Bill Dube, designer and builder of the KillaCycle was giving an interview and demonstration at the Wired NextFest by the LA Convention Center. After the interview, in which Dube did mention he was not the usual rider, he rolled the bike into what looked like a little bit of water on the sidewalk and began a burnout. The KillaCycle, it should be remembered, is an 8 second … [Read more...]
EEStor Ultracapacitor Battery Replacement
After my question about the potential for an electric Gold Wing and all of the thoughtful comments it generated, I thought I would touch on this ultracapacitor patent by EEStor that's getting a lot of attention. EEStor says it has developed "technologies for replacement of electrochemical batteries." A bold statement in the very least. A capacitor is a rather common … [Read more...]
How About an Electric Gold Wing?
A lot of electric motorcycles are beginning to appear, especially in the last several months, and all of them are fairly light weight but at the same time fairly short range. The limiting factor isn't the electric motor or controller, it's the batteries. How do you get enough storage to give you decent range? The somewhat pricey but powerful lithium ion or lithium polymer … [Read more...]
Quantya Electric Motorcycles
What do you do when you love to ride motocross and 2 stroke engines are banned because of noise? Max Modena, living in Switzerland, decided it was an opportunity to build the Quantya, an electric MX bike without any of the usual 2 stoke buzz. Powered by a 14kW electric motor running at 48 volts, it recharges in 2 hours after a running time anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 … [Read more...]
Neodymics Electric Cyclemotor Conversion Unit
Almost 2 years ago, I pointed to the NeoDymics bike to moped conversion unit after inventor, Jeff Radtke wrote in to tell me about it. I thought it was pretty cool but never heard anything more. Jeff wrote in today, telling me he has an all new version called the Neodymics Electric Cyclemotor. He says the first generation prototype destroyed the wheel rim when he hit a pothole … [Read more...]
Zero Electric Motorcycle
Just one month ago, the Enertia electric motorcycle from Brammo Motorsports looked liked a winner from the price / performance perspective and now following close behind is the Zero electric motorcycle, an electric motocross bike being adapted for road use which promises to push the price even lower. Zero has been selling the dirt bike for some time at a price of $6900. With … [Read more...]