Electric motorcycles zoomed into mainstream in 2010

The electric motorcycle went mainstream in 2010 by establishing new speed and performance records worldwide during events staged at quarter-mile drag strips, international speedway circuits, the Bonneville Salt Flats, Pikes Peak and an inaugural electric-motorcycle race around the world. Let's review.

The Killacycle and ElectroCat

Scientist Bill Dube is one of the earliest pioneers to drive electric motorcycle speed and performance records to historic levels. Dube, a scientist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency in Colorado, is a co-founder of the National Electric Drag Racing Association, which is an affiliate of the National Hot Rod Association. He also helped write the technical inspection manual that defined safety standards for electric dragsters racing on quarter-mile drag strips sanctioned by the NHRA.

During the past 15 years, Dube has developed the Killacycle racing platform to advance the performance of electric drag bikes by using advanced lithium-ion batteries, dual direct-current motors and a unique motor-speed controller that could electronically switch the motors from serial to parallel configuration during acceleration to avoid the need for a mechanical gear shift. The Killacycle race team, with Scotty Pollacheck as its rider, has continued to establish speed records on quarter-mile drag strips, reaching speeds exceeding 169 miles per hour in just 7.9 seconds. 

Eva Hakansson joined the Killacycle racing team from Sweden after becoming an engineering student at the University of Denver. She brought her ElectroCat motorcycle, designed with her father on a converted Italian 1990 Cagiva Freccia C12R, to help pioneer performance records in electric motorcycle racing. On June 27, the ElectroCat challenged the annual Pike's Peak hill-climbing competition. It set a first-time electric motorcycle record of 16 minutes and 55 seconds while racing up the steep 12.42-mile road course.

Orange County Choppers

Shawn Lawless, founder of Lawless Industries, is another NEDRA pioneer who recently commissioned custom-motorcycle builder Orange County Choppers to build an electric drag bike that could challenge the Killacycle on quarter-mile drag strips.  

The custom motorcycle design was a collaborative effort between the two companies where OCC focused on the mechanical design of the vehicle and Lawless Industries created the electrical drive train based on a single General Electric Co. 13-inch direct-current motor and a powerful lithium-ion battery pack. The custom motorcycle build was documented on the Discovery Channel during the current season of "American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior." Veteran top-fuel motorcycle rider Larry "Spiderman" McBride drove the electric drag bike through its paces on quarter-mile strips in late summer and recently established an NHRA-sanctioned record time of 177 mph in just 7.46 seconds in September.

Lightning Motorcycles

Richard Hatfield founded Lightning Motorcycles in San Carlos, Calif., and has succeeded in creating his first production model of a SuperBike. Hatfield's unique design uses a modified alternating-current induction motor that was originally used in the General Motors Corp. EV-1 electric car during the 1990s. The motorcycle's suspension was developed by Race Tech. The SuperBike can reach a top speed of 180 miles per hour and has a combined Environmental Protection Agency city/highway range of 150 miles before the 345-volt lithium-ion battery pack needs to be recharged.

During 2010, Hatfield's team began racing in the inaugural North American Championship of the international Time Trial Xtreme Grand Prix electric motorcycle circuit. The first TTXGP competition at Infineon Speedway in California lived up to its hype. Among other first-time competitors, the race pitted a team from Zero Motorcycles in Scotts Valley, Calif., against the Lightning Motorcycles team with its more efficient alternating-current induction motor.  

The match was a historic "tortoise and hare" competition. The high-powered but heavier SuperBike flew past all other competitors on the 2.3-mile road course straightaways while the lighter Zero-Agni motorcycle caught up in the turns, eventually outlasting its rival over the entire 11-lap circuit when the Lightning SuperBike stalled during one of the final laps.

However, Lightning Motorcycles' team went on to win successive TTXGP racing events at Elkhart Lake's Road America in Wisconsin, Mosport International in Canada and at Virginia International Speedway. They amassed 95 points toward the international TTXGP standings. Winners from the North American, United Kingdom and European championships advanced to the TTXGP Grand Final in Albacete, Spain, in late October.

In between circuit racing competitions, the Lightning Motorcycles team converted its production motorcycle to run on the Bonneville Salt Flats during several timed land speed racing events. The team established new world records for production electric motorcycles on "flying mile" courses that were recognized by the Southern California Timing Association, the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme and the American Motorcycle Association. The SuperBike recently averaged over 166 mph during two successive one-mile runs during an SCTA World Finals event in early October.

Zero Emissions Race

Also during 2010, Louis Palmer initiated the Zero Emissions Race between three electric motorcycle teams in a racing competition that will take them around the world. The three racing teams include a production Vectrix motorcycle driven by a crew from Germany, a custom Zero Tracer enclosed motorcycle from Switzerland and a custom three-wheel TREV motorcycle from Australia.  

The Zero Race started in mid-August in Switzerland, then crossed through Eastern Europe and China, arriving in Shanghai in late September. After the motorcycles have been shipped in a container over the Pacific Ocean to Vancouver, the Zero Race will resume in North America on Nov. 12. The three motorcycle teams should reach Las Vegas about Nov. 22 to recharge at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Center for Energy Research solar power test site on Flamingo Road and South Maryland Parkway.

They will then proceed south to Cancun, Mexico, by the end of November to participate in a World Climate Change Conference. After the conference, the three electric motorcycles will be shipped to Portugal where they will continue their journey through southern Europe before arriving at the Zero Emissions Race finish line in Switzerland during January 2011.

Stan Hanel has worked in the electronics industry for more than 30 years and is a long-time member of the Electric Auto Association and the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association. Hanel writes and edits for EAA's "Current Events" and LVEVA's "Watts Happening" newsletters. Contact him at stanhanel@aol.com.