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Sarolea SP7 in the driving report

Electric superbike project

Helmut Schmidt’s classic, whoever has visions should go to the doctor, does not apply to Torsten Robbens and his small Sarolea team. Buy a brand name, develop an e-motorcycle, produce almost everything in-house and one big goal: to win the TT Zero 2016 e-race on the Isle of Man.

VMany roads lead to Rome. Torsten Robbens uses a very special one with his mobile home in the Eternal City rather unintentionally. His older travel tanker wades through knee-deep puddles, roof-high reeds drag against the outside wall, a water bottle falls out of a kitchen cupboard when twisted. Brazilian jungle or the right way to the Bridgestone test site?

Sarolea SP7 in the driving report

Electric superbike project

The route is the goal

Sarolea is primarily the twin brothers Torsten and Bjorn Robbens. The two are native and proud Belgians. A small component of their mission may also be that they want to demonstrate the capabilities of their home country. The brothers themselves formulate their mission with "It’s all about the journey", which we translate loosely as "The way is the goal". This journey is worth a lot to them. According to their own statements, the guys have already invested a seven-figure sum in their project, but they don’t look in the least unhappy. While Bjorn earns his money in IT in “real life”, “Mastermind” Torsten is a 100 percent freak for tangible high-tech parts. He produces carbon fiber parts for space travel, works on the side in the Formula 1 circus, and supplies Audi with parts for the Le Mans prototype racing cars. When asked whether there is a connection to Ducati via Audi, only a short smile flits around the corner of his mouth. Whatever it means, let’s first try to understand the Sarolea issue better.

Sarolea, a traditional Belgian company, was first producing weapons in the 19th century, then mainly motorcycles alongside other vehicles. There have even been real factory racers from Belgium. In the 1960s, like so many companies in the motorcycle industry, the lights went out at Sarolea and lit up again virtually in 2008 when the Robbens brothers acquired the trademark rights.

Street version is called Sarolea Manx7 and will cost 150,000 euros

We see new foundations with old names time and again, but the two brothers convey an extremely credible consequence. Programming, baking parts, designing motors, testing, viral marketing, Europe up and down – the usual power pointers usually go home quickly with slack pants. Let’s call the two hipsters enthusiasts who manage to go their own way in terms of design. The triad of in-house electrical engineering, craftsmanship paired with independent retro design may initially be confusing, but after a closer look it appears all the more coherent.

The fact that the Sarolea team has been on the Isle of Man since September 2015, in addition to being approved for road use across Europe, also has a noble “Manx 7” license plate can confidently be seen as a successful coup. With the street version Manx7 the arc to the racing version SP7 (Sarolea project) is stretched. The street version should be available from 2017 and more or less correspond to the racing version. Small damper for people who want to order immediately: the wallet should be a bit thicker, because the price will be around 150,000 euros. 

Parts related to battery technology remain secret

Our “Fuelheads” Karsten Schwers from MOTORRAD and Volkmar Jacob from “PS” are just as curious and critical as they are usually during this exclusive ride. Torsten remains patient on his mission. “In e-bike racing, we want to build something like the guys from Kalex in Moto2,” he explains. "That’s why we really built everything ourselves except for the wheels, batteries, brakes and suspension elements."

Many things, such as all parts related to battery technology, remain the brothers’ secret. After all, with the TT Zero you measure yourself against the world power Honda. In general, the one round of the TT for e-bikes on the Mountain Course is like a strategy game. You have to find the optimal compromise between weight, high battery capacity, sufficient power and drivability. Battery management is still the dominant topic. And because the Mugen-Honda team, with TT series winner John McGuinness, uses the perfect route expert, the Sarolea boys have to go for the hoped-for victory in 2016. Let’s be surprised, because the E-lap record is now over 188 km / h on average!

Engine designed for 240 hp

When it comes to the engine, the Robbens make no secrets and openly present their core piece. The stator of the axial motor is an impressive 400 mm at a maximum speed of 2600 / min. Incredible 700 Nm torque from around 300 rpm! The engine is designed for 240 hp. 168 horses compete in the TT and 128 in the road version. Saving energy is about performance demonstration. To cool the engine, the team direct air entering the fairing directly through the engine and back out under the seat. The battery weight remains a secret, but it should be over 100 kilograms. Plus 40 kg engine, plus the remaining components. That adds up to over 200 kilograms. Therefore, maximum savings are made in everything else. The spring elements work with air instead of steel springs to reduce weight. The mighty carbon swingarm has an aluminum core similar to a honeycomb structure. 

While the Sarolea makers originally used a Ducati 1098 as a basis for the dimensions, they later changed the steering head angle to a steeper 69 degrees. The coaxial arrangement of the pivot point of the swing arm and the chain sprocket for constant chain tension and smooth driving is another top detail. Curious? Karsten Schwers describes his driving impressions on the next page. All fans please have a look here: sarolea-racing.com. The clock is ticking down until the Isle of Man starts in 2016!

Driving impressions from the Sarolea superbike

markus-jahn.com

It is impressive how smoothly the powerful drive responds. The rich torque is built up between 0 and 300 rpm and is not there in one fell swoop.

Karsten Schwers, MOTORRAD test driver, describes his experiences with the electric superbike from Sarolea, which demands respect with an unimaginable 700 Newton meters of torque, but is surprisingly drivable. 

It is impressive how smoothly this powerful drive responds. The rich torque is built up between 0 and 300 rpm and is not there in one fell swoop. An experience how the bike pushes: powerful, but easy to control, hardly any wheelie tendency. Only the rolling noise of the well-adhering Bridgestones, the slight whipping of the chain and the whirring of the big electric motor can be heard. The Sarolea doesn’t like tight corners, it only turns nice and neutral in wider curve radii.

The chassis doesn’t exactly shine with its sensitive response. This is certainly also due to the fact that the air elements have to be inflated strongly to cushion the total weight on bumps. The Beringer brake system can be used with a delay. On the subject of braking before bends: I can usually downshift on the combustion engine and use the braking torque. The Sarolea has to recuperate here, but the braking torque must not be too great. This compromised has succeeded.

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