Zero Motorcycles recently introduced a 4th model to their electric motorcycle line up. The Zero DS is a dual-sport bike built on the Zero S supermoto platform. The front suspension of the DS gains 2″ of travel over the S for a total of 10”, while rear travel remains unchanged at 9”. A 50/50 street/dirt tire is fitted to the 17″ front rim and a 90/10 street/dirt tire is fitted to the 16″ rear. This is an unusual tire combination for a production dual sport but the semi-aggressive front is a welcomed change from the tires found on most dual-sports, which are more suited to street than dirt use.
Michigan based BlueShift Motorcycles is entering into the electric motorcycle business, but instead of the track bred entries we saw for the TTXGP, BlueShift is focusing on the cruiser end of the market. BlueShift describes the bike as a heavyweight and street fighter. At over 600lbs, we’ll agree with the heavyweight part of that statement.
We should begin this article with a preface. The following information is comprised of facts, and in some cases, where noted ,substantiated rumor. However, the inferences drawn, when looking at all these instances as being correlated events, are purely our own here at A&R, and should therefore be taken as fanciful speculation on our parts, but none-the-less something to mull-over while riding this weekend..
Looking at the facts leading up to the TTXGP, and the occurences at the Isle of Man, is it possible that Michael Czysz orchestrated a game plan at the Isle of Man that included sandbagging the E1pc’s true performance capability on race day? Our analysis after the jump.
UPDATED: Pictures and results after the jump.
Team Agni and rider Robert “Bullet” Barber turned the fastest lap beating out favorites MotoCzysz, Mission Motors and Brammo. Barber propelled Agni’s modified Suzuki GSXr 600 to an average speed of 84.8MPH, with a speed of 102.6 recorded at the Sulby Trap. Agni Motors builds electric motors for many applications including electric vehicles, so it is not too much of a surprise they did well.
A little late with its unveiling, Mission Motors has finally shown off its Mission One TTXGP race bike to the public at large. Noticeable right off the bat is the lack of fit-and-finish the the Mission One displays when compared to the Brammo or MotoCzysz motorcycles. But as the A&R track bike can attest to, how a bike looks, is poor, and usually incorrect indication of how it goes around the race track.
As we said Monday, we had photos of the MotoCzysz in its final TTXGP race form, and here they are out in the wild now for all to see.
Looking at the photos, we can see that MotoCzysz chose to keep 6 of the 10 battery packs visible in the final design, 3 on each side. We can also see the chain connecting the 3 motors below the number 5 on the silver and red fairing. A slightly confusing touch is the C1 logo placed in the fairing. C1 is the name given to their MotoGP project which was recently abandoned to pursue the TTXGP electric motorcycle race at Isle Of Man.
Of all the TTXGP bikes that have broken cover over the last week the MotoCzysz may have been the most anticipated besides the Brammo TTR. We have to say the E1pc looks as good as it sounds with all three electric motors drawing max current.
Also from the pictures we can see the iPhone powered dash unit, which we assume is bringing speed, acceleration, pitch, and lateral-g information to rider via the phone’s bevy of built-in gadgetry. Take that in contrast to the almost rudimentry on/kill switch that looks so easy a Geico spokesperson could use it. Green for go, Red for stop.
Another note is the top-down view on the triple clamps. Gone are the pre-load and compression knobs most motorcyclists are familiar with, instead we see a hollow tube that goes down to the proprietary MotoCzysz fork/suspension assembly, another carry-over from the deceased MotoGP hopeful.
MotoCzysz still has not revealed much about the internals of this D1gi1al Superbike, a term they filed a trademark for at the USPTO. However, we do know this bike is designed to be flexible in power and tuning so it will be available to the consumer at multiple price points.
Source: MotoCzysz
The day of reckoning for the TTXGP entrants is almost upon us. In just a short matter of months we’ve seen a handful of dedicated teams take on the challenge of building a fully electrically powered superbike motorcycle fit for FIM sanctioned racing.
Not at an easy feat to say the least.
Now granted, there’s still the matter of 30+ mile course to be covered, and of course all the chaos and excitement of race day, but all of the entrants should be proud of the hard work, and sleepless nights we’re sure they have encountered on their way to the Isle of Man TT.
With bullet cams in hand, the Brammo crew headed out to the forrested roads of Oregon to conduct some road tests on the Brammo TTR race bike in preparation for the upcoming TTXGP. Video after the jump.
Today is a double Brammo day. Earlier this morning we teased you with a picture of the . You may have noticed two things. 1) The bike is green…kind of like the Hungry Hunter, and 2) Best Buy is sponsoring it. We don’t mess with giant men that have brussels sprouts growing on them, so this article will solely focus on the latter of the two observations. More pictures after the jump.
Mission Motors has been out testing their Mission One race bike in the Easy Bay (looks like out by Bear Creek Canyon) with a little help from the California Highway Patrol, and has posted up a video of the electric racer on their site for all to enjoy.
After numerous views of the recent MotoCzysz E1pc dyno pull videos we were left wondering how much of the vicious howl was generated by the dyno and how much was the bike. After all, the all electric MotoCzysz is silent right?
Recent video of the MotoCzysz E1pc testing at Portland International Raceway confirms the sound was all bike. Three clips on YouTube show the bike cornering, decelerating and accelerating very quickly and letting everyone know about it. It seems the only surprise left from the Czysz crew before the June 12 TTXGP is the race bodywork.