magellan

The only thing I would add is that even a daily runner can benefit from sitting on a battery tender when not in use. It's easier on the charging system and the battery is always 100% (or close) at the start of a ride.

I like the minimal appearance of the siping on the Pilot Road 2 better than that of the Road 3s, so I'm thinking Road 2 rear and PPIII front. Any feedback on that combo?

Fantastic, Keith! The coffee cup belongs there! I wish I could have joined you, but I was in Colorado in cages for a long weekend... :blink: It's about time for me to go up too and visit my buddy.

Rob, I've been away from VFRD for weeks and just read the thread. I'm terribly sorry to read all this and hope Discovery Channel gets better programming soon! Best wishes for a 90%+ recovery for both the shoulder and foot. Oh, and thanks for taking one for the team! :fing02:

cassandtim just told me about the mishap last night. Pop your head out of the garage for a minute and let us know you're still recovering well, would ya? I hope to see you at the meet, even without your "hot date". :biggrin:

Seb will be at my plave later this month.......were going to bond alright.........yea........bond......... :laugh: What does that say? Seb will be your slave later this month?! Leather and mesh and male bonding...man, did I come to the wrong thread :blink:

I did exactly the same thing, except that I made the hole in the earplugs with a red hot needle. Works great!

True. If you could push any sort of generator into motion and get more energy out than was used to put it into motion, you would achieve "overunity", a condition that would defy the second law of thermodynamics. Although many bull$hit artists claim to have achieved overunity, none of them has ever done it under peer review or for mass production; i.e. it doesn't work in our universe, in which time flows linearly toward entropy. Sad, but true. Of course, many people want to believe in such things anyway, and I know of many who have spent a great deal of time and money trying to beat Newton with hydrogen generators and the like for their cars. Most of them eventually realize that it takes more energy to perform the electrolysis than the hydrogen adds to power produced by the engine. I asked one guy (who was quite gung ho about his pet project) how many amps he was drawing to separate the hydrogen he was introducing to his fuel supply. He assured me that although he had already gone through several alternators, he was just one breakthrough away...You can easily imagine the OCD loop such thinking can trap you into.

I know how you feel. I'm not planning to sell my ICE (internal combustion engine) VFR. I love carefully timed explosions of dino juice as much as the next guy (but painfully aware of the unsustainability of billions of us turning oil into greenhouse gases). On the other hand, the flat plateau and instantaneous torque of an electric motor, when combined with variable regen (imagine being able to program in exactly as much "engine braking" as you want), no shifting (although some electric bikes with lower-output motors do use gearboxes), and eventually traction control, take driving into and out of corners to a new level. Just go in deep trailing the "brakes" (putting energy back into the batteries), hit your apex, and roll on the throttle with no hiccups. The connection between rider and rear wheel is more telepathic than on the best ICE bike. One thing that I value most about the MotoCzysz/TTxGP experience is that I got to see team ideas become concrete reality. This stuff really works. At this point we need a few key ingredients to come together and "electric", "supersport", "lightweight", and "equal to ICE" can all be used in the same sentence with a straight face. Racing will spur innovation to that end like nothing else.

I heard that one team on race day crossed the finish line on foot pushing the bike (legal). Shows a lot of heart from the rider.

Miguel: "I prefer synthetic electrons imported from Italy and a big extension cord." Baileyrock: "Well, to each his own, but I get a faster charge with homemade ones when I attach a generator to my stationary bike. I just pretend I'm pursuing Angelina Jolie up a steep hill." Kanadian Ken: "Hmm...We found a way to extract ours from Alberta tar sands, but the sticky residue makes for long charging times."

So, since the resistance was reduced due to the "fantastic design".....and we assume that the resistance was reduced to a value of less than 1 Ohm, then resistance IS futile. Lets hope Loni can fudge the numbers on the multimeter lol Uh, oh, here come the EE jokes... :fing02: :dry:

You're not dead yet! If nothing else, find a mad scientist and offer to lend a hand :dry: The bike you describe is what I'd like to build. We'll see what the year brings in terms of time and development resources.

The Mid-Ohio eGrand Prix is really just a parade lap, an exhibition. It needs to be a real race to entice the teams to spend the money and time it will take to be there. I guess Azhar Hussain (organizer of the TTxGP) is trying to make it a proper race now, but time is short and commitments need to be made to get bikes and people transported. Michael Czysz will ultimately decide whether the E1pc will be there, but right now it's still unknown. As soon as I get the word, I'll post up.

How long would the range have to be for your use, based on your current riding habits? Would you be interested in a hybrid with a 30 to 40-mile electric-only range before a piston engine serving only as a generator comes on to recharge the pack? That may be the direction I explore next unless I see a major advance in battery energy density in the next few months. I think the generator would hardly run at all for the average commuter, though it would be there for longer rides. The only downside would be solving the issue of long storage periods for shitty ethanol-polluted gas (yes, I said ethanol is shit, but that's a whole other topic :dry: ). I like the idea of leaving the gas engine in its optimal rpm range and efficiency under constant load, and driving the wheel with a silent motor and a shaft or belt, which would make the bike very torquey and quiet. We can add a bullhorn with TIE fighter or Ferrari sound effects later

Yes, the bike was purpose built. Only part of the carbon fiber frame and steering head came from the original C1. Everything else was designed and built locally or in-house within the past six months. Not yet. The bike is in a crate en route to the U.S. right now. I'm sure Michael Czysz, the owner of Motoczysz and team leader, will want to target any and all trouble areas, but we haven't had a team meeting since the race. Not sure what, if anything, was found after I left the IOM.

Sure is. On race day we had a ridiculous amount of energy storage; enough to complete the course at full speed with the gearing we were running. I believe we had more energy aboard than any other team, but it's kind of a moot point when a motor fails three miles in :fing02:. Kind of ironic, since electric motors are known for their low maintenance and reliability. It's hard to say what Motoczysz will do next year, but I'm hoping they give it another go.

Let's get that brew. And I hope you're there next time, too, bro. :fing02:

I always need traveling buddies. I can't drink all that Guinness alone... :laugh: Since ours was the "green" race, for the race we had to put stickers on with a green background. Saw some night-time shenanigans, but missed the "all-day breakfast" and Purple Helmets. We did hit a few pubs and a pizza joint on the prom though. Guess I'll have to go back for that other stuff!! :blush:

Ouch! Yeah, they made us have redundant safety switches for the corner workers. These electric bikes are actually quite safe, though. You should see all of the nervous firefighters running around with fire extinguishers at the ready when the gas bikes get ready to race!

Motoczysz E1pc and Me.JPG I've just had the adventure of a lifetime, and wish all of you could have been there with me, so I'll try to convey the experience in words and pics as well as I can. Most of the underlying story is here, but there's definitely more to the tale... Six months ago I became part of a team, headed by Motoczysz Inc. of Portland, Oregon, that intended to build an electric-drive racebike for the world's first zero-emissions grand prix, the Isle of Man TTxGP, which just took place on June 12th. You can imagine how ambitious (crazy?) it was to believe we could build a competitive racer in just six months :laugh: , let alone arrange for practice time and shipping of the bike and team to the IOM, but we did it! Motoczysz E1pc.jpg By May 25th, the Motoczysz E1pc was in the crate and heading across the pond. I flew over on June 5th. My first impressions were all good. Motorcycles everywhere, with riders who traveled from Ireland, U.K., France, Germany, Italy and farther, not to mention the ancient villages, stone walls, and hedgerows, and stunning vistas everywhere we went. IOM - Douglas.JPG I'd guess (pulling this out of my ass a bit) that there were as many as 5000 motorcycles on the Island while I was there (I've never seen so many VFRs - in Europe they sell like mad - and I didn't get to meet any of the riders!), most of them visitors who were constantly out on the roads throughout the week, splitting lanes with cars going each direction beside them with only inches to spare. It was amazing and hair-raising, but I never personally saw a biker down while I was there (though I heard reports of it happening). If you imagine a whole island nation where the motorcycle is revered as king, you've got the picture. My kind of place! :blush: So Many Bikes!.JPG Most of the energy is definitely focused around the Start/Finish line in Douglas, where the grandstands, paddocks, merchandise stalls, tent villages, and race prep areas share space. The first thing I visited was an amazing Norton museum near the entry gate. Norton1 IOM.JPG Notice the Spare leather Drive Belt!.JPG While wandering near the grandstands, I bumped into this guy signing autographs. MotoGP racers deserve their due, but roadracers like John McGuinness put their lives on the line at a whole 'nother level. John McGuinness.JPG The next few days are still a blur. Our team spent most of our time meeting TTxGP organizers and other teams, going through ACU (Auto-Cycle Union, the governing body for UK motorcycle racing) and electrical tech inspections, and then finally revealing our bike to the public. What are the odds that Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini would be on hand that day to see and rev our bike before signing the "tank" cover?! It's true! That's Rossi in the yellow: Rossi, About to Sign and Rev Our Bike!.JPG There was also a perfect RC45 on hand next to Rossi's VIP paddock. I wish I'd gotten a chance to meet its owner. RC45 IOM.JPG I won't focus too much on our racing fortunes in this thread. Suffice it to say that we had set-backs, primarily focused on our motors. There will be many more motor choices for electric bikes in the near future as enthusiasm for zero-emissions motorsports catches on. Still, our bike performed extremely well during our second qualifying run and during track practice the day before the race, and the bike drew huge crowds and seemed to be appreciated as a real racebike, not just a cobbled-together hobby piece. It's not easy getting internal-combustion racing fans to expand their horizons, but I think the TTxGP did just that. Ready for Qualifying Session.JPG Motoczysz E1pc and Me.JPG Ready to Race.JPG I'm already planning to go back next year. I'm not sure I'll be with a race team next time (though I'd like to be), but once the IOM gets into your blood, you can't stay away. And next time I'm renting a bike!