We are in the midst of an electric motorcycle revolution, and nowhere is that more obvious than on the racetrack. The new technology is not about tweaking the status quo. It’s about shattering it. And that’s just what Michael Czysz plans to do at the TT Zero motorcycle race.
The head guy at MotoCzysz — that’s pronounced MotoSizz, as in sizzle — is returning to the Isle of Man for another run at the famed Mountain Course on a supersexy electric motorcycle that is sure to make your heart skip a beat. Last year’s bike, the equally gorgeous E1PC, used three motors and 10 lithium-ion batteries. Czysz says it would do zero to 120 mph in seven seconds, but we’ll have to take his word for it. Mechanical gremlins sidelined the bike during the inaugural TTXGP electric motorcycle race.
As good as that bike may have been, it’s last year’s model. The bike we’ll see this year shares just 10 percent of its parts with the E1PC. Czysz says the technology is changing too fast to look back.
“At this stage of the series, nobody should be showing up with the same bike they did last year. Period,” he says.
Besides — it isn’t like Czysz isn’t full of ideas. He’s a high-end architect and motorcycle fanatic with a history of going against the grain and redefining what’s possible in motorcycle design with panache and innovation.
MotoGP god Valentino Rossi checks out the future of his sport during last year's TTXGP.
Czysz and his crew in Portland, Oregon, made their name with the C1 990, a MotoGP contender the likes of which the world had never seen. It had a full carbon-fiber frame. An innovative suspension. And a glorious 220-horsepower longitudinally mounted engine. Those who rode it raved about it, but the bike never saw competition because MotoGP’s rulemakers switched from 1,000-cc engines to 800-cc engines.
Still, why make the 180-degree change to eMotos?
“We had taken the C1 to a level that we thought was worthy of going to the next level,” Czysz said. They were going to prep the C1 for production. But while talking to different manufacturers, they got the sense the trend is tipping toward fuel efficiency over maximum power. So that got him thinking.
“We needed to refocus for something more relevant and utilize our existing assets of design, innovation and creativity to focus on the beginning,” he says. That said, leaving the C1 behind wasn’t an easy decision.
“That decision actually sucked,” Czysz says. “I liked everything about the (gas-powered) bikes. I didn’t like anything about the eMoto until I got more educated on it. Eventually everything made sense.”
Now that it’s making sense for him, Czysz is ready to wow the world once more.
The crux of his latest design is the all-new Electric D1g1tal Dr1ve System with a proprietary controller, the Electrical Storage System. Czysz claims the package is one of the highest torque-density motors in the industry. He opted to design his own motor because he doesn’t think the stuff that’s out there is up to spec.
“They are made for golf carts and commercial use,” he says. “They are designed with a different priority list than what we are coming up with now.”
Agni Motors, among others, may disagree. Team Agni smoked the rest of the field at last year’s TTXGP, finishing more than four minutes ahead of the second-place finisher and lapping the course 10 mph faster than anyone else. Agni is back for the TTXGP championship now that the race series has split from the Isle of Man. It also is providing the motors for the Mavizen electric superbike.
Czysz is using a liquid-cooled brushless DC (BLDC) motor with an internal permanent magnet, or IPM, design. It produces 75 kilowatts (100 horsepower) and 250 pound feet of torque. If you can’t follow the geek-speak and alphabet soup, this is all you need to know — the motor provides boatloads of torque and near-optimum 93 percent efficiency under continuous heavy load.
Czysz says this year’s E1PC will be “like no bike you have ever seen,” and based upon last year’s bike, we believe him.
The MotoCzysz EDD is a hell of a thing.
The “suitcase” design frame features a central spine instead of twin spars like a conventional motorcycle. That provides faster access to the 10 batteries, which can be swapped out in seconds. The rear suspension is all-new, but the otherworldly Czysz fork is back. And that’s about the end of the similarities with last year’s ride.
“This year’s bike should make last year’s bike look quite antiquated,” Czysz says. “It is five years more advanced than last year.”
So what’s it look like? He isn’t saying. Even if he wanted to unveil the bike now instead of sticking to his plan to unveil it at the Isle of Man prior to the race on June 9, he couldn’t. It doesn’t actually exist yet. He’s got a motor and controller on the dyno, batteries on the test bench and more than 100 parts in the queue to be manufactured.
With three months until the flag drops, Czysz and company have their work cut out for them. But they’re no strangers to coming down to the wire. Mark Miller hadn’t even ridden last year’s entry before race day. It doesn’t matter how good you are — that’s the definition of gutsy considering run-off areas on the Mountain Course often consist of stone walls.
Despite the scramble to finish and last year’s DNF due to electrical issues, Czysz is confident his bike will not only take the checkered flag but also the £10,000 prize — about $16,000 — promised to the first rider to post a 100-mph lap. And who’s his biggest competition?
First and foremost, he says, “the mountain.” A 37.5-mile winding course is a test to any bike, let alone one packed with up-to-the-second technology. And then there’s Team Agni.
“I have a hunch of what they are doing, evolving and polishing,” he says, so he won’t be completely surprised. “But they have 25 years in the electric-drive world and that counts for something.”
Czysz is out to do more than race. He wants to be a player in the emerging electric-motorcycle market. If you’ve got a hankering for an eMoto of your own, you can pick up a MotoCzysz D1g1tal Dr1ve system complete with batteries and a chassis — designed to accept virtually any swingarm — for $42,500. It’s less if you don’t want the batteries. Step up now and Czysz will knock $10,000 off the price if you’re among the first 15 people in line. Hell — he’s even willing to lease bikes to qualified teams running in the TT Zero or TTXGP.
We know what you’re thinking … you want the whole bike, so when can you buy one? You can’t. Not yet anyway. There’s too much proprietary race tech in it. Not that you’d want to spend six figures for a motorcycle.
That said, there’s a good chance a 2010 E1PC replica could be for sale within the year.
Article from Wired
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