Electric Finish Bay Area boys Electric Motorsport / Native Motorcycles conquer one of motorcycle racing’s most prestigious events Aug.07.2009 By Tony Gruen In the Time Trials Xtreme Grand Prix (TTXGP), the world’s first ever zero carbon, clean emission, electric motorcycle GP, Electric Motorsport, of Oakland, California, won the TTXGP Open Class with an average speed of 66.022 mph over the 37.73 mile mountain TT course. For the first time in 98 years, an Isle of Man TT event was won by an American team. The second place finisher came in over two minutes later with an average speed of 62.219 mph. Electric Motorsport won the race with the smallest battery pack in the group and the second lightest bike. In the open class group their bike was the only entry to utilize an AC induction motor with a regenerative power system. Winning the open class race is an amazing accomplishment and a testament to their product enginuity and racing spirit. Electric Motorsport is the creation of Todd Kollin, Raul Aguilar-Iñárritu, and Martin Guerra. Each has a unique piece of the pie and combined they have created some amazing products. Their shop in Oakland is the poster child for the genuine article. Instead of a fancy reception area we arrived at a garage door with a small logo painted on it. They are not spending money on space in a trendy office complex. Instead we found them in a no frills zone with the doors open and a few shop fans running in the background next to a giant preying mantis made of spare parts. This is a business in which every effort goes into creating a superior product. You can tell these guys are passionate about their innovations, their products and, most importantly, the direction of their company. They are not intimidated by the competition either. Raul points out that the Isle of Man victory is indicative of the atmosphere in the current race for EV market domination. San Francisco-basedMission Motors announced plans to produce a 150-mph, 150-mile range electric motorcycle and Ashland, Oregon’s Brammo will soon be selling its Enertia electric motorcycles at Best Buy! Each company has spent years and millions of dollars to develop their sports bikes from scratch. Electric Motorsport has been in the game for nine years and spent around 25K fabricating their bike, counting materials and R&D. Then there is Team Agni, headed up by Cedric Lynch, the inventor of the Agni motor, who has been in the electric motor field since the 70s. Raul states, “We won the Open Class and Team Agni won the Pro Class, so it’s very telling how experience plays a big part. It doesn’t matter if you are a large manufacturer like Honda. If your engineers do not have the necessary experience, you will be at a distinct disadvantage.” Todd goes on to say that they send off kits to lead engineers in big companies with accompanying schematics, “and they still fiddle around for weeks trying to get things to work right. There is a learning curve. If you’re getting into the game ten years late, then it’s going to show. Experience trumps multi-million dollar budgets.” Electric vehicles are hardly a brand new idea, and there have been many electric bike dealerships in the past. “There have been many companies vying for supremacy in the electric vehicle arena, and over the years, many have risen and fallen. You can have a great product, but if it is not the right time for it, it is as if you’ve never had it” says Raul. “We’ve come in at the right time, with right product, and with the right intensity”. Todd had started in video production. In 2001 while working on a documentary about hydrogen propulsion systems. he attended a trade show in Germany. There a Vespa electric scooter display caught his eye and he began researching the product. He was so impressed with the scooter that he became a US distributor. Soon thereafter he started offering performance kits to customers wanting a little more power. When their scooters started approaching capabilities of 60+ mph, it caught the attention of the much larger hobbyists group. Raul’s background is in Industrial Electricity. In the 70s during the oil crisis he was involved in fabricating electrical propulsion prototypes. In the years following he focussed on technology and computer networking. In 1999 Raul’s interest turned to light vehicle technology and he became an electric bicycle conversion kit distributor. This was when he met Todd and joined the team to contribute to R&D. Martin prides himself on being an old school motorcyclist and accomplished road racer. A long time enthusiast, he moved to the Bay Area in 2007 and met Todd and Raul who had developed a motor and drive system for him. Martin’s extensive chassis and suspension systems knowledge can now be found in their most current line-up. Electric Motorsport makes more than electric motorcycles. Right before the TT race they launched the industry’s first fully electric watercraft (that’s a jet ski for you old timers). Their electric motors spit out some real power. The company also manufactures scooters, a motard, boat drive systems and ATV, all fully electric. In addition to these complete products, Electric Motorsport provides a full line of individual parts, or complete kits, that enable the do-it-yourself mechanic to convert any vehicle into a fully electric machine. While visiting their shop we saw a nice assortment of their latest street bike, motard, and scooters. We also we got a sneak peek at their new motard (very good looking and powerful) as well as the new scooter. Both new models will be available to customers soon. We had some real fun in Oakland on the Electric Motorsport GPR-S street bike, so watch for a more comprehensive bike review soon in a coming issue of Urban Moto. First Impressions Right off the bat, the motorcycle looks like a motorcycle, it does not look like a big toy. The build quality of the frame, bodywork, suspension, brakes, even the seat, is excellent. Looks like a motorcycle built by South Korea, similar to a Hyosung motorcycle in build quality and that is not a bad thing at all. Bike is almost effortless to ride. Power comes on without lag and instantly when you roll the twistgrip, but not jumping or jerking. Rolling on the throttle from the get go is very user friendly and does not snap you back if you don’t want it to. The bike is fast and I was quickly cruising at 60 mph on city streets. Feels tight and reliable. The bike is ultra quiet, even at 60 mph. Stopping from 60 to zero is quick and very stable. No engine braking necessary and very composed braking manners. The motorcycle weight is held at a low center of gravity. Handles really well and u-turns are a cinch, with a very user friendly steering turning radius. Intital BIG THUMBS UP. Can’t wait for a more comprehensive test.