As already shown, teams racing in the TTXGP are truly an international group and not everyone is as well funded as some of the pro teams. Kapil Shelke, team leader of Team TORK, which will be competing in the Open class, wanted us to know about their efforts, which consists of four students all in their final year of Mechanical Engineering at D.Y Patil College of Engineering, Akurdi and representing Pune University. Kapil Shelke, Ketan Mhasawade, Krunal Nanavati and Pankaj Gosavi, have been working on this project for the past two years. It all started with the idea of making an electric motorcycle:
We are all petrol heads by nature and that got the team together. The team started with an idea to make a sports motorcycle that can match and compete with a petrol driven motorcycle and still make no compromises in the handling, range and speed.
As mechanical engineers it took us a complete year to understand the basics of EV and to implement it to a motorcycle frame and dynamics. But even with limited resources, knowledge and experience the team constructed a first prototype.
The team is entering TTXGP to compete and stand along with the bike and team whom we sought inspiration from. We as a team want to change the perception about Electric Motorcycles in India.
I’ll say it again and again, if you have an idea and desire, don’t wait, get up and just do it. These students have learned what real engineering and building are all about, theory is great but hands on work is indispensable for converting “know about” into “know how,” and far too few know the difference
Nice work guys and good luck in the TTXGP!
Miles says
Aaagh, I turn green with jealousy.
I really hope there will be real professional gearhead video from this race (not just the “nascar-style” tech reporting by commentators)
JR says
What are electric vehicle junkies called? Sparkheads?
Good work guys!
fearnow says
oldskool electrical guys were ‘sparks’, so sparkheads works for me.
WRXr says
Great Job! Go Tork!
Electric Rider says
@JK
We’re called Amp Heads.
Mehul Kamdar says
This is excellent – a true spirit of competition seems to have come about for the first TTXGP. Hopefully, some of the teams that show talent but are not very well funded woud end up getting sponsorships in the future. Some interesting racing action lies ahead.
Would be nice if there were more information on the riders on each team – a request to The Kneeslider here, if possible. Thanks in advance!
muthu says
fantastic effort team tork. wish you the very best and dont forget to keep your royalty just to 1 rupee 🙂
Abhi says
Go guys! Wish you all the best!!
clone5 says
I can’t wait for this race!
Good luck to these guys too – even if the belly pan is installed wierdly
proud indian says
wow awesome effort guys! folks – just to update you they placed 6th AFAIK. but that’s not all.
from what i’ve heard, every other team (some of them were factory teams with much bigger budgets to throw around) used SBK donor bikes. these guys have used a locally made bajaj pulsar 220 as a donor bike. to put budgets into perspective, the on road price of the SBKs would easily be 10 times more than the bajaj bike.
once again congrats guys – you’ve done the country proud.
Rohit Nair says
Being friends with Kapil, Ketan, Krunal & Pankaj for 4 yrs nw, all I can say is that we are all so proud of you guys. Wat u guys have achieved is just so spectacular, that im short of words. Being from the same college as these guys, i know how impossible it is to get funding from our college for such projects. But u guys braved all odds & have given us something to be proud of. I only wish i were in Pune nw to celebrate with u guys!!!