Wednesday, April 29, 2009

EnvironMoto Props: www.AsphaltandRubber.com

AsphaltandRubber: EnvironMoto has to give our highest compliments to http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/. We have recently discovered this blog and cannot say enough about it. A&R is well written, beautifully designed, and features great articles on all aspects of motorcycling with a distinct bent towards motorcycle roadracing and motorcycle design.

Of particular interest to ‘electric-motophiles’ are the articles by Jenny Gun covering the electric motorcycle scene. Great stuff, and certainly work that this hack blog and it’s particularly hack writer aspires to!

Relevant to our previous TTXGP posts is this great article by Jenny Gun detailing the TTXGP entries: TTXGP Entries Announced

Mission Motors: Testing Electric Racebike for TTXGP at Infineon

Mission Motors has recently run their TTXGP contending, Mission One electric motorcycle at Infineon Raceway (California, USA).

This is the first US entry for the TTXGP to be seen in action on the track. The bike looks great and appears to be very close in appearance to the renderings, and construction photos previously shown on Mission’s website. So far there are no details on lap times or top speed at Infineon.

For action photos go to the Asphalt&Rubber article.

Source: Asphalt&Rubber

Friday, April 17, 2009

Mission One: This Electric Motorcycle is the Target All Builders Will be Aiming For


There is much to discuss about the Mission One. This electric motorcycle is setting a very high mark for Performance, Styling, and Engineering. The best part is that they intend to run at the inaugural TTXGP.

Mission has all of the key ingredients to be a big player in the industry, and quite frankly they understand that they need to be the Tesla of the motorcycle world. I’m sure this has a lot to do with the former Tesla and Ducati NA people that are putting it all together.

Those who follow the EM scene have seen this machine since it was unveiled a couple of months ago. I’ve intended to write about it since then, but have not had a chance. I still don’t, but I want to leave you with a glimpse of what direction the electric motorcycle industry is going. This is where the future is:

www.RideMission.com

Monday, April 13, 2009

Time For A Revamp

I’ve been neglecting EnvironMoto.com for far too long. It hasn’t been for lack of worthy topics or a creative drought by any means.

More than anything it has been a lack of time. My personal ethics won’t let me put something out there for the world to see unless it is work that I feel is informative and gives my readers a lot of value for their time. The ideas are there, but the time to compose a decent article that is half-way worthy of my excellent readership hasn’t been.

So, I’m going to try a little different approach. I’m not going to try to set the world electric motorcycle coverage on its ear. There are some fantastic blogs (like AutoblogGreen and Gizmag) and forums (like ElectricMotorcycleForum) that are doing an excellent job of scooping the latest test rides, innovations, and technology.

Instead I’m going to focus on the aspects of electric motorcycles that are my first true loves within motorcycling to begin with: Design and Racing.

For those who don’t know, I’m a former art student and terrible amateur artist. Additionally, I am a motorcycle track day whore and a rabid motorcycle roadracing fan. This is in addition to my background as a mechanic and my current career as a mechanical engineer.

So, expect to see shorter articles that will go into detail on racing like the upcoming TTXGP, and the racier EM’s coming along like the Mission One. I am a staunch believer in the ‘mainstreaming’ of electric motorcycles and improvements that make them more viable for the street rider and modern motorcycle enthusiast. A good deal of my articles will continue to ask for more from the manufacturers in making designs that look incredible and deliver on real world performance. I firmly believe that deign for racing and performance inherently trickles down to amazing street equipment.

I am making a commitment to update the blog weekly at the very least. This content will range from detailed design evaluation to small comments and links leading to the best EM news or information on the web. I also intend to improve the appearance of the blog and make some tweaks over time to create a slicker and easier to digest format. I hope that you will stay tuned to EnvironMoto.com “Version 2.0” and come back for more.

Thanks,
Chris