Mission Motors' TTXGP race bike unveiled
Mission Motors' TTXGP race bike - Click above to enlarge
There's just a few more days until the running of the TTXGP at the Isle of Man. Being that this is the inaugural running of the world's first zero-emissions motorcycle race, it's really impossible to have a clear idea of which teams should be considered front-runners, but there's certainly lots of interest surrounding the machine from Mission Motors. We've seen video of the bike running through a makeshift street course here in the United States that's supposed to emulate the actual race, and we're expecting the team's race bike to be fast.One thing's for certain: this race bike isn't quite the looker that Mission's upcoming street bike will be. The oversize (presumably to cover an absolutely massive battery pack) and aerodynamically-optimized fairing is surely meant to increase the bike's speed through the mountain course at the Isle of Man, but it doesn't really help the machine's looks any. Naturally, all of that will be forgiven if the team manages to win the race.
[Source: TTXGP]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Redeemed 3:07PM (6/09/2009)
"zero-emissions motorcycle race"
Ummm......let's not forget that the electricity is generated somewhere and the UK electric grid is still 75% gas and coal.
Reply
TRAVIS 4:20PM (6/09/2009)
First off, ZEV's are defined as a vehicle that emits no tailpipe polutants from its onboard source of power.... But lets also not forget that cleaning one long smokestack is a TON better than 100,000 cars tail-pipes....there is a lot of effort put forth in making the emissions of a coal-fired turbine much cleaner. Ever hear of Zero Emissions Coal generation? Its a closed loop system that uses the emissions in the process.... research it... do you think we'll just continue to burn coal forever? Not likely, but in the meantime, there are things that can be done to make it ULTRA low poluting. You're kinda limited with cars and motorcycles.... they don't exactly have a ton of space.... but with a power plant, there's room, and there's funding.
Also, Motorcycles don't usually have any emissions controls, especially not race bikes. 1 of those is 10-20% more poluting than Passenger cars and some SUV's.
"Motorcycles collectively emit 16 times more hydrocarbons, three times more carbon monoxide and a “disproportionately high” amount of other air pollutants compared to passenger cars, according to a Swiss study published in the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology."
Lets also not forget that that gasoline engines are crap for efficiency, while electric motors/batteries/controllers can be 70% efficient (or higher) from the grid to propulsion. ICE's in race vehicles are lower than 15%.... Thats not counting the efficiency of refining/transporting/drilling/etc of oil. Electricity loses a small amount over the long transmission lines. Batteries are recyclable.
Also, many countries are moving away from using fossil fuels for power generation... and as things move towards cleaner alternatives for power generation over the next 50 years we'll be much cleaner. Wind, solar, wave energy, reprocessing of chemicals/waste to energy, natural gas.... there are tons of plants being built with new technologies.
I'm sick of these ill-formed arguments about "well, they gotta get their power somewhere... and its usually from coal".....I guess we could just ignore the problem until we are forced to deal with it.... I'm honestly glad to see stuff like this happen..... and to be a part of it..... because people like you sure as hell won't push us into the new age of energy and transport.
Redeemed 6:33PM (6/09/2009)
My friend, feel free to tone down your rant because I agree with most of what you say.
My point is, there is no such thing as a free lunch when the current electrical generation system is still majority coal and gas. The bottom line is pollution is still being generated. That is a fact you cannot deny. Until we can get those other non petroleum systems on line that is the way it is. People automatically equate electric vehicle to no pollution and that is not true when you look at the big picture.