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Münch TTE 2 Production Electric Racer – Gather Your Team and Go Racing

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Munch TTE 2 production e-racer

Mention the name MÃœNCH and you’ll likely remember the Mammut, either one of the originals or the more recent reincarnation, the MÃœNCH Mammut 2000. So, it was interesting today, when the press release arrived for the all new MÃœNCH TTE 2 production electric racer.

These production racers will make it possible for more teams to compete effectively in the electric series and Munch hopes the competition will advance technological progress in sustainable power.

MÃœNCH has already been participating quite successfully in electric racing, winning the 2011 FIM International Championship as well as the TTX GP World Championship. I will readily admit, I’ve not followed either racing series very closely and I found it fascinating that Munch was so deeply involved. Their website has the following quote:

Renouncing the use of combustion engines allows us to take part already today emission free in world wide e-bike race series. We trust in the inexhaustible power of electricity.

Not only have they renounced the internal combustion engine for racing, according to the company, there is a street e-bike currently being planned.

Munch joins with many companies moving in this direction, committed to an electric future that some of us are not yet fully convinced will happen as quickly as they envision. Seeing the anemic sales of electric cars and the slow deployment of electric motorcycles, could be either, the necessary early stages of the e-revolution to come or an indication the demand and technology are not there and may not be for a very long time. Who is right? It will be some time before we know for sure.

Münch press release:

From 2012, privateer teams all over the world can race a Münch, no less than the 2012 version developed from the successful e-bike Münch TTE 2 that carried factory rider Matthias Himmelmann to win the 2011 FIM International Championship as well as the TTX GP World Championship. For the 2012 the championship-winning team will not only build a heavily revised and improved version of the 2011 MÜNCH TTE 2 but also – as the first e-bike manufacturer in the racing world – a limited series of 9 production racers.

“In the meantime we have reached and enthused so many people on the racetracks that we will build a strictly limited series of production racers to serve a world wide market.” says Thomas Schuricht, head of MÃœNCH technical development. Schuricht is the team´s technical mastermind, who right from the start has developed the Münch TTE 2 without compromise for its racing purpose. By consequent use of lightweight technology he achieved the bike to weigh in at only little over 210 kgs – race ready, including Lithium based battery pack for the three-phase electric engine boasting 80 kW in power, maximal torque of 470 Nm on the back axle available over the entire race distance.

Every single production racer will built as identical as possible to the revised factory racer by engineers and technicians in more than 600 hours – and that does even not include adaption and tuning the bike to the individual rider´s needs. For the 2012 season, the hand built production racers will be leased to innovative teams and riders to allow them to compete on the highest international level. Free choice of sponsors for both, teams and riders, allow them to cooperate with other companies striving to advance technological progress and close the loop of sustainable mobility.

Like in 2011, the races will be held on international circuits of high renown, such as Le Mans or Laguna Seca, cheered by big crowds and creating a high media interest. The TTXGP race weekends will be shown on TV and on the internet in the USA, Europe and Asia. Races for the FIM International championship will be partly held along with the MotoGP World Championship. Also a German round at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben is supposed to be held. The new season promises great action, when the established competition for the Münch team, so far coming from China, the USA and Italy will be joined by new teams using World Championship winning technology from Lohfelden.

Season-Rent: about 50000€

Link: MÃœNCH

Posted on Filed Under: Electric motorcycles, Motorcycle Racing

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Comments

    • Its inexhaustible as long as there are hamsters to turn the wheels.
      I didn’t know Munch was into E-racing. Maybe they will take a Nissan Leaf engine and fit it into a bike next?

      • And those hamsters eat coal, or natural gas, or cute little birdies, or fuel rods.

        Electric…bring it on. But please stop with the “electric plants are clean and “manageable” when producing electricity for electric cars or motorcycles.” but suddenly transform into “smoke belching super polluters” when used for anything else.

        Turn your AC down to 60 people! Lets use that “clean energy” to it’s max potential!!

        • Forgot to mention the 2nd biggest evil right behind nuclear….hydroelectric…gasp!!..how could you?

          • Ever heard of wind, waves and the sun? All marginally competitive energy sources at the time being, but with lower costs of those, and rising costs (politically as well as financially) of oil, heyt will be the way to go. No matter what the nay-sayers believe.

            If I live long enough to see gas powered bikes being replaced by electric ones, then sure I’ll miss the sounds and the smells, – but then again I may come to appreciate the hum or whine of an electric engine.

          • Yes, I have heard of wind power. That’s the one that eats the cute little birdies mentioned above.
            Solar is interesting, but so ridiculously inefficient at turning sunlight into electricity, it may never be much more than supplemental.
            I’ve heard of waves also. Already I can hear the rumblings of disrupting the migratory route of (you pick), or destroying the turtles ability to breed, or “insert your pet cause here”

            Glad to hear someone mention the sounds and smells of internal combustion. I love em, also.

            Not trying to be obstinate here. I’m old, and have seen it before…….
            or “perhaps I’ve grown a little cynical” to quote a Blues Traveler song.

          • I live in Gent, Belgium, near the harbour, and they have a string of giant windmills. I visited one two years ago and asked about the birdies. The guy said that had been solved by first installing sound generators (ultra high or low, don’t remember) long before he joined the company. The latest blades resonate to generate a “no go sound force field”. It really works, you can see seagulls flying in front of the arc but never though.

  2. E-vehicles of al types face strong headwinds in the form of public resistance to something new, and also from politically motivated groups and individuals with interest in the status quo of fossil fuels. Granted, North America has vast reserves of oil and natural gas, and is extracting and exploiting them, but the methods required — fracking and deep-sea drilling, plus running pipelines across thousands of miles to transport them — is expensive and sensitive to environmental concerns.

    Electrical power can be produced fairly cleanly and in central locations where it is more readily controlled for emissions, and distributed through a nationwide grid that is already in place and being upgraded for the 21st century. The only technical factor restricting e-vehicles is battery life and range, and there is a tremendous amount of R&D devoted to improving all aspects of the batteries powering them.

    Already, range is improving to the point where e-vehicles are practical for commuting and short trips. Even a 25% improvement in range would make a turning point, and doubling range would make e-vehicles practical for everyday use. Recharging time is another issue, but researchers know how to reduce that time from hours to minutes, and they are working to develop a battery incorporating fast-charge technology. None of this is easy, otherwise the streets would be flooded with e-vehicles, but the potential benefits (and profits) from e-vehicles is so great that most manufacturers have active e-programs. Even the energy companies are devoting resources to e-programs; they want to be in the mix when we begin the changeover.

    So, yes, e-vehicles are in their infancy, however, those racing e-bikes are some potent infants, sort of like the baby Clark Kent lifting the back end of a truck. Can’t wait to see them all grown up.

  3. Personally, I don’t care where a bike gets it’s power from. Fossil, electricity, human power, Hydrogen or cow crap. It matters not one bit. To me it’s power and weight and acceleration. Why does everyone have to cling to fossil fuels like a pacifier or security blanket?

    If electric cars don’t sell that well, bummer. If electric bikes all look like early 60’s toaster ovens? Well that’s fixable. Battery storage a problem? That will evolve over time. Maybe not for cars and bikes at first, but for other applications and that will ultimately be transferable to bikes.

    Yes electric bikes need more development, but in this age of INSTANT gratification and results, the evolution of a new power source into an existing package will take time as in several years. I can wait. I’m in no hurry.

    I haven’t ridden an electric bike or built one, but I’m totally open to both. But it’s got to work good and look good.

  4. If the whole world said no to fossil fuels we’d have electric power sources within a decade. Denmark, with no primary resources, produces more clean power per populace than any other country. If they can do it everyone can…..if we could agree on anything! If you build it they will come, I’ve tested a Zero, FUN, puts a smile on my face. Ebikes are coming, one day an ebike will be the fastest drag bike. One day you will be carving up a canyon and some silent thing on two wheels will pass you 🙂

  6. The distance is 200km said MÃœNCH.
    It´s a racing machine – I think that is good for now.
    The street-version will surely have a greater distance.

  7. If it can travel 200 km at race speeds is mighty respectable (that’s 120 miles to us Americans) — on the street that’s more than enough for everyday riding. How many of us ride that far on any one day? For long trips, more is needed but IF this bike can race 200km on a charge, the same bike would go much further at street-normal speeds. Sounds practical to me! Charging time probably would be overnight, but that would be no problem — just plug it in when you park it for the day. E-vehicles will require some adjustments on the part of users, but there will be fewer adjustments necessary as the technology improves.

    In the early days of internal combustion, a motor jaunt was a project requiring lots of preparation and every expectation of breakdowns. From the beginning of internal combustion until vehicles became reliable enough for confident everyday use, about 30 years had to pass. E-vehicles are looking pretty well developed already after only about 10 years of serious effort. Give them another 20 years and we’ll see the beginning of the end for internal combustion as applied to cars and motorcycles.

    • Are you the same guy I talked to in 1975? Right before I bought that ridiculously expensive Hercules W2000 wankel engine powered motorcycle. You know, the one you said would make an engine with valves obsolete in 5 years?
      No? He sure sounded like you!

      Hey, have a laugh. Not picking on anyone. Future is notoriously hard to predict though.

    • The past few years the improvements made in extending the distance electric vehicles can go on one charge are big, almost like the way technology developed during WW2. Even if said range was – say – twice tor trice of what is possible today, a few touring riders would still want more. Assuming quick-charging isn’t being deleoped at the same pace as battery tech, it could be solved with provisions for changing batteries along the way, most logically at existing gas stations. At some point the manufacturers will have to (voluntarily or by decree) adopt a uniform standard for that; having different battery systems makes no more sense than if each brand of car ran on its own type of fuel.

  8. When I read these articles I am always reminded of the electric car Jay Leno has.
    He drives an electric car that is over 100 years old. Biggest problem with electric vehicles has been the range. What is the range of his electric car? About the same as a Tesla or other current “state-of-the-art” electric cars. In the last 100 years nothing has changed as with respect to the problems electric vehicles have, I don’t expect that to change any time soon.

    Electric vehicles are NOT in thier infancy, they have been developed and failed many times over the last 100 years.

    • That really isn’t quite true in respect to things not having changed in 100 years. Though electric cars have been around a bit longer, 100 years would plop us down around the Columbia, which had a roughly 40 mile range, but a top speed of only 12-15 mph. That is a far cry from something like a Tesla, which is also heavier. Batteries, though still full of suck, have vastly improved over time. Plus, overlooking some of the weird fancy richman electric wagons, vehicles are heavier now. So the tech while old, has vastly improved as the electric infrastructure has. So saying it is in its infancy is reasonably correct if viewed as becoming a very real potential for everyday use.

      Jay Leno has also stated he thinks the electric car will do what the car did for the horse. It won’t make it go away or vanish, the electric will just be for basic everyday run around. The ICE will be the stabled weekend horse fun ….thinking my bland civic as being a horse is sort of depressing though.

  9. oldernowiser —

    Nope, I wasn’t the guy, although I was taken by Wankel engines since I first read a story about them in Popular Science — which, in retrospect, is the kiss of death for most technologies. They first reported on LEDs about 40 years ago, confidently predicting we’d all have LED headlights on our cars within “a few years”. Oh, well.. at least we actually have LEDs now; I’m still waiting for my flying car.

    But Mazda did pretty well with the Wankel design after some R&D to fix those pesky seals. It never fulfilled its promise as an economical engine, but it made a heakuva good (and loud) performance/racing engine.

    The difference between those old pie-in-the-sky schemes and e-vehicles is that the major manufacturers are on board and working diligently to develop them. They see the potential and are confident that there is a future for e-vehicles. In Europe, Asia and developing nations everywhere, petroleum-based fuels are very expensive and going higher. Here in the U.S. we are discovering we have an abundance of fossil fuel, so much that we are becoming an exporter of the stuff. You can bet we’re not going to sell it cheap, and prices to the consumer also depend on refining capacity. The refiners aren’t interested in working for small dollars, so they deliberately restrict production (the memos exist; it’s not a left-wing conspiracy theory) and keep prices high. Given that, world fuel prices will continue to rise as high as the traffic will bear, and experience has shown the traffic will bear quite a lot.

    Electricity as a fuel is dirt-cheap by comparison because it can be centrally produced economically in huge quantities, then distributed easily over long distances. And don’t forget solar energy — even with the inefficient solar panels currently available to consumers, a solar array on the garage roof, charging a couple battery packs while a third pack is powering the bike would be a no-cost means to operate the machine after the array and charging station are paid for. Research on solar power isn’t standing still, either, and we could very well see the same kind of breakthroughs that are coming in battery technology. The future could be a lot brighter than we imagine.

  10. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The only thing keeping electric vehicles from selling is price. If they were the same price as an internal combustion vehicle they would sell a whole lot more of them.

    Most people have a motorcycle as a second vehicle or like myself have more than one. I rarely ride my Buell more than the range of a single tank because I prefer to ride my Harley on long trips. I could ride an E-bike to work all week long on a single charge but it will never happen if I have to pay double what a gas powered bike costs.

  11. It’s a nice looking bike and the performance is intersting. Electric vehicles are coming. The battery technology gets better every day. They’re still limited and they’re expensive to buy, but the running costs will be low. If you’re the sort of rider who changes bikes every other year then an electric bike might not be for you. I had my Ducati for 15 years, so an electric bike’s low servicing, maintenance and refuelling costs wouldn’t have looked so bad over the long term.

    I like the look of this one and the performance doesn’t sound too bad. An 80kW motor, that’s over 100hp if you didn’t know. The 210kg weight isn’t great against a sports bike as a Triumph 675 Daytona or a Suzuki GSR750 for instance weigh about 175kg. But it’s not bad, not bad at all.

  12. What sort of noises will kids growing up on e-vehicles make when playing with their toys?

    -todd

  13. No….I was the guy that blew your Camaro into the weeds with my Mazda Rotary Pickup. God do I miss that truck. V8 speed V6 fuel mileage and in ’75 no one saw a mini truck coming. I’ve yet to better my Oregon to San Diego run at ten hours. Sure, I changed engines every 50,00 miles but each one was larger stronger and a little more durable.
    The point being that keeping your head in the sand of time is safer and cheaper than experiencing the new but, especially if the technology doesn’t prove out, you may be passing up the experience of a lifetime.

  15. About as exciting as microwave oven …… I much prefer grilling and smoking … and open fire cooking …. I like muscle cars and l like V8s stuffed into compacts and sports cars. I like shot guns … big revolvers and high powered rifles. I like muzzle loaders and thiings that go BOOM.

    A few years ago there was ONE lightweight little dual purpose style e-bike that looked interesting … the ZeroÉ … which looked like it was likely to deliver daily use and some fun.

    Other than that …. if I“m in the market for something different there are still many motorcycles with real engines that go vroom … zing … or thumpathump.
    I have a long unfulfilled wish list of bikes that I want to experience … there is little place on that sheet for electrical appliances or test beds for electrical equipment.

  16. If the main point of EV development is to break our dependence on fossil fuels…well…it can`t. Nuclear energy is a (geologic) fossil, too.

    I think I`m gonna get a good power-kite for my (homemade) kite buggy. I wonder if I could take it on the road and call it my alternative energy vehicle. Maybe even apply for a grant…

  18. let me ask all of the anti electric people a simple question. for the sake of debate there is going to be a new energy generation facility built within 1/4 of a mile away from your home. there’s no stopping it. which would you rather have it be; a solar panel array, a windmill farm, a plant that burns fossil fuels, or a nuclear energy plant? I’m not asking which you feel is most efficient. i just want to know which you would rather live next to. i know what my answer would be.

    • Um, you forgot natural gas (OK, fossil fuel) and hydroelectric. Those are very prevalent around us and are very clean. If you say “solar panel array” that means you live in the middle of the desert. Wind farms are OK but they take up way too much valuable real estate.

      -todd

    • Funny you should ask, I live 600 metres from a mid sized (400 KW) hydroelectric power station, 500 from a major oil drilling operation and my neighbour has windmills and I have solar hot water and a smaller solar electric.

  19. Sorry but i could not possibly be less interested in electric bikes. Goes against all i love about ‘iron’. Actually i like flatheads, magnetos rule!

  20. I like this. I also work for a company which makes fuel cells and we have a customer who is starting to build fuel cell powered bikes. A fuel cell solves the range problem, you just need to refill your hydrogen tank, or methanol tank.
    For reference, most of the large car manufacturers are planning to have fuel cell powered vehicles available for volume sales in 2015.
    This type of vehicle doesn’t need to replace the vehicles we love, but if we use them for the day-to-day commute, it means the fun we have with our toys is a lot easier to justify and sustain.

  21. Reading all the posts on this bike, I’m struck by how much thought is going into propulsion other than I/C, or alternatives to fossil fuels. Neil’s post about fuel cells is highly interesting — it could be the quiet revolution we need. No matter how it all shakes out, one thing is certain: The Future is Now!

  22. OMG, what a lot of hot air. (Heated by green, renewable energy of course!)

    Nice looking chassis on that Munch… wonder what ENGINE would mate up…?

    (“AAAUURRRGH!”)

  23. Hey, all of you eager-to-key a comment types rehashing the same-old same-old that has already been said before ad nauseum….take a breather and go on over to the Munch site and look around at the Tech and spec sheets. There’s a lot more there to absorb and discuss than the if and or maybes regarding e-power in generalities. Ya see, there’s actually a bike featured here…

  24. In the ’60’s, Mattel produced a bicycle accessory called a “VROOOM”, basically an engine made of cheap plastic that clamped onto the frame, had a battery and a speaker in it, and made a reasonably realistic motorcycle sound. I never had one, as we were happy with baseball cards in the spokes held with clothespins for our “motor sound”. I’m thinking I get everything about the e-bikes except how silent they would be to ride, and I’m pretty sure I would miss the “sound”. Maybe someone at Mattel will realize this second chance opportunity and re-release the VROOOM for E-bikes.. Heck, with today’s modern technology, they could give you choices of sounds, like HD, Ninja, Triumph, MotoGP, CR250, BSA Goldstar, CBX, Hercules Wankel, etc. If THAT happens, I just might make the switch.

    • Great idea 37-I. But then there is a perverse fun in being like those cussed old guys on their electric scooters who sneak up on you in shopping malls and scare the beejeebers out of you. Especially the ones with “attitude”.

      Several interesting views (as always) but my personal opinion is that the Electric Bike may have a future as a daily commuter provided that we get a few things in place. Range – It will have to be at least double the commute distance. Recharge facilities – We’ll need to see secure facilities installed to avoid finding that some clown has pulled your plug and left you stranded (evidently a growing problem in Strata parking areas). Speed – It must be able to maintain at least 120% of the posted speed limits in your commute with even a low battery level. Energy cost – At present, electricity rates are relatively low but what happens when secure plug-ins become a “rentable” item …. assuming you can always find one?

      At best though, the electric bike will never replace my trusty ICE for those 1000-1400 km weekend jaunts. BTW – I’m a ’36 model.

  25. Well, @Paul Crowe, here’s what you get for bringing a interesting bike to the table. A lot of gibberish about e-power and e-bikes in general, and a bunch of other comments on anything but the bike.

    I found it interesting that the spec sheet shows the motor spinning at 12,700 rpms. Which should have prompted a response from the quasi-academia crowd that paraphrases Wiki entries on the theoretical operation parameters of electric motors. Discussion, nope.

    Which brings up another related topic from the armchair physics of mechanical loss school, since the 80KW motor would be obviously running through some sort of gear reduction.

    And it is also interesting that the “battery” is actually a bank of 680 Li’s, a system pioneered and originally assembled for experimental bikes by a couple in their garage out of south Florida, not MIT.

    Anyone notice the weight?

    Or perhaps the fact that this isn’t a bike limited to just the proprietor racer/builder/owner crowd. You and your closest 200 Facebook buds can actually buy one of these and fly it under your own banner.

    Oh well, guess to fit in on this feature I better relate some personal story about how my shaver battery keeps needing replacement and therefore battery tech just isn’t quite there yet. Or why alligators in the Florida swamps are cannibalising themselves due to the depletion of sun energy by all the solar panels in Dade county. Or compare this bike to something that it is not, like a cross-country touring machine replete with 40 lb Corbin seat, heated Kuryakyn grips and an 40 sq ft windscreen to keep the experience solid and real.

    Arrgghhhh, I’d almost rather see a moped feature or another Sporty with apes. At least there would be some conversation about the BIKE!

    • 12k motor RPM is not bad and should work great in this bike where you’d want a light weight motor. We’re around 30k RPM with ours. Remember, more RPM = more power in any type of motor. Easy as that. Your shaver has NiCad batteries. No one likes those.

      -todd

  26. Good points by Alwayson two.

    Here’s a thought: Ditch the batteries completely, use a small high-current cap-pack like the ones surfacing in deisel starting applications, mount a tiny little 12 hp APU and regen electronics. Now unleash this feather-weight to eat anything that emits an exhaust heat signature (short bursts, of course).

      • Electric motors can develop stunning torque, power density and reliability. You only need about 12 hp to make freeway speeds. That can come from a small ICE unit “T” driven into a splitter. Power that isn’t needed for the drive wheel gets routed to the motor / generator. When more than 12hp is needed (or desired), power is back-fed from the electrics to the drive wheel with instant arm-stretching “roll-on” response. Those cap packs that I mentioned are poor energy storage media, but they can kick out a lightning bolt on demand. Gasoline, on the other hand, has excellent energy density. A 2-gallon tank full (14 pounds) will yeild about the same work as 30 shackled slaves rowing flat-out for 4 hours.

        Think of it as a small light-weight single hybrid, but the main purpose of the electric motor is to make the bike feel like it has 11 extra cylinders.

  27. Google “electric bike on pykes peak” and listen to the sound it makes.Will send chills up your spine.Hydro electric is clean energy and other forms of electrical generation are improving all the time.Solar energy is still improving and can power your whole home so dont deny the future before it begins.The future will be electric in the end as long as we keep working on it.Give up now and we will go back to living in caves and rubbing 2 sticks together to cook tea.No stopping it now that its begun.The future is now!!

  28. So MUNCH ends up being the first manufacturer to create a production e-roadracer…good for them. Brammo supposedly has a production racer in the works as well, but who knows when and if that with ever reach customers. Both TTXGP and the FIM’s e-Power series suffer from a lack of competition depth (with very few bikes on the track each race, a problem similar to MotoGP), so hopefully having these production racers available will help alleviate some of that problem. For sure it is good to see that electric production roadracers are now a reality.

  29. If you have any inquiries or if you would like further information about Dave Manthey (known by motorcycle friends in the business as the Munch Man) please contact me. Dave and I co-authored a book a few years ago titled “Beyond My Wildest Dreams”. I still have some copies available if you’re interested.