This week battery component makers from around the world are meeting in San Jose at The Battery Show. Among boths from companies that make Anodes and Cathodes is a highly advanced electric superbike motorcycle made by Chip Yates and his SWIGZ.COM Racing team. Chip Yates is a pro motorcycle racer and engineer. He and his team have been working on their motorcycle for over a year, tantalizing us with teaser shots and data the whole time. This week they're moving beyond teaser shots with a nearly complete motorcycle sitting in a booth and openly talking about the highly advanced on-board technology.
The motorcycle has a 194 HP (295 ft/lbs torque) electric motor from UQM, a highly advanced computerized control system, and a "real KERS system" (more on that in a minute), a multifaceted set of lean angle detectors, other data loggers, a custom controller, CAN buses, and specialized software. But all that is what we knew before (see: SWIGZ.COM Racing's Chip Yates to unveil electric superbike at The Battery Show in October). Seeing a nearly complete motorcycle in the flesh makes the performance claims they've made look all the more credible, but of course the real test will be when it gets on the track and we see it go. They expect to start making test runs on tracks in a couple months, and to be ready for next years electric motorcycle race season.
The bike did not have a battery pack installed, with Chip saying it's in Denver for testing. They're still tight lipped about who's batteries they'll be using, partly because of non-disclosure agreements, and partly because they're still evaluating battery cell suppliers. Using data from Chips previous races they're able to run battery packs through simulated races on several tracks charging and discharging the pack as if it were on the bike in a race. They're saying the battery makers are as keen to work with them because of their groundbreaking KERS system (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), as they are to evaluate cells from various vendors.
In any electric vehicle the motor and controller are only part of the story. For SWIGZ.COM their motor and controller are from UQM, a long time maker of electric drive train components. The 194 HP rating of the motor can only be achieved with a battery pack which can dish out the kilowatts. But their KERS system makes extra demands that almost no other electric vehicle can do. It is essentially a regenerative braking system on steroids with the team quoting 150-200 amps of power being recovered. That charge rate falls in the category of "fast recharge" but being on a race motorcycle the pack will be continuously whipsawing between rapid discharge and rapid recharge each time it's taken through a corner. Chip Yates explained he'll rely on the KERS system for braking most of the time, using the mechanical brake only for extreme situations.
The KERS system is a mechanical linkage from the front wheel, up the front forks, through some gearing linking it to a drive shaft, that then connects to a chain that ends up driving the motor. If that sounds complex, that's because it is. The UQM motor is doing dual duty as the traction motor propelling the bike forward, and as the generator used to slow the bike down when the KERS is activated. Using a lever on the left-handlebar the KERS is activated which engages the mechanical linkages connecting the front wheel to the motor, using it as a generator, and removing inertia from the bike slowing it down.
Because of the KERS system they expect to be able to stay at full power through an entire race. In this years TTXGP and e-Power racing the bikes tended to slow down a bit towards the end of the race due to battery pack depletion. And famously the loss by Lightning Motors to MotoCzysz when they faced off at Laguna Seca was due to the Lightning bike essentially running out of juice.
The goal of this exercise, and that of some other electric motorcycle race teams, is to equal the performance of the 600cc superbikes. Doing so would be an amazing milestone to reach, and this years TTXGP and e-Power race seasons demonstrated the goal is within reach if not next year then the year after. However they'll only be able to match the 600cc superbike speed, not the range, until a new generation of batteries come along with higher energy density. Where 600cc superbike races are 55 miles distance (or so), the TTXGP and e-Power races were about 23 miles long.
Next year is shaping up to be an exciting year for the newborn electric motorcycle racing sport. And the SWIGZ.COM racing team appear to be ready to be in the top tier of that sport.
Comments
nice article david...do you really believe this bike will ever compete in an actual race? More smoke and mirrors from Swigz and Yates, I have seen the bike on display numerous times but never actually run, now it is on display at a battery show without a battery pack even in it? All these guys are doing is riding on the coat tails of the ones who are actually pushing this industry forward. I will focus my attention on the guys that are actually out there doing it like Lightning, and perhaps one day I will be surprised and the Swigz bike will actually compete in a race.
Chip Yates is all talk and no action. He showed up for the TTXGP at Infineon, did a few practice laps and went back home. He claims to have the fastest, most advanced bike but has not proved it to anyone. Racing is about results, not PR. Don't believe his conspiracy theory about being singled out due to his bike being too much of a winner. It hasn't won anything yet! On paper his bike looks like a world-beater but it just sits in his garage. At least the Moto-Czyzz bike, which also had great PR, and also was a no-show for the Infineon TTXGP, came out and showed what it could do. C'mon Chip! Show us! We're tired of the talk!
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