Isle Of Man – Electric Motorcycle Sets New Lap Record
John McGuiness Rides 192 km/h Average Speed Lap
The Isle of Man track is 37 miles per lap, through villages, narrow country lanes and over hump-backed bridges. It’s hard to see anywhere you could touch on 192 kilometres per hour, let alone make it your average speed!
John McGuiness won the Isle of Man TT Zero (zero emissions) on a Team Mugen, Shinden Yon electric motorcycle. While the petrol powered bikes race over six laps, the race for electric bikes is one lap only.
Power is not a problem, the bikes could go faster. The limitation is battery life. The bikes are detuned to allow them to last a full lap of the circuit.
The fastest speed recorded for an electric motorcycle is a stunning 350 km/h achieved by the Lightning LS-218 at the Bonneville salt flats in 2013.
One amazing feature of the electric motorcycle is that full torque is available right through the rev range from one rev to full noise. No matter what speed you are doing, maximum power is available at every twist of the throttle. The drive out of corners must be incredible.
No doubt the speed and power statistics will be even more impressive next year. The real story is in battery development. The increased production of electric cars is driving research and development in battery technology.
The Tesla Gigafactory is under construction in Nevada USA. This facility will manufacture lithium-ion batteries for Tesla electric cars and for the new Powerwall domestic storage batteries.
It won’t be long before electric motorcycles are available for general purchase, and it promises to be an exciting ride.
The spin-off benefits for consumers will be access to the Powerwall type storage batteries. These batteries will allow solar panel owners to store the solar power generated during the day and use it at night. Cost effective battery storage will make solar panels viable for everyone.
