If the number of electric motorcycles promised this year is any indication of what we will actually see, this could be the breakout year for electric power. I just received a number of computer images from BlueShift Motorcycle Company showing the new BlueShift Electric Motorcycle. The company is planning to make a formal announcement about their project in April so details to this point are a little sketchy.
The BlueShift reportedly delivers 200 foot pounds of torque, which pretty much puts any standard gasoline powered motorcycle on the trailer. As I said last month, electric motorcycles are the new torque monsters and BlueShift is definitely pushing that line in their materials and I believe it’s a good hook for any electric motorcycle company. If you can deliver 100 or 200 pounds of torque, what can the gasoline powered bikes offer to counter that? Well, besides range and convenient fillups. But I think we’re getting closer on those points but until we see actual bikes, we won’t know.
These images show the style which is sort of a power cruiser look and it appears colors are easy to change. As they say:
… we have a few other things up our sleeves…some technology not found yet on any motorcycle (gasoline or electric) that gives riders special options for customizing the look, feel and performance character of the motorcycle and communicating with other riders.
I guess we’ll have to wait a little while longer to see what they have in store.
Link: BlueShift
JC says
I generally don’t get excited or even half interested in artist renderings, but this one looks like a cool cross between cruiser and sportbike.
The exposed shock underneath will be a magnet for dirt and grime from the road though.
Claymore says
Looks pretty cool, but the nickname I already gave it is “Lay Down Sally.”
Mark X says
Looks nice. Ridable looking design, and more than enough power. If it is priced the way others of it’s ilk are priced, (+$20,000.00), It will join the others in the design and development dustbin, and lose money for it’s investors. Let’s hope they don’t make the same mistake.
Bazuzeus says
it looks cool, but I bet my shirt this one will never exist in real
bigyabigya says
Looks alot like a Tim Cameron design…
rafe03 says
Talking of torque, has anybody realized that it’s the torque that actually reaches the ground that gives you the kick in the pants. While the electric motor does give a gazillion ft.lbs at Zero RPM, that has to be effectively planted to give you the shove. Consider weight of the whole machine incl rider (think the overall mass to move), traction available from the ground surface (think soft asphalt), traction available from the tire (think smoke-out), weight transfer (think wheelstand), etc The sort of real world stuff that that’s “less than optimum”
For the SICP (standard internal combustion projectile) there is zero torque available at zero engine speed. So there has to be a “soft” connection in there to allow the engine (at torque peak of several thousand RPM) to get the overall mass moving. Normally this is the clutch, which has to have some sort of slip to allow chassis speed to commence & increase while keeping the engine working properly. There is also a gearbox in there somewhere so the engine can operate within it’s effective RPM range at any vehicle speed. (assume that 1st gear is 2:1). Then the final drive. (assume about 3:1). That makes a torque multiplier of 6 times the engine rating (say 70 Ft.lbs for a liter bike) X 6 = 260 ft. lbs available at the rear axle.
Mechanicaly, the electric drive should be simpler (fewer parts to manufacture & break) though electronically more complex. Wide operating speed range (sort of 1 speed gearbox) The chance of regenerative braking to extend range & efficiency.The noise (what noise?!). The battery recharge time. Battery maintenance & life Etc. Etc.
Still, have a look at the National Electric Drag Racing Association (http://www.nedra.com/) where “Killacycle” (http://www.killacycle.com/ ) has set a recort of 7.89 seconds @ 168 MPH! Not too shabby at all!
The upcoming TTXGP at the Isle of Man races this June hopefully will be an eyeopener for the public’s perception of the Electric Bike game (http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2008/06/30/ttxgp-clean-emissions-grand-prix-race/). As well as the several real racers being made specifically for this race, there will probably be some home made machines & some hotted-up standard electric scooters (I hope!) Down the field, It may be a case of who can finish rather than the fastest speed at the final flag. The whole event will move electric vehicles one whole step into the eyes of the world. Verry Interesting! Got to get a copy of the video!
rafe03
ep says
200 lb/ft! That’s more than my car makes. I assume some sort of traction control might be a good idea. And a whole bunch of spare rear tires.
rafe03 says
Is that a High Tech Girder front end? More details please before I order one.
rafe03
Spartandude says
Hmm…200 ft lb of torque (constant), 20 inch diameter tire, 800 lb (with rider), dry pavement/good tire COF = .9 (contact area is not necessary for calc):
Smoking tire:
800lb*0.9/2 (for equal weight distribution) = 360 lb of thrust max
200 ft*lb/(10 inch*1 ft/12 inch) = 240 lb of thrust
Conclusion: no tire smoke without some weight transfer to the front tire.
0 to 60 MPH time:
800 lbf/32.17405 ft/s^2 = 24.865 slugs
240 lbf / 24.865 slugs = 9.652215 ft/s^2
60 mph * 1.466667 ft/sec / 1 mph = 88 ft/sec
V (at time T) = 88 ft/sec = 9.652215 ft/s^2 * T
T = 88 ft/sec / 9.652215 ft/s^2 = 9 seconds
Conclusion: my 750 honda shadow would smoke this.
Disclaimer: the above values were pulled from my (*ahem*). If the tire was smaller and or the bike was lighter the acceleration would be better and the chance to do a burnout would be higher.
Still I like the design and wish my finances would allow me to build my range extending electric Kaneda’s bike replica.
Peace.
nobody says
“So there has to be a “soft” connection in there to allow the engine (at torque peak of several thousand RPM) to get the overall mass moving.”
There is one – you may have heard the component: Electric Throttle. I’m guessing there is more between the motor and batteries than a toggle switch. And if the throttle isn’t enough, there are enough programmable motor controllers available that can limit current where required. Those aren’t anything new, either.
Which means that traction control should be no problem at all on electric bikes.
Spartandude says
What about pulse width modulation for the controller. Those should be easy to integrate and you would still be able to use DC and not need to lower the voltage by resistance modification (inefficient).
todd says
RPM is an important factor that’s missing when determining what that 200 ft pounds of torque can do. Then you need to know what overall drive ratio you have to be able to compare it to any other motorcycle. I always come back to the bicycle analogy: A typical bicyclist will crank out anywhere between 100 and 150 lb/ft of torque. Problem is, that’s at only 60 or so RPM the bike has to be geared up (approx 5x’s) to get close to 30 mph.
Why don’t they just tell us how much horsepower the thing makes (torque AND rpm)? Then we can compare apples to apples.
-todd
Spartandude says
More thoughts. Other sites claim Blue Shift’s bike can accelerate from 0 to 60mph in 3 seconds. So my previous calculations are bogus for analyzing this bike. It probably gets this acceleration through gear reduction (motor is not on the wheel). Which also means that the stated torque is useless for comparison to ICE bikes. To calculate performance the gear ratio needs to be known. Although they say 200 ft lb is available across the RPM range this is just an approximation, albeit a reasonable one except near peak RPM. The torque would drop near peak RPM due to the back emf, which is based on voltage available and motor design.
I am liking this more, but I don’t think it has a good enough cost/benefit ratio to influence my next motorcycle purchase.
Peace.
Spartandude says
@ todd;
Drat should have refreshed before posting then I wouldn’t have doubled your comments.
Ry_Trapp0 says
its a little futuristic looking for me, but still looks pretty cool!
steve says
while all this looks cool it seems everyone is focused on performance from the git go. I might be wrong but remember “first gear it’s alright, second gear lean right, third gear hang on tight”. Hmmm, afordable fun machines start a revolution!.
SonOfEris says
I have noticed in your posts about electric motorcycles you always mention “range and convenient fillups” as an advantage for gasoline powered engines, and you often admit that “we’re getting closer on those points.” I don’t know if you’ve heard about the recent MIT announcement, but we are in fact getting very close to solving these drawbacks to electric vehicles.
Re-engineered battery material could lead to rapid recharging of many devices
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/battery-material-0311.html
Of course these announcements often come years ahead of their appearance in the marketplace. Maybe we’ll see this one sooner since it sounds like a variation of existing battery technology and not something altogether new.