We have brought you electric motorcycles in the past (even the Mission One) but it looks like the electric motorcycles are finally ready for prime time. Typically electric motorcycles had limited range and limited speed… the Mission One has a top speed of 161mph and a range of 150 miles per charge… Nice. Read on for details and pictures.
“The Mission One is just an incredible motorcycle,” said Cleland who, in a previous life, raced both AMA and AFM, “This is a bike that can rip up the track at Infineon Raceway, do power wheelies at 80 mph, and then come out here to Bonneville and dismantle the prior electric world speed record. It pulls hard all the way from 0 on up to 161mph, all in one gear, with incredible torque. It’s a riding experience like no other. The important thing to understand is this is not a one-off race vehicle, this is a production prototype. It is the same bike that we raced at the Isle of Man and features the same powertrain that we will be delivering to our customers in 2010.”
As much as I’m impressed by the top speed result, I must confess it’s the wild wheelie photos that have caught my imagination today (there’s lots of other shots in the gallery). Proof positive of the engine’s meaty 100 lb-ft torque output that kicks in immediately from a standing start. That’s right, from a standstill, this puppy can unleash around 17% more torque than this year’s Yamaha R1 does at its 10,000rpm peak.
[Via]