E-bike heartbreak on TT target
2011-06-14 07:51
ELECTRIC BIKES: The Isle of Man TT Zero race enters its third year in 2011.
Despite a significant improvement in performance from 2010, an overall victory and a speed record for electric bikes, the Segway-sponsored MotoCzysz E1PC fell short of the 160km/h average lap level at the 2011 Isle of Man TT Zero race.
MotoCzysz was expected to be the first electric bike to top "the 100mph barrier" on the island. Success would have netted the equivalent of R110 000 in prize money for being the first electric bike to complete the 60km circuit in that time.
In the end MotoCzysz Michael Rutter missed the goal by a whisker – just 0.6km/h.
PRESERVING POWER
“Another couple laps and I could have done it just right,” Rutter commented after his run, his voice heavy with disappointment.
There is little doubt that Rutter could have completed the laps even faster, in all likelihood resulting in topping an average 160km/h, had he not held back to preserve battery power, but with just a handful of practice laps, he was unable to calculate accurately the maximum speed he could achieve without running out of charge.
In the 2010 race the MotoCzysz team managed a best average lap speed of 155.8km/h, effectively illustrating how much the team can improve in just one year after already significantly raising the bar previously from the 140.6km/h average of 2009.
A policeman has some fun keeping order at the Isle of Man TT:
