Tag Archives for Lightning Motors
Two Wheels: Lightning Motorcycles uses solar power to set El Mirage speed record at 189 mph
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Solar, On Two Wheels, Racing
Lightning Motorcycles is no stranger to setting land speed records. It laid down a 173.388 mile-per-hour marker for electric motorcycles in 2010 on the Bonneville Salt Flats, and then upped the ant… Continue reading
Zero Motorcycles prove resilient in crash-marred TTXGP weekend, take top three spots
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, Racing
Last weekend’s TTXGP motorcycle races were proof that sometimes, slow and steady wins the race. Not that the four “eSuperstock” Zero S ZF9s were slow – ok, they are a bit sluggish compared to their superb… Continue reading
“Flying Banana” peels off top spot at TTXGP Road America
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, USA, Racing
After a weekend of zero track time, the strikingly yellow electric super bike from Lightning Motors took the checkered flag at the finish of the Sunday’s Road America chapter of the TTXGP North America series. Starting from the back of a grid of seven, the “flying banana” peeled off from the group just as easily as it did in that first race held at Infineon Raceway. Unlike that circuit, however, the track at Elkhart Lake, WI has over four miles to a loop and offers the kind of real estate preferred by a machine with the kind of power Michael Barnes was aboard and, once he was out in front, he was there to stay. The winning bike from the first race, still bearing a Zero Motorcycles paint scheme though entered under the name “Team Agni,” was piloted by Zoe Rem this time around, who easily held down second place. Third position on the podium was won by Thad Wolff, whose Team Electra antique Norton conversion had no problem going the shortened-to-five-laps-from-seven distance after dropping out of the opening race with controller failure. With its throw-back appearance, it certainly looked good doing so.
The remaining two races in the series – Mosport in Toronto and VIR in Virginia – will be held on shorter tracks that should prove more competitive. There is also a month break in the TTXGP North America schedule which should help some teams get their machines up to their potential. The Mavizen TTX02 of Werkstatt Racing, which was ostensibly based on the Agni bike drivetrain hasn’t pulled down laps times very close to its progenitor, had to be rebooted (again) during the race and (hopefully) has lots of room to improve. Likewise, we expect Team Electric Motorsport to fare better after struggling with heat issues in this race that may or may not have been related to a qualifying highside incident. For a look at that wet-track crash and the official results, hit the jump.
[Source: TTXGP]
Continue reading “Flying Banana” peels off top spot at TTXGP Road America
“Flying Banana” peels off top spot at TTXGP Road America originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
VIDEO: TTXGP Infineon features AC-DC battery bike ballet
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, USA, Racing
There were a lot of appraising eyes turned toward the recent TTXGP race at Infineon. The electric motorcycle undercard was part of the AMA West Coast Moto Jam, but the question was whether it would just be an amusing sideshow for the granola crowd or if it would offer good entertainment for the average fan? With a disparate field of ten motorcycles and some big names missing, it was important to make something of a good impression at the first race of its kind on American soil. The assembled riders didn’t disappoint:
“Anyone who thought this was going to be a boring race is completely out of there mind”, one of the track announcers stated as his commentating cohort described the fight for first, “They’re side-by-side in the six folks.”
Side-by-side indeed. Eventual winner Shawn Higbee and 2nd place finisher Michael Barnes, astride very different beasts, performed an elaborate multi-lap ballet for the fans as each struggled to stay ahead of the other. Gripping the handlebars of the Zero Agni entry – which, by the way, was the same Agni bike that won last year’s Isle of Man but with a Zero Motorcycles paint job and cooling apparatus – Higbee took advantage of lighter weight and a true sportsbike frame to carry a lot of speed into the corners where he would pass his less-agile adversary. Coming out of the turns, Barnes would get the custom-built Lightning Motors “flying banana” pointed straight, hit the throttle and the EV1-rescued AC motor would seemingly catapult him into the lead.
If want to see some of this AC vs. DC dancing for yourself, make your way past the break for a sweet video from Zero featuring some on-board camera footage. We’ve also got some bonus clips of the fancy wheelwork from turn 9. If you want to catch the whole race, tune in to TTXGP Twitter feed, where exact channels for different markets will be announced for this Friday’s showing.
[Source: Zero Motorcycles / TTXGP]
Continue reading VIDEO: TTXGP Infineon features AC-DC battery bike ballet
VIDEO: TTXGP Infineon features AC-DC battery bike ballet originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 24 May 2010 15:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
