What ever happened to the C1? They put all that money into R&D for that bike and now they decide to go electric? I may not know the whole story but I was really disappointed to hear the news.
"What ever happened to the C1? They put all that money into R&D for that bike and now they decide to go electric? I may not know the whole story but I was really disappointed to hear the news."
Yeppers- I was fascinated by the design innovation throughout that bike, wished it could have made mass production. Erik and Czysz would be a great match!
Perhaps he thinks (correctly maybe) that he can't compete with the existing lineup of traditionally powered offerings from the major players so he is building something that hardly anyone else is, and aims to do it better than everyone else. Beating everyone else to market is half the game.
It was far easier for him to get investors interested in an ELECTRIC motorcycle in these days and times than "yet another gas powered motorcycle." More power to him.
That bike uses the same front end he designed for the C1, and in case you didn't hear, it DEMOLISHED the field in this years Zero TT at the Isle of Man.
So MotoCzysz will stay focused on delivering a 1,000cc sportbike and use 07 to turn our prototype motorcycle into a production bike and competitive race bike. We have secured several major players required to create a true American Race Dream Team, the principal members are all on one year contracts ready for 08 if we can deliver a competitive bike.
I'm a big fan . . . got on board when I joined their newgroup in 2006. But as bright as the folks are, as innovative as the product . . . it's largely a rich man's hobby similar to John Britten . . another gifted multimillionaire with many ideas.
Clip #2 was interesting. Notice how little growth occured on the rear tire as the speed went up? I would have expected a lot more diameter increase as the speed went over 100mph. Not as much as a drag slick but it appears there was no diameter increase at all.
"Notice how little growth occured on the rear tire as the speed went up? I would have expected a lot more diameter increase as the speed went over 100mph. Not as much as a drag slick but it appears there was no diameter increase at all."
The tire on the bike in that clip appears to be road race slick. Totally different animal. Drag slicks are very low pressure very wide profile tires designed to go in a straight line. Next time you see an AA/FD on TV notice the weird contortions the tires go through during a run.
If a motorcycle tire moved around even a fraction of that much it would be impossible to control on a road course.
All these electric bikes are packaged, basically, around the same battery tech and electric motors. The real problem lies with the batteries. Until someone can come up with a lightweight, compact, highly efficient battery it's a circus act.
Until someone can come up with a lightweight, compact, highly efficient battery it's a circus act. IMHO it's more than that. It's experimentation, real world.
Motoczysz won the electric bike TT this year at the Isle of Man. They did 5 laps, 188 miles at 96 mph. Obviously still a long way to go, the 125's lap at over 100 mph, but who would have guessed, 10 years ago, that an electric bike could even be this fast for this long?
Greg, I know there is a big difference between tire types but I was impressed with the apparent zero growth. Even a car tire expands a bit. The forces on a TF slick are unbelievable. Getting 8000+ HP to the pavment through a 17.5" wide tire is no small task. Those buggers will grow upwards of 25% in diameter as they go down the track. Impressive in anyone's book to say the least!