Built by LiFeBatt, in conjunction with Kingston University’s motorcycle engineering course, the machine has already competed at the US Santa Pod AE (Alternative Energy) drag race, where it won the clean emission race.
Commenting on the electric competitor Trevor Duckworth, the organiser of the event, said: “The LiFeBATT entry into the Relentless Ramsey Sprint is a very welcome edition to the exciting line up of bikes we attract each year. Although we’ve never previously had an electric bike involved, the success of the event is very much based on the diversity of bikes that enter the race. With the LiFeBATT bike already achieving respectable ¼ mile times, I very much anticipate electric bikes will become increasingly prevalent in drag racing over the coming years.”
LiFeBATT have previously been responsible for supplying high-performance battery packs to teams entering the TTXGP, a zero carbon eGrand Prix event.
“Due to the progress we have made with the TTXGP bike we decided to get involved with another zero emissions project – this time developing a drag racing bike,” commented Paul Brandon, director of motorcycle engineering course. “Working to a timescale of six weeks, we managed to develop a bike that covered a quarter mile in less than 15 seconds. We know we can greatly improve on this time with recent modifications to the gear system so we very much look forward to competing at the Relentless Ramsey Sprint.”
Driving forward
Meet our Role Models involved with designing vehicles.
You’ve read it. Now review it.
Date Published: May 22, 2009
More by this source
|
Print
|
Send to a friend
|
Rate & Comment
|
Keep up to date
If you found this item fun or informative, please let others know. Simply send to a friend or recommend it to even more people - on any of the following sites:
Latest Science News | reddit | digg.com | del.icio.us | rollyo | stumbleupon
More on motorcycles...
The perils of entering one way street
Kensington and Chelsea council has decided to make an honest man of David Cameron by legitimising the Tory leader's widely publicised habit of cycling the wrong way up its one-way streets. The Royal Borough has agreed to pilot a scheme allowing cyclists two-way access on six residential roads, extending the policy to other streets if there's no significant increase in collisions. Other councils will no doubt be keeping an eye on the results.
This column will change your life
Like a fine wine that only gradually surrenders its nuances to the drinker, The Secret - still the bestselling book on Amazon in both the new age and psychology categories - reveals new depths of forehead-smacking idiocy each time I return to it. The latest comes in a trailer for the DVD version, which includes several affirmations that will allegedly bring unimaginable riches. One is, "Everything I touch turns to gold." A man is shown touching a statue, which turns golden; he looks elated. I don't mean to quibble, but would it be fair to say that's not quite the point of the original King Midas myth? Didn't he discover some downsides? Another is, "Money falls like an avalanche over me." Think about that. It wouldn't be pleasant at all, would it? In fact, it'd probably kill you.
Bike tents
I had a university friend who could never keep girlfriends, and I always suspected it had something to do with what he did with bikes. I don't mean to suggest that he was a weirdo. It was just that he insisted on sleeping with his precious racer strung up above his bed. It's true that the space above his bed was pretty much the only space he had, but you don't really need a swaying cycle to inform you when the earth has moved for you. Just think of waking up in the morning to the suspicion that, to misquote Diana, Princess of Wales, there will always be three in this bedroom. Except that when there aren't three, there is quite likely to be just one, as your beloved sets off for morning-after trysts with the open road.
