SWIGZ.COM Racing's Chip Yates to unveil electric superbike at The Battery Show in October

Chip Yates is gonna be unveiling his electric superbike in October. He sent out a press release late last week about this and I've been emailing with him concerning details. See SWIGZ.COM Racing's Chip Yates to unveil electric superbike at The Battery Show in October for a news article I just posted.

The motorcycle has a 194 HP (295 ft/lbs torque) electric motor from UQM, a highly advanced computerized control system, and a "real KERS system", a multifaceted set of lean angle detectors, other data loggers, a custom controller, CAN buses, and specialized software. They're using data collected from Chips earlier races to guide the system design. If it can hit the claimed performance levels this is more powerful than any of the electric motorcycles raced to date.

The top motorcycle in 2010 electric motorcycling was the Lightning Motors followed closely by MotoCzysz, Agni and Team Electra. Dunno the precise HP rating but according to the EV1 wikipedia page the motor in the Lightning bike was "only" 137 HP or so but that was tuned down from its theoretical max. The MotoCzysz motor sourced from Remy is rated for 135 HP. The Agni design has two motors each at 50kw, and the Electra design has a single 50kw AC motor. Hence the 194 HP motor that Chip Yates chose has more raw power.

The most interesting part is their KERS system which is essentially regenerative braking but they've developed something with a high rate of energy recovery. They're claiming a 10C recharge rate from the KERS system, but that they've not found a battery that can accept that high a recharge rate. So they've tuned the KERS system down to a 5-7.5C rate instead. At a recent conference I heard battery experts say that above a 3C charge rate special considerations would have to be taken for cooling and ensuring the battery doesn't get overcharged. In other words, above 3C is considered "fast charge".

Current specs

• SWIGZ.COM Pro Racing Electric Superbike Specifications
• Owner: SWIGZ.COM Pro Racing, USA
• Rider: Chip Yates (USA). Licensed - AMA Pro, FIM World Supersport
• Website: www.chipyates.com
• Chassis / Suspension / Body
• Frame Suzuki GSX-R750
• Front Wheel Marvic Piuma 16.5" x 3.5" Magnesium
• Front Tire Dunlop 125/80R420, KR106 16.5" Race Slick
• Front Calipers Brembo Superbike Billet Monobloc 34/34
• Brake Pads / Lever Brembo 4-Pad, Adjustable Brake Lever
• Front Rotors Brembo 320mm Superbike Rotors
• Rear Wheel Marvic Piuma 16.5" x 5.75" Magnesium
• Rear Tire Dunlop 200/70R420, KR108, 16.5" Race Slick
• Radiators Honda CRF450 OEM Aluminum Radiators
• Front Suspension Ohlins USA Custom Built 58mm Forks
• Rear Suspension Ohlins USA Custom TTX36 Shock
• Steering Damper Ohlins Gas-Charged
• Fairing Stay CPR Fabrication Custom TIG Welded
• Rear Subframe CPR Fabrication Custom TIG Welded
• Upper Fairing Yoyodyne Carbon Fiber Hayabusa Upper
• Fastners Pro-Bolt USA Titanium
• Gas Tank Cover Yoyodyne Carbon Fiber GSX-R1000
• Motor / Drive
• Type Permanent Magnet, DC Electric Motor
• Max RPM 8,000 Shaft RPM
• Max Power 194 HP (145 kW)
• Max Torque 295 Ft/Lbs (400 Nm)
• Efficiency 94%
• Mounting Swift Engineering CNC Machined Aluminum
• Transmission Custom Ground Jackshaft, Single Speed
• Final Drive 520 Racing Chain and Sprockets
• Power Source
• Battery Type Cylindrical LiFePO4 Lithium-Ion
• Number of Cells 360 Cells
• Nominal Voltage 384 Volts DC
• Total Stored Energy 11.5 KWh Plus KERS
• KERS Recovery Confidential / Patent-Pending
• Battery Management High Tech Systems LLC - Custom
• Electronics
• ECU MoTeC Advanced Central Logger (ACL)
• Data Logger MoTeC Advanced Central Logger (ACL)
• Dashboard MoTeC Sport Dash Logger (SDL)
• Shift Light MoTeC Shift Light Module (SLM)
• Map Switch MoTeC 12-Position Rotary Programmable Switch
• Wiring harness MoTeC Systems USA West Custom Design
• Motor Controller 500 AMP, Liquid Cooled, CAN Bus Controlled
• Lean Angle MicroStrain Inertia-Link (Pitch, Roll, Yaw)
• Drive By Wire Yamaha OEM Redundant Throttle Position Sensors
• KERS Yamaha OEM Redundant Throttle Position Sensors
• Coolant Pump Bosch Automotive OEM 12 Volt Pump
• Suspension Sensors Penny & Giles

The following video dates from Dec 2009 and discusses the plans they started with. Events did not turn out as they intended because they had to do more R&D. They didn't stop and should get it going for 2011

http://chipyates.com