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Chip Yates’ Electric Motorcycle Will Take On Gas-Powered Competition in WERA Race

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After first seeing the TTXGP and then FIM e-Power race series lower their maximum bike weights to 250kg, thus barring the 266kg SWIGZ race bike from competing, Chip Yates and his SWIGZ.COM race team seem to be making the best out of a bad situation, and have announced that they will compete in the WERA Pirelli Sportsman Heavyweight Twins Superbike class race being held at California Speedway on January 9, 2011.

Promoting an advanced KERS system, Yates has been touting his 194hp electric race bike as being comparable to gasoline-powered supersport machines, and now he will have the opportunity to prove that point on the track. With performance parity to internal combustion engine such an important issue with electric motorcycles, SWIGZ is the first team to take on the old guard head-on, with this first race being the first public working exhibition of the SWIGZ KERS design.

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Video: Brammo Empulse RR Testing

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The guys up in Ashland have been busy testing their Brammo Empulse RR electric race bike. Taking some laps around Thunderhill Raceway, and hitting the curves around the Ashland area, Brammo’s Director of Product Development Brian Wismann was at the helm of the Empulse RR in these videos. Surely gearing up for the 2011 racing season, Brammo was testing the Empulse RR’s systems, and from the looks of it, the Empulse RR has some moves. Videos after the jump.

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MotoCzysz D1g1tal Dr1ve D1 – The Fully Integrated Electric Drive System with 737 lbs•ft of Torque

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The folks at MotoCzysz just got back from a trip to China (the EVS25 show in Shenzhen, China) where they debuted the MotoCzysz D1g1tal Dr1ve D1 — the world’s first fully integrated electric drive system. Complete with motor, inverter, oil pump, gear reduction, and differential housed in an aluminum chassis, MotoCzysz says the D1g1tal Dr1ve D1 is a complete plug-and-play system that can be used in the development of electric vehicles.

Based off the Portland company’s experience racing the MotoCzysz E1pc at the Isle of Man and FIM e-Power Championship, the MotoCzysz D1g1tal Dr1ve D1 uses Remy motors to produce 60kW (80hp) of continuous power, with a 75 kW (100hp) peak power delivery figure. The D1 comes with plenty of torque, 1000 Nm of torque to be precise (no, that’s not an extra zero, the motor makes 737 lbs•ft of torque). The feather-light D1g1tal Dr1ve D1 weighs under 150 lbs, making it ideal for a variety of applications. Available in May 2011, pricing will start under $8,999 as the MotoCzysz D1g1tal Dr1ve D1 will compete head-to-head with Mission Motors’ MissionEVT program.

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Mission R – Mission Motors Teases Its 2nd-Gen Racer

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Mission Motors is teasing the silhouette of its new Mission R race bike, which is set to go racing in 2011. While details are scarce on the Mission R’s technical aspects, we’ve been told that the new design looks very promising, and is more palatable visually to a larger audience than the original Mission One. It doesn’t take much for us to guess some aspects of the Mission R though, as Mission Motors was on-hand for Specialty Equipment Marketing Association show (SEMA) this week (you know that other industry trade show that’s going on), with a bevy of announcements.

The most prominent piece of news from the San Franciscan-based company is that it is making available its proprietary electric drive system, which will come from a special group inside the company, dubbed MissionEVT, which is focused on bringing EV tech to other companies and applications beyond motorcycles.

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Bikes

BMW Concept C – Making Scooters Look Cool

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There is a joke in motorcycling about the two things you don’t want your friends to catch you riding, with the second part of that punch line involving scooters; and while we like to stay open-minded about our two-wheeled vehicles, there’s a reason you don’t see them covered that often here on A&R. All that goes out the window though if the scooters of the future look like this BMW Concept C Maxiscooter, which was released at EICMA this week.

Proof that the Bavarians can make a good looking two-wheeler (although they usually muck-up the end result after showing an attractive concept), the Concept C is the German company’s exploration of what will likely be the growing segment in the motorcycle industry. As gas prices continue to increase, people are going to have to become more practical about their forms of transportation (this statement goes two-fold for us Americans), not needing/wanting a full-sized motorcycle, the maxiscooter segment could be the answer on how to travel practically while not compromising on performance and image.

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Bikes

Brammo Enertia Plus: The 80 Mile Commuter

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Brammo has another product announcement for us today, as the Oregon-based company is ready to reveal that it is adding the Brammo Enertia Plus to its 2011 line-up. Basically a Brammo Enertia with a power-pack similar to the Brammo Empulse 80, the Brammo Enertia Plus doubles the range of Brammo’s original model from 40 to 80 miles on a single charge.

This moves comes as Brammo attempts to address the “60-mile barrier” that Brammo believes is holding some customers back from pulling the trigger on an electric motorcycle. With 6.0 kWh on-board, the Brammo Enertia Plus still tips the scales at 324lbs like the original model, and pricing will start at $8,995 MSRP. More info, photos, and a video after the jump.

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MINI Scooter E Concept Unveiled – When OEM’s Come Out To Play

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After teasing us with some sketches of the MINI Scooter E Concept before the Paris Motor Show, MINI has finally taken the wraps off its two-wheeled excursion. Showing a variety of flavors, MINI has tried to synthesize the unique elements of its automobile brand into scooter form with the MINI Scooter E Concept. Styling and features come straight from the cars, although they don’t share a common parts bin, while the general ethos remains: an individualistic, yet practical, form of transportation that has the urban commuter in mind.

The important part about the MINI Scooter E Concept though isn’t its fun styling or urban-hipster appeal, but instead the fact that OEM’s are coming out of their holes after weathering the recession’s storm, and getting serious about electrics and electric motorcycles. The fact that a small automobile manufacturer is considering an electric two-wheeled vehicle should send a message to the traditional motorcycle OEM’s and electric startups alike.

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Brammo Raises $12.4 Million in Series B Funds

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Brammo Inc. filed the appropriate forms with the SEC yesterday stating that it has raised $12.4 million in Series B funds, in what is still an open round of financing. Brammo hopes to raise a total of $30 million in the Series B offering, with the use of funds likely going towards expanding Brammo’s reach into the Asian and European markets, as well as building out the company’s product line into other target segments.

Also in the Form D filing with the SEC we get a glimpse of the people behind the company’s management, which includes a presence from Brammo’s initial investors Best Buy & the clean-tech venture capital group Chrysalix, as well as Brammo’s CFO Bruce Gilpin. New to the ranks is David Kurtz from Alpine Inc., an oil and gas exploration and development firm that is leading the Series B round with another firm that is so far unknown.

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Brammo Taps Flextronics for Global Production and Assembly Strategic Partnership

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It’s hard to make strategic business partnership announcements sound sexy. Between all the hyperbole about how two companies are going to shift the industry paradigm and synergize the supply chain matrix, the average consumer’s eyes glaze over, and drool starts seeping out from the corners of their mouths. So bear with us on this one, because the announcement (or is the term Brammouncement?) of Brammo and Flextronics is an important one not only for the Ashland based company, but also for the electric motorcycle industry as a whole.

Some of the biggest problems facing any startup in the motorcycle industry are distribution and assembly. With the demand for electric motorcycles being a global issue, electric motorcycle startups, which are based primarily in the United States, have to not only grow their businesses domestically, but perhaps more importantly they need to foster a presence abroad in foreign markets.

With Europe and Asia easily out-pacing the demand in the US for electric transportation, an issue of contention for cash-strapped startups like Brammo has been how to grow globally and effectively with their limited budgets. The solution in this case for Brammo, is partnering with Flextronics, and using their scalable global production facilities.

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Bikes

MINI Electric Scooter Concept at Paris Motor Show

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BMW subsidiary MINI is set to debut an electric scooter concept at the Paris Motor Show later this year in October. Dubbed the MINI E Scooter Concept, the bike will likely be shown along with MINI’s rumored electric car, or MINI E Concept, which has been testing in New York and Los Angeles. The pairing of electric cars with electric scooters is becoming the go-to strategy for the German automakers, as Mercedes-Benz is expected to unveil an electric scooter along with an all electric car at the Paris Motor Show, both under the company’s Smart brand.

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