(UPDATE to Lightning Motors sets electric motorcycle world land speed record at Bonneville) This week is the BUB Speed Trials on the Bonneville salt flats, and both MotoCzysz and Lightning Motors are there attempting to win the title of "Fastest Production Electric Motorcycle in the World" (UPDATE: technically neither are "production" motorcycles because neither have sold over 500 bikes, making both of them "production intent" motorcycles). The Lightning Motors team has claimed a series of records this week, first breaking last years record set by Mission Motors on their first run at (162 miles/hr), setting another record at 166 miles/hr, and setting yet another record this morning with a fastest speed of 176 miles/hr and 173 miles/hr average.
Lightning Motors as the TTXGP North America series winner, and MotoCzysz as the FIM e-Power and TT Zero winner, are the two top electric motorcycles in the world today. They last raced against each other at the FIM e-Power race at Laguna Seca where MotoCzysz beat Lightning Motors by a nose. This time it was Lightning Motors turn to convincingly trounce MotoCzysz. Going by a verbal report from Richard Hatfield, in the first run Lightning Motors set a 161 miles/hr speed, and MotoCzysz had a speed in the 150's. The next run Lightning Motors had 166 miles/hr to the 162 miles/hr by MotoCzysz, the next (and final) Lightning Motors set their 176 miles/hr fastest speed (173 miles/hr average) while MotoCzysz had two further runs, one at 163 miles/hr and the final at 161 miles/hr. The BUB Speed Trials organization does not publish final official results until after the event is over.
This achievement is all the more impressive knowing that the Lightning Motors bike is a road racing bike rather than the typical extremely specialized motorcycles used in salt flat time trials. Two weeks ago the Lightning Motors team was at the VIRginia International Raceway for the TTXGP race, and since then the team has made tweaks to the gear ratio, controller settings, and battery pack voltage. According to the FIM, this is first time that the same bike that recently won a championship on the track then went on win world speed records on salt. Usually the motorcycles that excel at one suck at the other, but this bike is so far excelling at both. Between the 161 miles/hr speed on tuesday and todays 173 miles/hr record, the team used a borrowed dynamometer to fine tune controller settings. After achieving the 173 miles/hr record they increased the battery pack voltage by 10% for another speed attempt but the time ran out. Hatfield believes that 180 miles/hr is achievable and he has long maintained that 200 miles/hr is theoretically possible with this motorcycle.
The Lightning Motors bike gets its speed from the combination of incredible motor, batteries and controller. The motor? It was rescued from a crushed GM EV1. The EV1 history includes an electric vehicle land speed record of 183 miles/hr set with a modified version of the Impact (the EV1 prototype), using this same motor. The batteries? Special hard-to-get prismatic A123Systems cells. The controller? It comes from Balqon, the maker of pure electric big trucks. The combination gives immense power which the Lightning Motors team has yet to fully tap.
With this land speed record coming close on the heels of their winning the TTXGP North America championship, Richard Hatfield and team are understandably "very happy we were able to push the technology" and that this was "one big step further to demonstrate parity with gas powered race bikes." At these speeds they are transcending the field of fast electric motorcycles to where they are simply a fast motorcycle, period. At these speeds they have demonstrated electric motorcycles as a "viable alternative" to gas powered vehicles. If one can have fast fun clean transportation, why do we need to burn gasoline?
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