the Track

June 9, 2009 at 10:27 am

(Source: Wired & You Tube)

Folks at Mission Motors are hard at work preparing for the upcoming TTxGP green motorcycle grand prix.  As they prepared their electric beauty, Mission One, for the D-Day they decided to take it out for a spin on the circuit and test its endurance and speed.   We are now thankful that the team decided to capture the events in a video and decided to share with us enthusiasts who are eagerly awaiting the products arrival in the market. The video provides some tantalizing glimpses of the bike’s mechanicals, and since Mission Motorsunveiled the bike in February, we know a little about what’s coming in the $69,000 street bike slated for production next year.

No one’s saying much about the Mission One’s specs before the June 12 race on the Isle of Man – Mission One doesn’t want to tip its hand – but they’ve always said the bike will be capable of 150 mph. They recently took the bike to Infineon Raceway north of San Francisco for some serious shakedown testing and walked away impressed.

“We were able to test extensively at speed as well as for endurance,” company founder and CEO Forrest North told Wired.com. “The bike responded amazingly in both areas. We were extremely impressed that right off the factory floor the Mission One could be ridden to the limits with very few tweaks. We’re excited to begin testing at the Isle of Man next week and put the bike through its paces on the mountain course.”

It has a 3-phase AC induction motor and a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery. Mission Motors claims the battery is good for 150 miles and recharges in just two hours at 240 volts. Lustworthy hardware includes Ohlins suspension at both ends, four-piston Brembo brakes and Marchesini forged wheels. The components put the Mission One on par with hardcore sportbikes like the Ducati 1198.

The TTxGP will be a great place to prove the bike’s sporting cred. The inaugural event follows the Isle of Man TT, one of the most storied races in all of motorcycling. The 37.5-mile course may well be the ultimate test of a motorcycle’s handling, and running that hard for that long will show what’s possible – or what isn’t – with battery range.

Eighteen teams have signed up for the race. Mission Motors promises more video from the Isle of Man. Stay tuned.

Zero Takes Electric Motorcycles to the Street

April 8, 2009 at 12:13 am

(Source: Wired)

Zero_s_01

The dust kicked up by the 24 Hours of Electricross has barely settled and Zero Motorcycles is back with a street-legal electric motorcycle it will have in driveways later this month.

The Zero S builds upon the the technology underpinning the Zero X dirt bike by doubling the size of the battery to deliver 60 miles of electric commuting and corner-carving. The Santa Cruz startup promises a top speed of 60 mph and a zero-to-60 time of about 5 seconds from a highway-legal bike that weighs just 225 pounds.

The Zero X proved its mettle last weekend during an unprecedented 24-hour endurance race where 10 teams log as many as 507 miles flogging the bikes around a track in San Jose. But while the Zero X is strictly an off-road machine, the S is designed for city streets and the occasional back-road run.

 

The brushed permanent magnet motor produces 31 horsepower and the bike weighs 225 pounds, making the Zero S a little less powerful – but 96 pounds lighter – than a Suzuki DR-Z400SM. With 62.5 foot-pounds of torque on tap, the Zero S has significantly more grunt than, say, the KTM 690 SMC.

Juice comes from a 4 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery that weighs 80 pounds and charges in less than four hours when plugged into a 110 volt outlet. Zero predicts the battery will last five or six years with normal use. No word on the replacement cost, but an extra pack for the Zero X – which uses a 2 kilowatt-hour pack – costs $3,000.

Power flows directly to the back wheel – no transmission – and the bike offers 9 inches of suspension travel up front and 8 at the rear. Zero wouldn’t offer any details on who’s producing the suspension or brake components.

 

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