Matt Dieckmann (light blue shirt) in the TTXGP Infineon Winners Circle

Matthew Dieckmann, founder of Electric Race Bikes passed away yesterday as a result of traffic accident while riding his electric motorcycle.

Many in the electric motorcycle community knew Matt through his TTXGP and e-Power race efforts and notable successes. His Electric Race Bikes team took 3rd place at the TTXGP season opener at Infineon Raceway and continued to impress through out the season with acts of good will, strong determination and solid performances. There is a great tribute to Matthew on eGrandPrix.com including some great pics of Matt and his bike.

Matt’s presence in the electric motorcycle world will be greatly missed. RIP Matt. Our thoughts go out to the Electric Race Bikes team and Matt’s family and friends.

A fund for Matt‘s funeral expenses has been set up if you would like to give financial help to Matt’s family.

The Electric Motorcycle Community Mourns The Loss Of Matthew Dieckmann ©, .

After some tough breaks in 2010, the SWIGZ.com Pro Racing team will unveil their Electric Superbike at The Battery Show in San Jose in October. Chip Yates and team will have prime real estate at the show with a centrally located 400 square foot booth. On display will be their state of the art battery torture rack known as the SWIGZ.com Pro Racing Electric Superbike. Chip will also be speaking at the conference along with many big names in the EV world including Gene Banman of Zero Motorcycles, J.B. Staubel of Tesla Motors and Paul Beach of Quallion just to name a few.

Many electric motorcycle race fans may think the unveiling of the SWIGZ.com bike is not a big deal. After all, the bike was at the first TTXGP race at Infineon this year. The thing is, at that point the SWIGZ bike had a stock GSXR front end which was not KERS equipped. As many, including myself speculated, the KERS must be collected by the front wheel as most braking on a motorcycle happens on the front end. No one outside Chip’s team and the patent attorney know what this energy collecting front wheel looks like and how it works. Everyone will find out at The Battery Show.

The KERS system is major part of why battery makers want the SWIGZ.com bike at their show. Batteries are currently the weak link in electric drive platforms and KERS (aka “regenerative braking”) can maximize an EV battery pack’s usable range by recharging it with energy created while braking. The problem is, many batteries are capable of high discharge rates but very few can charge at more than 3C. Rapidly discharging and then charging at high currents is even more difficult to achieve. Chip’s bike can generate 10 C of regen.

The other attraction to battery suiters is the data acquisition system in place to collect the high volume of data generated by all parts electronic components of the bike. As the SWIGZ bike drains energy out of the batteries and then slams it back in at cell torching rates the data acquisition system will keep track of what is happening for analysis. These things allow Chip to claim ownership of the “The World’s Most Technically Advanced Electric Superbike”

SWIGZ.com Pro Racing’s high profile spot at The Battery Show and all the media blasts that will come with it, will not only bring visibility to Yate’s team but will also bring more industry attention to electric motorcycle racing. Chip refused to compromise his performance goals and as a result will not make the TTXGP or e-Power grid this year. However, aiming high equipped his team with what might be the industry’s best real world test of battery performance in an EV application. His bike will put any battery technology on the “ragged edge” (as Chip calls it) of real-world battery use. If any battery company is looking to develop and test a battery that can handle EV applications SWIGZ.com appears to haves the ideal machine to put it through the wringer.

If you at the show stop by booth 2600 to see the bike and get your free SWIGZ water bottle.

Chip Yates Will Unveil The SWIGZ.com Electric Superbike At The Battery Show ©, .

This weekend is the final race of the North American TTXGP series and rumor has it the turnout at VIR will be strong. If Michael Barnes and the Lightning Motors team can keep the bike running strong they should take the series win. Zoe Rem and Team Agni could tie Lightning for first if they pull off a win. Unless Arvind and Cedric have found some extra go fast for the Agni bike their best chance is a mechanical failure in the EV1 powered Lightning Motors rocket. It has happened to Lightning before. Have a look at TTXGP’s summary of the VIR grid. It is a thorough post and I don’t want to bore you with a complete rehash.

TTXGP is close to wrapping up its first full race season and I would say it has exceeded my expectations just like the 2009 TTXGP at Isle of Man TT. Azhar Hussain’s ability to bring teams to the grid and build support from fans and the industry has been impressive. There are more volunteers behind the scenes of TTXGP than you would believe working for the cause and to grab a place in history. You can even watch the races on TV in the UK and on Speed 2 in the USA. I honestly did not think that would happen this year. Nice!

TTXGP and FIM Makeup?

Over the last few weeks there have been whispers of TTXGP and the FIM making amends and working together for 2011 electric race season. The original plan for 2010 was to have TTXGP running the events with the support and blessing of the FIM. That all fell apart for one reason or another and FIM started e-Power while TTXGP continued on its own.

Check out the great article written by Ivar Kvadsheim on why the FIM and TTXGP should make amends. The comments are worth reading too. Azhar chimes in and sounds very open to working with the FIM again. Please add your 2 cents for or against, I already did. Word on the streets is the comments are being watched closely by decision makers. The FIM and TTXGP have complimentary strengths that could take electric racing to the next level. Having all the electric bikes at all the races would be great for the sport, no doubt. Can this partnership between to vastly different organizations work?

If you’re in Boston, be sure to go see Azhar speak at TiE “Speed for Green: electrifying motorsport to drive the change on our roads” on August 16th, 2010 at 6:30 pm. See the TTXGP site for more information.

TTXGP North American Series Final And FIM Makeup? ©, .

Zero S vs. Brammo Enertia vs. Native S Dyno Run - Image Credit: Motorcycle.com

Last week Motorcycle.com published a shootout review of the Native S, Brammo Enertia and Zero S testing their abilities in a commuter setting. Ah, you lucky dogs who can just take a ride over to Hollywood Electrics. Based on their criteria for the test they chose the right winner in the Brammo Enertia. However, a few details leave the Zero S with a very nice second place that will probably sell them a lot of bikes.

First off, the dyno run graphic comparing hoursepower of the Agni 95 powered Zero S vs. Enertia and Native S is tough to ignore. This is the first dyno comparison I have seen between the three bikes. Add to that the video showing the Zero S pulling away from the other bikes (jump to 3:30 into the video) is even more persuasive. Could I live with poor brakes and suspension for the extra power? Currently none of my friends ride electric motorcycles but if they did it would be a no-brainer. My ego is simply not strong enough to see friends gap me like that at the expense of $2000. Of course, commuters don’t care about that kind of stuff …right?

I don’t want to take anything away from the Brammo Enertia, it deserved to win the shootout. At the same time charts and video showing “fastest” are really tough to ignore.

Hit the jump to see the video.

Source: Motorcycle.com

Who Won The MO Electric Motorcycle Shootout? ©, .

Check out this video of the e-Power grid at Laguna Seca. There is some great footage of the bikes before, during and after the race. Besides hearing the National Anthem playing at Laguna Seca, one of the coolest part is seeing Michael Czysz take the win, passing Barnes feet from the finish line while both were passing Christian on the Epo-Bike. Czysz was 5 seconds down from Barnes in the first lap due to a fault shutting the e1pc down at the start and a difficult pass.

Michael Czysz has a good summary of his perspective of the race on his blog. Here is how he describes the finish…

Going into T11 for the last time, I closed up to within 1 second behind Barnes. A nice drive, no trip… and a win could be possible. As we started down the straight for the finish line I was focused on the drive and Barnes and didn’t even see the bike we were lapping until Barnes went left to make his pass. My closing speed on both bikes was very high. I quickly veered right and made the pass for the win on the outside shoulder of the track.

Check out the video of the e-Power race after the break.

Video Of MotoCzysz Taking The Win Over Lightning At Laguna ©, .

ATGATT, unless you had to travel light and were offered a ride on a prototype ebike.

The Native X electric supermoto is the latest prototype bike in the Electric Motorsport line and is quickly becoming their best known, thanks to its starring role in the TTXGP …um …pits. Its rough-edged looks are borrowed from the SACHS X-Road and an impressive stack of lithium tied to the DC motor inspire the inner hooligan.

At the tail end of my time in San Francisco during TTXGP week, I stopped by Oakland, CA to visit Todd Kollin, Raul Aguilar and Martin Guerra at Electric Motorsport HQ. If you’re looking to build a prototype for an electric vehicle in the powersports segment, Electric Motorsport is the go-to shop. Many big names in electric motorcycle manufacturing have more have worked with EMS for prototyping, to source parts or to buy parts for their electric powersports products.

This puts Electric Motorsport in a unique position of having a solid financial base under their Native brand of eMoto products. It also gives them boat loads of industry knowledge. Need a four wheeler that disassembles to fit down a manhole cover and does not fill tight places with exhaust fumes? EMS can and is doing that for a customer. Check out Urban Moto to find out more about these guys.

Click the break to read more and see a video of the bike.

Native X Electric Supermoto

The Native X’s current state is somewhat of a prototype. The rolling chassis is licensed from Sachs but the “gas tank” will not be included in the final Native design. It might be cool to crowd source the design of the tank, get some enthusiasts engaged and build up some inbound links from disgruntled designers trying muscle cash back into their bank accounts.

Native X Electric Supermoto

The Native X’s current state is somewhat of a prototype. The rolling chassis is licensed from Sachs but the “gas tank” will not be included in the final Native design. It might be cool to crowd source the design of the tank, get some enthusiasts engaged and build up some inbound links from disgruntled designers trying muscle cash back into their bank accounts.

Electrical Trickery

The bike I rode is 64 Volt nominal of 20 Thundersky 40 LiFePO4 cells. The juice runs through an Altrax 7234 controller and to an EMC RT (aka Mars RT meo7099) permanent magnet DC motor. The custom Battery Management System (BMS) will log data captured while monitoring each of the battery pack’s 20 cells.

The “data logging BMS” will record information on battery pack health, capacity, usage and other interesting metrics which can be downloaded to your computer via wifi, Ethernet or with a smartphone like an iPhone. This could give the owner and Electric Motorsport the ability to remotely troubleshoot any issues with the battery pack. The battery pack is wired with a series of LED lights that flash when the bike is activated. Check out the video to see the light show in action.

The Ride

My short spin around the block proved the bike was a blast to ride. Suspension was nice and stiff and about as refined as you would expect on a bike this price. Light throttle application was rewarded with the instant power that electric drive promises.

Sales Model

Todd has a unique sales models in mind for the Native X supermoto. He would like to build a list of 30 or so people interested in purchasing the bike. Electric Motorsport would then source all the parts to build the bike and deliver it as a kit for the customer to put together. The idea would be to keep the cost down and allow more technical riders a way to get into electric drive. Prices are to be determined.

Test Ride: Native X Electric Supermoto Prototype ©, .

2009 Team Agni Plastic At Elkhart Lake TTXGP Round2

The eGrandPrix organization has been working hard all season to bring electric motorcycle racing to the world. With 3 electric motorcycle racing series in 3 parts of the world and a final in Spain, it is the most extensive electric race series to date. Azhar Hussain and the TTXGP crew are all-in on this electric motorcycle racing thing and they need your help to make it better in 2011.

For most of this year the TTXGP Technical Rules Wiki has been open to anyone who wants to help shape the TTXGP racing rules for 2011. Harry Mallin, a man dedicated to the success of the electric motorcycle industry, moderates and runs the TTXGP Wiki. Check out some tips on how to get started editing the TTXGP Rules Wiki and dive in. Don’t worry about making mistakes, everything can be changed back or moved to the right spot.

“We have had some great discussions on the Wiki about many subjects, including racing classifications, automatic shut-off switches, and streamlining,” said Mallin.  ”People need to check out the rules, and then click on the tab on the top of the page, marked ‘discussion,’ in order to see where the real debate is happening.”

Mallin indicated that people from many walks of life are participating in the Wiki.  ”We have former racers, current teams, race fans, and electrical engineers making contributions to this Wiki.  We have folks from the U.S., Great Britain, Spain and Sweden who have made comments.”

A “snapshot” of the Wiki will be taken on August 15, 2010, and that version of it will be submitted to the Technical Advisory Panel of the TTXGP to be considered for the 2011 Rules.  The Wiki will continue past that date, but any comments made after that date will affect the 2012 Rules.

Less than 2 weeks left to shape the 2011 race season!

2011 TTXGP Rules Wiki Wrapping Up Soon! ©, .

Brammo Empulse RR At Laguna Seca. Credit: AsphaltAndRubber.com

I’ll be honest, when I read tweets from Laguna Seca saying Brammo had a shot at beating MotoCzysz or even Lightning I was thinking… “wow, that is a very nice thing to say when the bike Brammo scrambled to prep for the race broke down and you know @brammoCraig is listening… no chance.” Then I saw some tweets that made me think twice.

I hope I’m not the only one who assumed Brammo was going to regear and dress up the 2009 TTR for track duty at the e-Power race at Laguna Seca. After all, the Empulse prototype was visually very close to the TTR. But I think I’m starting to get it now.

First I saw Brammo drop the price of the Enertia 33% just months after it went on sale. I then saw them introduce a 100+ mph electric sportbike with 100 mile range setting a new standard for price, speed and range. Now I see pictures of the Empulse RR up close and it may have finally clicked. Brammo wants to win at everything it does. I thought third place at the 2009 TTXGP was pretty good but to Brammo it is not acceptable.

More after the break…

Asphalt And Rubber covered the changes to Brammo Empulse RR very well in a recent article. I have a few pics and thoughts to add to the conversation.

Empulse 8.0 (above) Empulse RR Laguna (below)

The Empulse RR battery pack appears to be one solid box that replaces the 8 cells in the Empulse 8.0. It may be two boxes mounted with one above and one below but it is hard to tell. Craig Bramscher told me the pack is over 10 kWh. A&R says 12.5 kWh.

The back voltage is also higher than the Empulse 8.0 but Craig did not disclose how much higher. Judging by the stickers on the front, the pack contains Leyden Energy cells. Their website claims their cylindrical and pouch cells can operate safely and stay stable at higher temperatures than other Lithium cells. They also do not produce any gas which prevents bloating and eventual failure.

The picture above also makes it obvious that the top of the rear shock is larger and is mounted further up and closer to the tank. This is most likely a result of the larger swingarm shown in the next picture.

Empulse 8.0 Prototype swingarm (above) vs. Empulse RR Laguna (below)

The Sapa aluminum swingarm on the Empulse RR at Laguna is massive and is no doubt as rigid as it looks. Bramscher says this unit will probably end up on the Empulse production bike. It is easier to see in the picture below but the RR Laguna swingarm pivot is much further forward than the Empulse 8.0 meaning the geometry is totally different.

The rear wheel is also noticeably closer to the motor which could mean one of a few things. The wheel base could be shorter as a result of how they engineered the swingarm. The motor mount is different on the RR and could move the motor further back towards the wheel; possibly to make room for the battery pack and swingarm pivot. With all the hoses on the RR it could be a different motor altogether than the Perm 150 W used on the Brammo TTR.

Regardless of whether the motor is the same or different Brammo put something between the motor and the rear sprocket. Check out the last picture below.

Empulse 8.0 prototype (above) vs. Empulse RR Laguna (below)

The front sprocket sitting behind the rearset/footpeg is not attached directly to the motor. There is some sort of “transmission” (for lack of better word) attached to the motor spindle to transfer rotation to the drive sprocket. My guess is this mechanism is a 1 to 1 gear ratio that allows the front sprocket to be centered on the axis of rotation for the rear axle so the chain tension stays consistent through the travel of the rear swingarm. No gears to change as with most electric motorcycles.

And that’s all I have. Did I miss anything in my over-analaysis of the Brammo Enertia? Brian Wismann, if you read this, please save me the time and document all this stuff huh? Ah, never mind. Your time is better spent kick’n ass with the Brammo team. The rate of change in products and ideas coming out of Brammo HQ is inspirational. (No, I’m not trying to become the next evangelist, my man Harry has it nailed. )

Next time someone asks you why electric motorcycles are cool, point them to this article and ask them the last time their favorite color liter bike ( <- annoying autoplay vid warning) changed this much in one year. The evolution of electric motorcycles is amazing to watch and it has all just begun.

Laydon Energy cells power the Empulse RR

Empulse RR Photos: Asphalt And Rubber

Brammo Empulse RR Pack’n Heat At e-Power ©, .

Brammo Empulse RR At Laguna Seca via AsphaltAndRubber.com

Asphalt And Rubber posted a pic of the Brammo Empulse RR on the track at Laguna Seca. It was the first one I saw and possibly the first published picture. Unfortunately a failure in a one-off piece will keep the Empulse off the grid tomorrow. Craig Bramscher says Brammo will race again this year. TTXGP at VIR being the most likely guess at where they will end up.

e-Power Practice Results

MotoCzysz had the best lap at 1:50.377. Lightning motors was one second behind at 1:51.358 followed by DR Motors another 1 second behind (1:52.266). Check out the rest of the practice times at RRW.

Zero Motorcycles Test Rides

Zero Motorcycles have many bikes waiting for test rides.

Julie @futurefluff posted a pic from the Brammo Empulse unveiling. I’m sure BrammoFan will have full update soon.

I will update this post with more pics as they come.

FIM e-Power Practice Pictures and Updates ©, .

Image Credit: AsphaltAndRubber.com

This weekend is e-Power at Laguna Seca and I am going to do my best to break down the field and give a rough guess at how the teams stack up. This is no easy task but I’m feeling brave.

There are a few new names and many of the usual suspects on the grid which should make for some great racing throughout the field. Each electric race bike has it’s own strengths and weaknesses resulting from the level of funding the team has and techniques used to put down power and get the most out of the little energy stored in the heavy batteries on board. The clear favorite to win is Michael Czysz riding the e1pc D1g1tal Superbike he designed and built. As you work your way down the field the riders experience is also vastly different from team to team making picking the ranks very difficult. Some are new to racing electric and some are veterans with 2 years under their belt.

Lightning Motors A Contender for the podium

One glaring omission to the e-Power grid is Team Agni, winners of the 2009 TTXGP are not scheduled to race. The 2010 Agni bikes are most likely in the UK for this weekends TTXGP UK race. However, the 2009 bike was last seen in the United States at Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin. After the race it was wheeled onto a Zero Motorcycle pickup truck that I can only assume was headed to San Jose which is a stones throw from Laguna Seca. Agni missed the race in Canada due to “logistical problems”. Is it safe to assume Zero did not want to drive out to Canada? Zoe Rem, rode the bike at Elkhart Lake and will be at Laguna Seca. I’ll stop speculating now and wait to hear back from Team Agni PR on the real story.

The second glaring omission is Lightning Motors, current points leaders of the TTXGP North American Series. Rumor has it they got their papers in late and with FIM shelling out cash to get teams on the grid I doubt hey will turn their nose up at one of the stronger challengers to the MotoCzysz team.

Update: Lightning Motors was seen at the track. Thanks Julie!

Lightning Motors and pilot Michael Barnes have become very comfortable walking away from the field with the huge acceleration of their EV-1 powered bike. If they do show I really want to know how long Barney can hang with MotoCzysz. Czysz’s Intimate knowledge of the bike and Laguna Seca will be a great advantage to team MotoCzysz and he most likely has more energy on board. The first lap of the race should be awesome and I can’t wait to see hear (doh) how the rest of the show down unfolds.

Update: The Brammo Empulse RR suffered a mechanical failure that can not be fixed in time for the race.

AMA Pro Aaron Gobert on the new Brammo Empulse RR should put up a great fight over the length of the course. The bike’s light weight will make up ground where its acceleration comes up sort of Czysz and Lightning machines. Brammo is definitely a podium contender and 3rd place should be the most interesting fight during the race.

FIM e-Power series leaders Thijs De Ridder on the Crystalite-Europe.com Racing bike and Betti Moto (Thomas Betti) may also be in the fight for a podium spot. Both teams have a win under their belts but I am having trouble tracking down lap times to shed more light on speed. Christian Amendt will be on the grid with an improved Epo-Bike.de electric race bike thanks to new battery sponsors. Münch Racing Team is running a bike based on the 2009 TTXGP second place XXL Racing machine. They finished ahead of Brammo on the Isle Of Man, can they do it on the shorter, tighter Mazda Raceway?

Look for strong showings from ElectricRaceBikes.com and Mike Hannas who have show consistent performance in the TTXGP NA series including a 3rd place podium at Infineon. Zero Motorcycles is backing K Squared Racing and Kenyon Kluge. Kluge is running a modified Zero S. He added batteries and upped the voltage for Infineon but he ran out of juice after the final turn. If he can find some tricks to increase the kWh on board or conserve energy he should have a solid race.

Ely Schless the Pro Moto Racing team is new to the grid but anything but new to electric motorcycles. Schless invented the Electric Moto Blade with is one of the first electric production dirtbikes. He is also an inventor and must be a bit of a showman considering he built the Snuggle Fabric Softener bear. How can you not love that annoying but cuddly robot mascot?

Zoe Rem will be back on the Pril Motors bike she rode at Infineon. Pril does not make the power of the rest of the bikes but the bike can go the distance.

If you’re out at the races please take pictures and post them up on the web. I can’t be there but will be scanning the net and monitoring twitter and facebook for any view into the action I can get. Be sure to get a test ride on the Zero Motorcycles bikes and check out the unveiling of the beautifully naked electric Brammo Empulse.

If you see Brammo Fan congratulate him on winning the Brammo Enertia. If you see Jenson Beeler from Asphalt And Rubber smile and hold up your “PlugBike Rocks” sign, he has been posting shots on the website since Thursday and will be covering the e-Power action. But whatever you do stay clear of the guys from Hell For Leather. They will probably be partying and doing bathroom dyno runs on the latest electric offerings which can’t be good for your lungs. Like I said, be sure to take pictures! :D The fans are critical to getting the word out about electric racing until the mainstream media deems it worthy.

Count Down To FIM e-Power At Leguna Seca ©, .