Mission Motors returns from TTXGP with sights set on Mid-Ohio race
Mission Motors' TTXGP race bike - Click above for image gallery
Now that the TTXGP zero-emissions motorcycle race at the Isle of Man has ended with Team Agni bringing home the win, at least a few of the competitors are turning their attention towards the next step in electric motorcycle racing. According to Forrest North, Founder and CEO of Mission Motors:
We're disappointed that we weren't on the podium, but are thrilled to have had the opportunity to compete in this historic event. We feel strongly that racing is a great way to push the technology in a direction that is consumer oriented. Essentially, we were able to do about 6 months worth of R&D in about a week, working out kinks and gathering valuable data to improve our production bike.Those kinks reportedly included the complete loss of the bike's drivetrain on the second day of practice after qualifying for the main event. Hopefully, all those issues will have successfully been worked out before the upcoming race at the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days festival at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, scheduled to take place June 24-26.
We're not entirely sure as of yet which teams will be competing at Mid-Ohio in June, but Mission Motors, Brammo and Electric Motorsport have all reportedly signed on to participate.
Gallery: Mission Motors TTXGP race bike
[Source: Mission Motors]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nick P. 9:17AM (6/19/2009)
I hope both Mission and Bramo take the design from these race bikes and bring them into production. These race bikes look much better than the regular versions. If Mission were to make a survey, they'd discover that most potential buyers prefer the rounded aerodynamic look of the race bike over the square brown & yellow design they have now.
MotoCzysz (http://www.motoczysz.com/club/?p=258#comment-42671) is hands down the most beautiful commercial electric bike out there.
I hope they continue to compete with each others and use this to increase EV bikes' visibility.
Go Mission, Brammo and MotoCzysz!
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cWINFIELD 9:30AM (6/19/2009)
Having another 6 weeks to iron out some of the teething issues from the TTXGP, I think Mid-Ohio will be the place to see a true representation of what MIssion, MotoCzysz, and Brammo have to offer. Should be incredible! www.EnvironMoto.com
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Travis Gintz 11:24AM (6/19/2009)
its July 24-26, and not June (as the article has incorrectly stated).
I'm excited, but a little pessemistic about the "eGrandPrix" in Ohio. It seems like the "organizers" threw this together at the last minute, just WEEKS before the TTXGP. It gave many teams no time to really organize anything, nor other racers in the US to get their bikes prepared, or spectators to plan around their summer plans. It also doesn't have a SPECIFIC time for the race.... its just "July 24-26". Other places explained it as a showcase for green tech, not really a "race". I hope they get their act together and start posting details on the race, what time, who has entered, who the riders are....and MAYBE, just MAYBE they'll actually have some live feads available like they promised (and failed to deliver) for the TTXGP.
I know I would have loved to go, but there wasn't much "heads up"
I hope MotoCzysz, Brammo, ElectricMotorsport and Mission all make it and get to show us their stuff!
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David Martin 3:29PM (6/19/2009)
I hope that one of the contributors on this site can do and article on the different battery technologies used by the various competitors, as the info is pretty scattered.
My own investigations tend to show that the winner, Agni, were using lithium cobalt batteries, which gives them quite an advantage over lithium iron phosphate, as the energy density is higher, around 180watt/hr kg, as against about 100watt/hr kg for the lithium phosphate version.
The flip side of this is that the older lithium cobalt technology, the same as in your laptop, uses expensive and environmentally unfriendly cobalt, and that they are the kind that tends to explode.
Lithium iron phosphate has just about everything except raw energy density going for it, as it can be made pretty explosion proof, and has a very good cycle life, so some versions may last as long as the car.
AFAIK the Mission machine uses this technology, so in longer races such as the IOM TTGX may struggle against lithium cobalt powered machines.
If I were buying a road bike though I would go for this technology.
Canadians should look to lithium titanium batteries, as built by, for instance, Altairnano, as the low-temperature performance of this technology is far better than any competitors, still operating down to -60C
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