News

MK3x4SMT Educational Video Available Now!

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 22:38:54 +0000

We have started filming educational videos to help demonstrate how to install and use our products. Today we got the first one for Wiring a MK3x4SMT to 4 cells up on YouTube. Please check it out: Click Here

Let us know what you think and if there is anything we can do to make it better!

Charger Power Output Data Now Available!

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:46:35 +0000

Charger Power Output Data at 20A of 110V and 50A of 240V is now available for the PFC20, 30 and 40 battery chargers. Over the next week or two we should also have PFC20B, 50 and 75 data available as well. If there is anything specific you would like to know or data that should be added please Contact Us.

Spec Sheets Now Available!

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:45:07 +0000

We have updated our website to include Zilla Controller Spec Sheets as well as PFC Charger Spec Sheets. We hope these will help you to determine the right products for your system. Check them out HERE.

Chip Yates to Show 258 hp Electric Superbike

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:54:29 +0000

Chip Yates to Show 258 hp Electric Superbike at Infineon Raceway on the Way to the BUBFIM World Record Land Speed Event in Bonneville

August 25^th, 2011

Orange County, California, August 17, 2011-----American superbike rider and electric vehicle pioneer Chip Yates will appear at Infineon Raceway’s “Accelerating Sustainable Performance Summit” on Thursday, August 25^th, 2011 from 9am to 5pm. Yates and his key electrical race engineer Robert Ussery will be on hand to greet the media and display the SWIGZ.COM Electric Superbike in its Bonneville land speed configuration.

The Infineon green performance event is part of the final tour of the Chip’s 2011 racing and technology demonstration campaign that has seen success in WERA Motorcycle Roadracing, the Mojave Mile Shootout, Fastrack Riders Auto Club Speedway, and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The team will depart Infineon Raceway on Friday, August 26^th and head directly to the legendary salt flats of Bonneville to attempt the Official FIM World Record for Electric Motorcycle Land Speed at the BUB Speed Trials (www.bubspeedtrials.com).

CHIP YATES: “I can’t wait to get back to Infineon, a world-class racetrack that has been such a huge part of my racing career. From my first superbike roadrace as an AFM novice in 2007, to my front-of-the-pack battles as an AFM expert in ’08, to showing off for the huge crowd in 2009 as an AMA Pro Daytona SportBike racer, and ending with my first-ever track ride on our electric superbike in December, 2010, I have such fond memories of this beautiful place. It’s fitting that Infineon Raceway appeared on both my first and last tours with this amazing all-electric motorcycle.”

The Infineon Raceway “Accelerating Sustainable Performance Summit” is an invitation-only event, but members of the media are encouraged to attend by registering at the link below:

http://acceleratingsustainableperformance.com/2011-summit-rsvp/

Event Contact:

Jennifer Imbimbo

Manager, Media and Community Relations

Infineon Raceway

Office: (707) 933-3981

E-Mail: jenos@infineonraceway.com

Chip’s Electric Superbike Sponsors: UQM Technologies // McKenna, Long & Aldridge LLP // Eidos LLC // Yoyodyne // Ohlins USA // MoTeC Systems USA // Dainese // SolarReserve // Manzanita Micro // MicroStrain // Performance Machine // CPR Fabrication // Catalyst Racing Composites // Stompgrip // Scottoiler // Thermosman Suspension

For more information, please contact: racing@swigz.com

SWIGZ.com Team finds the Podium in California

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:57:43 +0000

Chip Yates and the SWIGZ racing team competed in the WERA Heavyweight Twins Superbike Race and Heavyweight Twins Superstock Race January 9th, 2011 at Infenion Raceway. The team performed phenomenally pulling in 3rd and 2nd place finishes respectively in these two races. These results are great for the entire EV community as they prove to many that electricity can truly hang with gasoline on the racetrack. Check out a video from the onboard camera below.

The bike laid down some impressive tech numbers as well. The SWIGZ electric superbike hit a top speed of 158mph on the front straight and posted a 99 second lap time, the fastest lap time in the entire Superstock class. We expect to see many more great things from this team in the races to come.

SWIGZ racing electric motorcycle testing is a success

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:09:24 +0000

Chip Yates, the SWIGZ racing team, and a couple of Manzanita Micro's own made a trip out to Infineon Raceway to watch the first official track testing of the record breaking electric superbike. We are proud to announce that the trial was a wonderful success. The bike ran well all day and showed some impressive speed. You can check out a video of a demo lap on Chip's Youtube page and a press release of the event at the Infineon Raceway website.

Electric Motorcycle to compete head to head against Gasoline Superbikes in 2011

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:04:19 +0000

On January 9, 2011 at California Speedway (aka: Auto Club Speedway), motorcycle racer Chip Yates and his SWIGZ race team will make history by taking their electric motorcycle and competing head to head with gasoline powered superbikes! Manzanita Micro's favorite superbike racer will have a chance to show the world what EVs are really made of.

This electric monster will compete up against 1 liter Superbikes including the likes of Ducati, KTM, and many more in the WERA championship series to come. The SWIGZ team hopes to have the bike dialed in at around 194hp by race time.

Everyone here has high hopes and expectations for the SWIGZ team, and we wish them the best of luck in January. You can read the entire press release on Chip's website ChipYates.com.

Manzanita Micro Offers Fast Charging for Motorcycles at the First Round of the TTXGP : The First All-Electric Motorcycle Grand Prix Race in the USA

Sat, 29 May 2010 06:17:30 +0000

The weekend of May 14 through 16, 2010 was a weekend of history in the making with the first all electric motorcycle grand prix race in North America. The race was at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California and 10 battery powered bikes competed in the zero emissions race. Manzanita Micro was there to provide 75 amp charging to many of the race teams. Fast motorcycles and fast charging seemed to go hand in hand as many of the most powerful bikes were already using Manzanita Micro chargers. The Lightning Motorsports team placed second with the most powerful bike of the entire lot. The bright yellow bike sported a >100kW high revving AC induction motor out of a GM EV1 car! The bike was packed full of over 360 volts of high power A123 batteries and everytime the bike was in the pits it was gulping down amps from the team’s powerful Manzanita Micro PFC-50 charger. Gene Seymour and Stephen Johnsen drove all the way down from Tacoma Washington with extra chargers, battery management systems, high power plug adapters and other support equipment. Upon arriving at the track Johnsen and Seymour encountered legendary motorcycle racer Chip Yates who is also a happy recent Manzanita Micro charger customer. An enthusiastic Yates wasted no time in showing the two his bike and rolling support toolbox which held the compact yet powerful PFC-40 charger. The Swigz bike was a sight to see with fancy carbon fiber bodywork, Headway batteries and a UQM drive capable of nearly 300 foot pounds of torque! Yates displayed the bike and charger toolbox at the TTXGP tent but wasn’t quite ready to enter the race at this event.

Of the 10 teams who did race the track, at least half of them received charging assistance from Manzanita Micro. When Team Native’s non-Manzanita charger had problems Johnsen and Seymour were quick to assist with an extra PFC-75. The venerable 75 also pumped watts into many of the other bikes including the Square Wave Racing team from Ohio, the Volt Team and the Pril Motors team. “This is what I love about the Manzanita Micro chargers” said Stephen Johnsen, “You can quickly change the voltage limits for just about any battery pack and they charge so quickly that you hardly wait at all.” With grins on their faces Stephen and Gene moved from team to team monitoring power levels and tuning the chargers for the best performance for each battery pack. “It was a great experience” said Gene, “I just love being able to help out and I will definitely be at the other TTXGP races!”

The ElectricRaceBikes.com Team had arguably one of the coolest looking bikes and with driver Mike Hannas they placed 3rd overall. Dissappointed with the lackluster performance of his original BMS and charger ElectricRaceBikes.com president and avid motorcycle rider Matt Dieckmann turned to Manzanita Micro for a better solution. Seymour and Johnsen delivered the new charger in person and became members of the ElectricRaceBikes team. The three stayed up until the wee hours of the morning completely removing the old battery management system and installing the new Manzanita Mk3x8 lithium BMS. While Matt and Gene re-moved the mess of wires and the many circuit boards from the old BMS, Stephen fabricated a compact new aluminum mount which would hold just 3 of the Mk3x8 boards to do the same job.

The next day at the racetrack Gene neatly mounted the Manzanita Micro RROB II Box and he and Matt set it up to illuminate a warning light to alert the rider Mike Hannas if any one cell was being pulled especially low. After some fine tuning, driver feedback and strategy talks the team was ready for the big race. After runing in the the warm-up laps and before the big race Stephen set up the custom PFC-75 to charge the ElectricRaceBikes.com cycle at just over 75 amps! Meanwhile Gene got out his laptop with the latest Manzanita scanning software and watched a live bar graph display of the cells as they charged and became equalized by the Mk3x8 BMS.

With twin Agni motors a warm pack of Headway lithium cells and the informative Manzanita RROB II unit, Mike Hannas’ skilled driving was the final ingredient that got the team the third place trophy! Azhar Hussain the founder of the TTXGP racing series said, “We’ll be talking about this weekend for years to come.” and he hopes “as many as possible can be a part of it as we launch into the next generation of motorsport.” Manzanita Micro couldn’t agree more and long-time EV racer and CEO Rich “Madman” Rudman vowed that he would be at the Road America Track in Wisconsin June 3rd to once again offer help and fast charging for the next TTXGP race.

Mechanical Drawings Now Available!

Tue, 11 May 2010 00:07:42 +0000

We have had a lot of customers asking for mechanical drawings of our chargers and other products to be available so we have finally got some up for you to view! If there is something you need and don't see please let us know and we will do our best to get it out to you and on the site rapidly.

The drawings are in our download section under "Mechanical Drawings"

Thank you!

We're Expanding!

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:29:11 +0000

Manzanita Micro would like to offer a big thank you to all of our customers for helping us grow into a new realm of business. We have been hard at work this week to move into a new building! The building is beautiful with more offices than we know what to do with...yet. The new space is 7600 sq. ft., a huge improvement over our cramped 3600 used space and 1500 sq ft of storage we have been occupying. So we are excited to all be in one location.

Thank you again to all of our loyal customers! We hope 2010 continues to be a great year for us and all of you!