What will transportation look like in the future? MotoCzysz and Indian based Bajaj seem to have their theories, and the two companies have announced a joint-venture that will explore the next generation of automobile. Releasing a vague press release, we suspect the two companies are in the process of creating prototype hybrid vehicle that will explore a form factor and design not previously seen in the automobile industry. More from the announcement after the jump.
Today I want to broach the subject of what it means to be not only a motorcycle startup, but what it means to be an American motorcycle startup. For a majority of our readers, the concept of American motorcycling is something that we have understood since our days as children. No matter how you came to this industry/sport/lifestyle, as a reader of A&R you no doubt have a strong personal compass of what is means to be an American motorcyclist, and it is something that you touch and understand on a daily basis.
The business side of this understanding is less straight-forward though. It is one thing to identify personally with what makes an American motorcycle, but it is a very different exercise to build a product that evokes that same emotion to the mass consumer. This concept becomes even more relevant today, as the motorcycle industry is still recovering from the news of Buell’s closure and Harley-Davidson’s drastic measures to stay afloat. With no precognition of this impending news, I headed to Portland, Oregon to talk to Michael Czysz, CEO of auto-biographically named MotoCzsyz. Czysz’s journey presents a unique story about a company that has twice attempted to create an American-bred sportbike, and as such is the appropriate company in which to frame our topic about what it means to be an American motorcycle startup.
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.
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
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.
Last week we showed you the . That test, and all previous tests that have been done, were conducted with the batteries not installed into the bike. This week we bring you footage of the electric race bike all gussied up and ready to go with its battery packs on-board.
Seeing the bike take a closer shape to its racing form is certainly a sight in of itself, but what intriuged us was how fast this bike can go. In the video linked after the jump we see the bike clearly hit 120mph. It does this in only 11 seconds. Sandbagging us in this video, the E1pc apparently has more, with MotoCyzsz predicting that the bike can do the 0-120mph test in a mere 7 or 8 seconds. More after the jump
Michael Czysz posted a video of the MotoCzysz Electric Superbike being tested on a dyno in preparation for the upcoming in June. The instantaneous torque of the electric motor makes the bike visibly squirm when the power comes on. The video shows the bikes thin profile and massive swing arm. Many other interesting details of the bike are visible.
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.
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.