Blogs : Neobike
The world's first "green" GP
Neobike was inspired from the start by the dream of electric motorcycles. An obscure subject today, and even more so back then. But progress continues. Yesterday, the "World's First Zero Carbon, Clean Emission Grand Prix" was run on the Isle of Man. With electric bikes making in the vicinity of 80HP, it makes sense that one racer quoted by the LA Times described the ride as "more peaceful. You can concentrate more because your eyes aren't bleeding." If a bastion of internal combustion history like the Isle of Man TT is welcoming the age of the electric motorcycle, the rest of the industry will surely do so too.The Uno
The Uno is an impressive sorta-one-wheeled design reminiscient of the Bombardier Embrio concept from several years back, which I covered here and here. The difference is, this one exists!An Electric R1 for You?
California bike builders have made an electric R1 that is remarkably close to many internal combustion streetbikes in price and performance.It's possible that the electric motorcycle revolution is going to take off not by big manufacturers releasing production bikes, but by thousands of individual enthusiasts doing conversions like this.
Using a track-beaten 1999 Yamaha R1, the conversion cost about $15,000 total. It was the brainchild of Richard Hatfield, a motorcycle enthusiast and solar panel importer based in Burlingame, and Todd Kollin, who's been making electric bikes out of past-their-prime gas-powered ones for the last six years at his Oakland shop, Electric Motorsport. Right now, the shop does custom conversions of aging internal-combustion bikes, with a turnaround time of about 30 days.
Within a couple years, the two hope to make a comparably priced production version of the bike using a custom chassis, as well as a smaller, less powerful $6,000 to $8,000 model.
Read more in Susan Carpenter's article (with video) on the LA Times website
ENV Review
Today brings this enthusiastic review of the ENV electric motorcycle I mentioned a couple weeks ago."The prototypes are light, fast and utterly practical. They also look fantastic. If that sounds utopian it is because clean power on a stylish vehicle robust enough to go anywhere is exciting. Frightened petrolheads can relax: it is possible to go fast without burning carbon."
Loud fuel cells save lives?
"The world's first purpose-built hydrogen-powered bike could be
fitted with an artificial 'vroom' because of worries its silence
might be dangerous," says this BBC report on a
new fuel-cell powered (i.e. electric) motorcycle.
Evader Invasion
Electric scooter manufacturer Evader (formerly Esarati) announced today that they have signed a United States distribution deal with a 1200-dealer network in the United States, though the websites of both Evader and the dealer network lack specifics at the moment. If Evader's products are widely available by summer here in the US, and gasoline prices hit the predicted $3/gallon, sales could be brisk!Jackal Custom Electric Cycle
As bicycles become more high-tech (disc brakes, full suspension), bicycle parts have greater appeal for builders of electric two-wheelers. The Blade is one example of this. Another is the Jackal, which benefits from advances in BMX and downhill mountain bike technology. It may be funny looking, but these guys are serious -- take a look at how many electric drag racing records they have set.
Voloci "electric motorbike"
A simple, lightweight (under 100 pounds) electric bike capable of 30mph and 20 miles per charge. They refer to it as "50cc class," but while most 50cc internal combustion machines are using designs that are decades old, the Voloci feels very fresh. Its CNC aluminum chassis is a big rigid box with components and subframe bolted to it. This kind of design makes it clear that electric propulsion, besides being clean and economical, is going to open up a lot of interesting styling opportunities. Designers don't need to accommodate liquids that need containing, exhaust that needs expelling, or combustion heat that needs dispersing. The bike can be recharged in under an hour (with the "super-fast" charger option) for about five cents' worth of electricity, and is available in your choice of battery chemistries: lead-acid (heavy, well-tested) or NiMH (lighter, $500 more expensive). If you're in New York City and simply must have one right now (though I'd recommend waiting for the sleet to stop), head on down to NYCEwheels.
Blade 04
We've written before about the Blade electric motocross/BMX bike. The new model, dubbed "Blade.04," looks even better. ElectricMoto has found a niche where electric propulsion actually makes sense today -- partly because the electric motor solves the noise problem that otherwise makes offroad riding so neighbor-unfriendly. They also now have a great head-to-head chart pitting the Blade against the comparably priced Honda XR250. The Blade weighs 75 pounds less, is faster, is cheaper to maintain, and is nearly silent. Unfortunately, the splash page for the ElectricMoto site announces a "temporary hiatus" as of January 1. Hopefully they will come back with a nice build-to-order system (this seems to be their plan) and kick off the electric motorcycle revolution in earnest.
Electric Interceptor
An enterprising Australian has made his own electric motorcycle from an old Honda Interceptor. The site has a few photos and a short video clip, with specs promised to be forthcoming. Nice work, mate!
More on the Bombardier Embrio
Wired News recently posted a story with more information about the Bombardier Embrio -- including a promotional video clip from Bombardier which, unfortunately, does not include a rolling Embrio. The article does contain this intriguing thought: "Some experts speculate that as streets become more crowded and alternative energy sources are developed, we'll see an entirely new lane emerge to accommodate miniature one-person vehicles." That may be just the sort of thing Dean Kamen had in mind with the Segway. But where do motorcycles fit into the picture?
Yet another advantage of alt-fuel vehicles
Great bit in a recent e-mail from Carl Vogel, creator of the "Vogelbilt" electric cruiser (now with sidecar-mounted generator!):...during the blackout in NY, I used the bike and the Biodiesel generator in the sidecar to power my house running on pure B100 (essentially vegetable oil).Now that's distributed power generation!
Bombardier Embrio
Forbes.com has a story today about a concept ride from Bombardier -- maker of Rotax motors, quads, snowmobiles, and subway cars -- that out-Segways the Segway. Called the Embrio, it's a one-wheeled, gyroscopically stabilized, fuel-cell-powered scooter. Who knows what it would look like in actual production (or how much it would cost!), but the list of technologies employed is fairly impressive: The Embrio also borrows several other advanced technologies from cars, like infrared night vision and an active suspension, which can vary its damping rates based on road conditions. Its riding position resembles that of a motorcycle, and it balances one or more passengers with a network of sensors and gyroscopes. To move the Embrio, you use an accelerator trigger on the left handlebar and a brake trigger on the right.Unlike the relatively lightweight Segway, the Embrio weighs 360 pounds -- about as much as a current supersport streetbike.
General, Electric
Strange but true: Potential Democratic presidential candidate General Wesley K. Clark is chairman of a company making a new kind of hub-powered electric bicycle intended for use by the US military. The New York Times said yesterday that the company, WaveCrest Laboratories, "hopes to put these motors into hybrid gas-electric cars or even hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars one day. But for now, WaveCrest is focused on bikes." They describe the technology thus: "WaveCrest puts six optical sensors in its motor, which inform a customized central processor thousands of times per second how fast the motor is rotating and how much torque it is generating. The chip then uses algorithms to determine precisely what kind of electrical pulses are needed to make the motor run most efficiently at that speed and at that torque." The military model bike, which has a claimed top speed of 30mph including front-hub-mounted NiMH battery, weighs 64 pounds. That's a lot for a bicycle. But imagine a two-wheel drive electric motorcycle utilizing these things!
Yamaha first with fuel-cell two-wheeler
The Japanese press is reporting that yesterday, Yamaha announced a fuel-cell-based powerplant for use in scooters. Given the very low reported weights of the scooters (10-20 kilograms), they must be of the stand-on-a-plank variety. There are still bugs to be worked out before entering production -- for instance, it's likely they will add a chemical battery or capacitor to store juice for quick acceleration, and they want to get the wieght down. Still, Yamaha is the first major motorcycle manufacturer to announce a two-wheeled fuel cell vehicle. Let the competition begin! I'm sure Honda has something up their sleeve...Sun Shark Electric "Safety Motorcycle"
Industrial designer Frank Didik has created a number of unusual prototype vehicles, including this enclosed one-person electric called the Sun Shark. With a claimed top speed of 50mph, it's not a highway commuter, but it does have a number of interesting features. Total weight with batteries is about 375 pounds. A small solar panel on the roof extends range by about 20 percent. Retractable outriggers keep it upright at stops. Be sure to check out Didik's other "whimsical" vehicle designs such as his folding three-person scooter.
The incredible history of Mike Corbin's electric bikes
Mike Corbin, motorcycle entrepreneur extraordinaire and maker of the fiberglass-hull Sparrow electric three-wheeler, has a fascinating history posted on the Corbin Motors site. He made a battery-powered minibike in 1970, and by 1974 had a street-legal full-size electric motorcycle (pictured). A later version of this bike was the first electric vehicle of any type to make the famous climb up New Hampshire's Mount Washington. The online book is called "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow," and proceeds from those early days to detail the development of the Sparrow over the last nine years. Here's hoping Mike has a modern electric two-wheeler on the drawing board as well.
Better riding through chemistry
You might be wondering when fuel cells will finally make it to motorcycles. How about 1967? This Union Carbide special had an electric motor juiced by an alkali fuel cell. OK, so it's more of an overweight moped, but still impressive.
Offroad electrics
ElectricMoto, based in Oregon, USA, says they make "the most powerful, highest flying, electric freestyle bikes made anywhere in the world. " The hot ticket seems to be the Blade, which has an angular supermotard-meets-trials-bike look. They expect to start shipping mid-February 2003.
