The Sound and Fury of Electric Roadracing

Video released this week of the TTX01 electric road racing motorcycle in action poses an interesting question: What is the future of motorcycle racing going to sound like?

The video is set to music and leaves a lot to conjecture (go to AutobloGreen to see/hear it).

Take into consideration that under relatively quiet electric power, we will be hearing sounds that are normally masked by the barely silenced succession of internal combustion explosions in a conventional racing motorcycle. Breaking down the mechanical aspects of an electric motorcycle in a roadracing environment, there are several elements which will combine to create a unique sound:

Wind Sound – the whistle or roar of air being displaced by a bike and rider at speed
Tire Sound – the cyclic slip and grip sound of a slick forced to the limits of adhesion
Brake Sound – the vibration of brake pads contacting a rotor while aggressively shedding velocity
Chain Whir – the sound of rollers impacting sprocket teeth
Motor Hum – the sound of air and electricity moving through a motor as the rotor spins
Gearbox Whine – the sound of helical or straight-cut involute gear teeth engaging and disengaging each other at various RPM

A bellowing staccato or a high RPM scream is the natural byproduct of tuning an internal combustion engine for maximum performance. A sound appreciated by most enthusiasts.

The electric race bikes being built for the inaugural TTXGP are essentially typical of any racing machine. They are being built for shear speed and aggressive handing. Any sounds that result are those of pure purpose, not audible aesthetics.

Builders of road-going, production electric motorcycles will have the more complicated job of taking these elements of sound into consideration. They will have to craft a palatable symphony from them. Then again maybe the collection of sounds emanating from an electric race bike will become the accepted sounds of speed and power that street riders will lust for, just as they do with gasoline-powered machines. The result may be the most realistic race replica motorcycles that street riders have ever seen.

Source: AutoblogGreen via TTXGP

Barefoot Motors: Ely Schless Design to Compete at TTXGP

Barefoot Motors will compete at the inaugural TTXP with an Ely Schless designed chassis. Schless is famous as the former CEO of Electric Moto and creator of the Blade XT electric dirt bike (pictured above).

Schless' TTXGP racebike design should be very interesting. To really understand what a modern inventor/genius Schless really is and how much clout he has in the industry you must know a little bit about his background.

The Ashaland (Oregon) Daily Tidings had a great interview with Ely Schless in 2007 that is well worth a read to gain some insight into the man's background and focus.

Source: AutoblogGreen

Electric Motorsport Unveils TTXGP Entries!

US-based electric motorcycle manufacturer, Electric Motorsport Inc., has released it's Open Class and Pro Class entries for the June 12th TTXGP at the Isle of Man.

The GPR-S (pictured above) will race in the Open Class and the Yamaha R1 based, R144 will race in the Pro Class.

Perfomance details have not been released but it does look like Electric Motorsport will be ready to rock in 39 days!

Source (and more photos): TTXGP or Electric Motorsport

Bombardier EMBRIO

This is a blast from the past. Okay, a blast from only three years back but that is an eternity on the web. The Bombardier EMBRIO is still a fascinating concept. If you don’t remember it, or haven’t seen it before, check out this article on Gizmag from “back in the day”.

We’ve dug up the EMBRIO to post on EnvironMoto because it’s a great concept that still looks cool and is still relevant in the ‘green’ (or ‘blue’ if you are reading this in Europe) motorcycle world. The intentions of the concept were to offer a cooler and sportier counterpoint to the amazingly lame Segway Personal Transporter. Bombardier did not intend for the Embrio to be a high performance sport motorcycle like the Mission One or EV-o RR.

The EMBRIO concept is enticing and you have to wonder what it would be like to ride a high performance mono-wheel sportbike. As electric motorcycle design continues to evolve, maybe we will see the EMBRIO or a machine like it come to fruition.

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 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

Enertia

The more research I do on electric motorcycles, the more incredible products I find. Today some searching has led me to the Brammo website and the Enertia electric motorcycle.

Link: http://brammo.com/

Photo (via MSN Autos): http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=434471

I’m excited about this bike for two main reasons: Styling and Utility.

Styling: The Enertia looks fantastic. It has a modern industrial look that is very current (think Nissan Xterra or Scion Tc). It does remind me a bit of the Aprilia Moto 6.5 design from 1990’s (here’s a link: http://www.bikepics.com/aprilia/moto650/). It looks like a real motorcycle with full sized wheels, foot pegs (versus step-thru scooter designs), and bodywork that alludes to conventional fuel tank and engine locations. The solo seat pulls in a streetfighter or chopper feel. Overall it has a great design that is approachable and modern enough to gain the attention of someone new to motorcycling or curious about EV’s, but commanding enough to turn the heads of more seasoned sport riders. It’s a great styling approach, and probably makes their marketing people happy because it is unique and can be readily identified with the brand. In silhouette, the Enertia will not be confused with a Harley Davidson or a Japanese sportbike.

Utility: The Enertia’s performance is said to be on par with a Kawasaki Ninja 250 (but with far greater torque at any RPM due to the electric motor). Top speed is around 50 mph and distance between recharges is 40 to 50 miles. This makes the bike highly useable for an urban commuter that doesn’t have to take a major highway to and from work. A rider can potentially ride to work (in style!), park the bike without worry of finding an electrical outlet, then ride back home and recharge over night. Recharge time is 3 hours for a full charge, which is reasonable for the level of performance and range the Enertia is capable of. To sum things up; performance is acceptable to an average urban commuter familiar with motorcycle, scooter, or even bicycle transport.

Reading through the Enertia website, I’m excited about the bike and the company. I could go on and on about the use of carbon fiber and other well thought out aspects of the Enertia design. I have a lot of respect for their philosophy, design, and engineering. I have to admit that it’s always been my dream to work for a motorcycle manufacturer and I’d be a part of their team in a second! Ah, if only they were on the East Coast; I’d be knocking on their door to see if they could use an environmentally conscious Mechanical Engineer with automotive, aircraft, and truck experience and a background in art and motorcycle mechanics…