Electric motorcycles

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Electric motorcycles

Under power

A motocross track in the garden, a race track next to the sports field ¿and still no stress with the neighbors. Electric motorcycles can open up completely new perspectives.

M.to imagine: The German
Motocross World Championship run takes place in Olym-
piapark in Munich, the world’s best trial acrobats scramble on the slopes
the Zugspitze, and Messrs. Rossi and Co. take a corner on a racetrack that can be used by hobby drivers around the clock outside of the Grand Prix. Minibike courses or supercross slopes expand soccer and athletics–
Systems of many communities. Road closures for motorcyclists are anyway
all lifted long ago.
Pure fantasies, admittedly. But the fact is: noise and, to a lesser extent, exhaust fumes make the motorized fort-
Movement in general and motorsport in particular are vulnerable. Restrict or ban the noisemakers.
Tea Swiss manufacturer Quantya sees alternatives in its electric bike FMX, a kind of mixture of motocrosser and mountain bike. Even if the idea is not new. Electric motors are almost noiseless and free of emissions. Objections that the dirt escapes the power plant chimney instead of the exhaust pipe are only valid to a limited extent. Compared to combustion engines, power plants use the energy they use about twice as efficiently. Nevertheless, all efforts have so far failed due to the storage capacity of electricity as a fuel. Batteries store little energy, are heavy and take up a lot of space. Try that over Kleinfahr-
Witnesses such as the one-horsepower electric scooter Charly from MZ have so far remained stuck in the study stage. First the use so called-
ter disc rotor electric motors that only use about half the energy of konven-
needing conventional DC motors provided a development boost.
Therefore: With a peak output of 13.2 kW (18 PS), the Swiss bike, which costs just under 5000 euros, penetrates new ones
Dimensions before. What MOTORRAD was able to see for itself on a test ride. First of all, the start of the ready-to-drive 85 kilogram machine is surprising. Is it due to the power delivery typical of electric motors? Probably too, because the electric motor delivers a lot of torque even at the lowest speeds due to its principle. Clutch and transmission are therefore unnecessary with this technology. Good thing, because the ge-
total attention can be paid to it
focus on the essentials. Braking and accelerating are easy on the extremely narrow bike, the engine power is even enough for acceleration drifts. And: More than the squeaking of the tires, the hum of the primary drive and the rattling of the chain cannot be heard. Even passers-by stop and wonder why they can barely hear what they see.
After 25 minutes there is complete silence. One hour break to how-
Charging the battery or a minute to change the 20 kilogram and 300 euro battery are due. But the first convincing work has been done. The possibility of being able to drive almost anywhere anytime outweighs the initial skepticism. Suddenly, motorsport no longer necessarily equates with a full engine sound, petrol and oil. Despite all the enthusiasm, the possible uses of the FMX remain the same as with the US manufacturer’s blade-
stellers Electricmoto (see box) Elektro–
However, ýÿ initially does pioneering work limited to manageable territory.
A range problem that has not yet been solved even in automotive engineering. Up until now, electric motors have only been used there in combination with conventional combustion engines as so-called hybrid drives. But even then, the electric drives with up to 90 hp are unimportant-
Lich as a starting and acceleration aid. The energy of the 70 kilogram batteries of the Toyota Prius, which has been well developed in terms of hybrid technology, would be one
Company spokesman, only a few kilometers are enough as the sole drive. In this case, the batteries are charged by the petrol engine and the energy recovery, so-called recuperation when braking.
A utopia for motorcycles at the moment. The Nuremberg inventor Horst Forster knows that too. In his Trialer, four conventional motorcycle starter batteries serve as the energy source for the seven kilowatt (9.5 hp) electric motor built into a gas-gas chassis. Technically, this solution is sufficient for the MOTORRAD employee and publisher of the subject-
Magazins Trialsport, Hans Greiner, ýÿthe electric bike very close to the performance-
ability of a petrol-powered trial motorcycle However, the price is also electrifying. The prototype currently costs just under 10,000 euros. Which ultimately only means a snapshot ýÿ like that of the entire current-
ellen electric drive technology. Because instead of
the lead-acid batteries could be modern, half as heavy lithium-ion batteries – which are five times more expensive, however – the barrel-
triple times.
Nevertheless, like the Blade and the FMX, the noiseless Trialer offers the motorcycle unimagined opportunities, at least as a piece of sports equipment. Or as Electricmoto’s marketing aptly sums it up: No sound equals more ground.

Electric bikes at a glance

Blade Quantya Forster Trial Gas Gas
Power 18.2 kW 13.2 kW 7 kW
Charging time 30 minutes 1 hour 1 hour
Battery price 300 euros 300 euros 120 euros
Battery change time 20 minutes 1 minute 30 minutes
Total weight 80 kg 85 kg 75 kg
Price including VAT 5,450 euros 4,900 euros 9,800 euros
Range 30 minutes 30 minutes 60 minutes
Max. Number of refills 300 400 300
Internet www.emx4.us www.quantya.com www.forster-elektro-trial.de

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