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Asphalt & Rubber is pleased to announce that John Boyed will now be a regular contributing author to our daily news mix. John will cover general motorcycle news with a focus on the rising electric motorcycle scene. John has been a long time motorcycle enthusiast, and spends “far too much time digging around on the internet.” He has followed the electric motorcycle scene closely, and has a particular interest in the niche markets that occur in our sport. Our kind of guy for sure.

John owns and operates .

mission-one-motors-infineon-test-1

Only 45 days remain until the start of the TTXGP, and , has been spotted taking laps at Infineon Raceway (Sears Point to CA locals) in California, with pictures to boot.

It looks like most of the original CGI of the digital concept has made it into street form. We’re still not crazy about the nose section, but the rest of the bike looks like a candidate for a TRON re-imagining. There’s no word on lap times or other performance numbers, but it looks like Tom Montano was giving the bike a proper thrashing around the coastal track. 

Source: TTXGP via Autoblog Green

motoczysz-ttxgp

Entries for the upcoming TTXGP have been announced, and five teams have entered to run the Isle of Man on electric wheels. Mission Motors, EVO Design Solutions, Kingston University, Brammo, and Motorczysz will make up the field. The teams have just 64 more days to get their bikes ready for competition, which could be a tall order for some of them, whose bikes still only exist as CAD drawings.

We have a very reserved opinion on how TTXGP will go down. While these teams have been able to gain a great deal of attention in the blogsphere about their projects, it would seem virtually all of them haven’t actually built even a prototype yet (excluding Brammo). In the tech industry, we call this Vaporware, and with less than 10 weeks before race day, we have a hard time conceiving how all these teams will be able to deliver in this short of a time frame. Never-the-less, the TTXGP will be a big day not only for electric motorcycle racing, but also for electric motorcycles in general. Continue reading for a description of each team from their press releases.

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Zero Motorcycles has made the logical next step in its bike line-up by now offering a Supermoto version of its electric dirtbike, the Zero X. Zero has added 17″ street tires and a projector headlamp to make the transition necessary from dirt-track to city streets. With 31 horses and 62.5 lb-ft of torque instantly available, the clutchless one-speed “S” should make it up to 60 mph. Its four kWh battery lasts up to 60 miles, and can be recharged with the integrated charger, which will charge the battery up in less than four hours.

 

In a post titled “TTXGP”, Motoczysz, the American MotoGP hopeful, has posted up on the company’s blog what appears to be a message hinting at a shift in the company’s focus to developing an electric motorcycle.

“It became very apparent to me that I was working to catch up in an era coming to an end – maybe I should set off and try to lead in an era arriving” -MC

It seems Motoczysz will be abandoning their efforts for a new electric bike. Now the speculation will be what parts of the C1 prototype will make it into the electric GP contender.

According to Mark Wells, Senior Partner at Xenophya Design, the goal of the EV-0RR was to create an evocative and exciting concept that would inspire sponsors to buy into the electric sportbike concept.

The electric bike is slated to compete in the Time Trial Extreme Grand Prix being hosted at the Isle of Man on the 12th of June this year. The EV-0 RR features a monocoque chassis, supported by its carbon-fiber fairings, a single-sided front and rear suspension, and twin electric motors.

The engineers behind the EV-0RR claim it will have the power, weight, and speed of a 600cc sportsbike, which makes this a serious electric replacement to the standard gasoline-powered sportbike.