Build Electric Motorcycle

The SCiB is Toshiba's breakthrough rechargeable battery that offers excellent long life and rapid recharging characteristics. Since its introduction, the battery has earned a high evaluation that supported its selection for Honda's new electric motorcycle.

SCiB cells will be housed in an SCiB module integrating a battery management system that utilizes the capabilities of the SCiB to the full; it controls overall charging and discharging by analyzing factors that include temperature and voltage. The SCiB's long cycle life and rapid recharging will allow EV-neo to recharge to 80% of full capacity in only 20 minutes with a rechargeable power source.

Honda plans to launch "EV-neo" in December 2010.

Toshiba positions the SCiB as a new business with promising long term growth potential. The company plans to produces SCiB for industrial applications at Kashiwazaki Operations, a new facility in Niigata prefecture that will start production in 2011. Kashiwazaki Operations will manufacture SCiB for battery-powered electric vehicles and for the power storage market that will accompany the coming transition to smart grids.

It’s about time an American sportbike company jumped into the eMoto scene, and if you thought Erik Buell would be the guy to do it, think again. Roehr is the new champ in all-American motorcycles, and it isn’t kidding around with its electric bike. If it looks and performs anything like the Roehr 1250sc, we are in for a real treat.

With racing in his blood and experience working with the likes of Jimmy O’Donnell to win the Battle of the Twins, Walter Roehrich took his passion for racing and put it — and a whole lot of money — where his mouth is. He started Roehr Motorcycles about two years ago and launched the Roehr 1250sc (pictured above) not one year later. It’s a power-drunk two-wheeler that weighs 432 pounds, produces 180 hp and offers enough go-fast goodies to fill a grown man’s toy store.

Now Roehrich has his sights firmly fixed on a wicked battery-powered brother to the 1250sc and wants to race it in the TTXGP motorcycle green grand prix. The cleverly nicknamed eRoehr is slated to hit the market this spring and cost one-third as much as his closet competitor, Mission Motors and the slick Mission One.

“We don’t want to be $60K to $70K. So cost had a lot to do with it,” Roehrich said. “We want to sell these to people.”

A sneak-peek rendering of the Roehr electric superbike.

Roehrich used mass-manufactured parts engineered and tested for full life-cycle reliability to assemble a package any two-wheeled junkie would want to throw a leg over.

The 35-kilowatt AC motor made by Hi Performance Golf Cars provides 45 horsepower at 96 volts. The beauty of the AC motor means no brushes, no commutator to resurface and no arcing. Translated into lay terms, it’s 100 percent maintenance-free and the company claims it ran for 10 years nonstop in testing. Running them at slightly higher voltage, Roehrich ekes out 48 horsepower at 8000 rpm and 105 pound-feet of torque in the eSupersport.

The TTXGP just keeps going from strength to strength and keeps getting cooler and cooler. The TTXGP were able to field 17 teams for their electrified version of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. And now for their ongoing electric motorcycle series they’ve just added another team: 666 Road Racing out of England.

Although it might sound like a deal with the devil, the only thing hellish about 666 Road Racing is how damn fast their bikes are.

“There are not many podiums we haven’t been on this year as suppliers and that has been consistent over the last few years. We produce components for all the biggest teams that run in Europe – no surprise when we turn out the lightest, strongest and sexiest race fairings, components and accessories on the planet!” said 666 Road Racing Co-Founder Nick Potts, looking to convert their success as engineers to the race track.

Azhar Hussain is bringing his electric-motorcycle green grand prix to the United States, and the first race is slated for Northern California.

Just two days after unveiling the Mavizen TTX02 electric superbike, the founder of the TTXGP eGrandPrix announced Infineon Raceway will host America’s first running of his zero-emissions race. The race will be May 14 to 16 during the AMA Motorcycle Sonoma Showdown weekend.

“Competition improves the breed, so we hope this new U.S. championship will come to be seen as a milestone event in bringing new transportation technology to the world beyond motorcycling,” Hussain said. “We invite the best and the brightest in the world to join us at Infineon Raceway for the dawning of the next generation of motorsports in the United States.”

As you might expect, Infineon officials are thrilled.

“When it comes to development of zero-carbon motorcycles, Northern California is the center of the industry, so it makes perfect sense that Infineon Raceway should host the first event in this historic new series,” said raceway president and general manager Steve Page.

Brammo, which is based in Ashland Oregon, and the European teams that developed bikes for last year’s TTXGP on the Isle of Man may not agree Northern California is the epicenter of the fledgling field, but Infineon is a great place for the race. The track, formerly known as Sears Point, is a 2.25-mile course in the hills north of San Francisco with 12 turns when set up for American Motorcyclist Association events.

It should be a good test for the 130-mph TTX02, which Mavizen built to provide ready-made machines to anyone wishing to compete in the eGrandPrix. But Hussain tells us the race isn’t limited to Mavizen bikes. Anyone — and he specifically mentioned Brammo and San Francisco’s Mission Motors — can compete.

“Everyone’s welcome,” he said. “Mavizen is about enabling the race.”

For that reason, Mavizen won’t field a team, preferring instead to sell its bike to anyone who wants one and provide tech support to get them racing.

“We’re not competing against people.” Hussain said. “We’re here to help other people get on the grid.”

The inaugural TTXGP on the Isle of Man drew 13 electric motorcycles. Rob Barber circled the winding 38-mile course in 25 minutes and 53 seconds to win the pro class. Chris Heath took first place in the open class with a time of 34 minutes and 17 seconds and an average speed of 66.02 mph. That’s painfully slow compared to, say, a 600cc gas-burning bike that can lap the course in 18 minutes and change. But electric motorcycle racing is still in its infancy.

No word yet on specifics of the Northern California race, but the TTX02 electric motorcycle offers some clues. The drivetrain is swappable, allowing racers to mix and match battery packs and motors to suit the circuit and their riding style. It will be sold with one of three lithium-ion battery packs. The biggest pack, the Snaefell, is an 11 kilowatt-hour unit designed for the 38-mile Isle of Man TT course. The 6 kilowatt-hour Circuit pack is good for 25 miles. A smaller “Sprint” pack is being developed for a 6-mile course. That suggests we’ll see multiple classes.

UPDATE: 5:54 p.m. Eastern: The latest word from Hussain is the race will feature two classes - a 6-mile “sprint” class and the 25-mile “circuit” course. The race will follow the same rules as the TTXGP on the Isle of Man to keep things consistent on both sides of the Atlantic. Registration opens Dec. 1.