Tech | June 09, 2010 | 31 comments

Electric Motorcycle: 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc

source: http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2010-06/inside-story-motoczysz-e1pc-worlds-most-advanced-...

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diode
This is the 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc, a race bike built by a tiny Oregonian company focused on pushing the limits of electric performance to the absolute max. It packs 10 times the battery capacity of a Toyota Prius and 2.5 times the torque of a Ducati 1198 into a package that looks like something out of a 24th-century Thunderdome.

Tomorrow it will race in the Isle of Man TT, the toughest motorcycle race in the world. The technology at work is so advanced, so unprecedented, that we may be looking not just at the future of motorcycles, but of all electric vehicles.

The reason the all-electric race bike is here, 4,600 miles from its home in Portland, Oregon, is to prove itself. Ever since 1907, the Isle of Man TT has been the race for bike manufacturers and riders to show their mettle to the public. The thinking goes that if you can lap its 37.7 miles of tiny, twisty back roads with an average speed in excess of 100 MPH, you or your bike become indisputably proven. Well over 200 riders and a handful of spectator’s have been killed trying to do just that.

But as recently as two days ago, the future of motorcycles was missing its body panels (stuck in customs). Before this week, the finished bike has never even seen the light of day. But even in its unproven, incomplete state, it's been putting in laps that have the competition quaking in their leather.

The customs snafu (and the mad dash to even finish the bike in time for the race) is not the first time Michael Czysz, MotoCzysz’s founder, CEO and the driving force behind the E1pc, had suffered a set back on this tiny rock in the middle of the Irish Sea. Last year, the Isle of Man TT hosted the first ever all-electric motorcycle road race, and MotoCzysz was there with the E1pc's predecessor. But while the machines that entered were technically impressive, their performance wasn’t. The race-winning team only averaged 87 MPH, well short of the 100 MPH watershed that defines a serious lap and way behind the 131.5 MPH lap record set by the fastest gas-powered superbikes. MotoCzysz didn’t even complete a full lap, suffering an electric spike from their experimental kinetic energy recovery system that fried the bike’s electronic control unit (ECU).

That was a major blow for Czysz (pronounced "sizz"). Five months of whirlwind effort from the former motorcycle racer and architect and his small team in Portland saw them abruptly transition away from developing a 200 HP, gasoline-powered MotoGP bike to produce an electric bike that blew the zero emissions competition away standing still. The E1pc looks like an X-Wing crossed with an iPod to the other electric racer’s cobbled-together adaptations of existing internal combustion engine bikes.

We overreached and it bit us in the ass,” says Czysz of last year’s race. “We’re trying to do too much with too little, we’re effectively building a Formula One level machine with one engineer, two machinists, one CAD guy, me and a body dude.”

But the E1pc was out in front when it broke down. Way out front.
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31 comments // Electric Motorcycle: 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc

  • ezrierin
    • 0
      ezrierin  

    • As far as sound goes, to each their own. I want quiet. I would love to be able to ride a touring bike that was so quiet I could hear the birds as I drove mountain roads. WOW! Ah but then I would want a Harley in my garage for those more wicked times! ;)

    • 1 year ago
  • likeamazing
    • 0
      likeamazing  
    • ezrierin:

      it's the noise of the bike that keeps riders with loud pipes safe so cars know there is a bike nearby. i'm sure you've heard "loud pipes save lives" cause it's oh too true

    • 1 year ago
  • ezrierin
  • DEM46
    • 0
      DEM46  

    • Electric is interesting but I have a sport tourer and really enjoy the sound (not Harley like) precision and I believe electric is not going to have the same M/C feel and thrill.

      Just say'n.

    • 1 year ago
  • bombastinator
    • +1
      bombastinator  
    • DEM46:

      The sound appreciation is trained though. It's an association thing. Imagine what someone might say who had never heard an engine before...
      "so... does it ever stop farting?.."

      I suspect that one might get used to a little peace and quiet quite quickly.

    • 1 year ago
  • diode
    • 0
      diode  
    • DEM46:

      it's a terrible bike as a riding bike because it's so quiet. motorcycles need to be heard because they are hard enough to see. every bike i have has been made louder on purpose. it's a safety thing. you're gonna get run over so fast on an electric bike its ridiculous

    • 1 year ago
  • diode
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  
    • diode:

      That is a point. I've heard it's also a problem for electric cars and pedestrians, animal and human alike. In rural areas they actually attach ultra sonic whistles to cars to warn oncoming deer..

    • 1 year ago
  • diode
    • 0
      diode  
    • bombastinator:

      not even ultra sonic, just loud ass whistles lol. i had a deer whistle on my truck until i sold the truck.

      and i'd rather be the "asshole with the loud motorcycle" than the "driver:ok i'm gonna merge now...OH MY GOD (crashing noises)" and i get my ass run over. so, i have a loud motorcycle haha

    • 1 year ago
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  
    • diode:

      Really? I could never hear them. perhaps your hearing is better than mine, or you had different whistles. Can you hear dog whistles? I understand some people can. As for the whole hog burbling past your house at 4am thing, it would be nice if they had some sort of closable baffle or something to produce a stealth mode and get a bit less hate from the neighbors.

    • 1 year ago
  • TheRealBiggO
  • MrMxyzptlk
  • bombastinator
  • remanns
    • +1
      remanns  
    • Image

    • Glad to know they have become known for something OTHER that the BEE GEES, tax shelters,... and Guinness vomit. ( I kid the Isle O' Man ) Who needs sunny days anyway,...these Portland bikers will feel at home.

      Anyway,....kewl !

    • 1 year ago
  • zichi
    • zichi [removed]  
    • This comment was removed as a violation of community guidelines.
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  
    • zichi:

      I'm not sure tough is the right word. It's not actually very long. A mere ~40km or something like that. There are thousand mile long desert races that are probably much more unpleasant to run. It is a hellishly dangerous race. The death numbers are insane.

    • 1 year ago
  • zichi
  • bombastinator
  • shizzam
  • CalgarC
  • onemalefla
  • likeamazing
    • 0
      likeamazing  
    • onemalefla:

      that's what i was thinking but i did the math, and according to the weight per power cell, the main mass where the cells are would weigh less than a typical sportbike motor, making the bike likely weigh less than a typical sportbike...

    • 1 year ago
  • Jeremy_Benson
  • bailey78
    • -2
      bailey78  

    • I know a guy that has a Ducati 1198. he just got it back from being built just for raceing. i would like to see the two drag to see who is fastest.

    • 1 year ago
  • likeamazing
  • bailey78
  • diode
    • 0
      diode  
    • bailey78:

      i can already tell you the electric bike wins until they start reaching top speeds. my cousin is into racing bikes, turbo bikes and all that jazz along with my own bikes so i have a little knowledge of the field. acceleration will be there but top end won't. the top speed of the e1pc is only 140mph, so any big bike will spank it after that. my bike goes faster and it's basically stock.

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  
    • diode:

      Oh yes I know about electric Bikes an cars that are set-up for raceing. I read quit a bit about it now and then. Just love the fact that they go from 0 to top end real quick. while the the petrol engine has to take a moment to rap up. I have seen a lot of video of electric Go-carts that haul ass.I would just like to see it spank a Ducati 1198 that had over 60-grand pured into it in aftermarket modifications .

    • 1 year ago
  • diode
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  
    • diode:

      Umm I was thinking more like third gear but hey I could be wrong about that sence i don't know the specs on the E1pc, Just what does a E1pc cost? 120 to 150 Grand?

    • 1 year ago
  • diode
    • 0
      diode  

    • this, is amazing. also, aisle of man tt is likewise, amazing. anyone who feeds on adrenaline must watch these races

    • 1 year ago
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