MotoCzysz win SES TT Zero Race with 109.67 mph lap

MotoCzysz rider Michael Rutter has clinched victory in today's SES TT Zero race on the Isle of Man.

The Englishman was trailing John McGuinness for the duration of the clean emissions event, however he managed to get the upper hand between Cronk-ny-Mona and the chequered flag.

Rutter secured the lap record, completing the race with a 109.67mph average. Robert Barber came in third.

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Mugen and MotoCzysz set to go head to head in 2013 SES TT Zero Race

Leading clean emissions bike teams MotoCzysz and Mugen are again set to go head to head in the 2013 SES TT Zero Race on the Isle of Man.

Both teams broke the 100mph average speed barrier around the TT Mountain Course in 2012 with the Japanese outfit Mugen splitting the MotoCzysz pair, with all three podium placed riders posting times in excess of 100mph.

Michael Rutter took the honours in 2012 with the first ever 100mph lap recorded by an electric bike, defending the title he won in 2011, but he was chased all the way by John McGuinness's Mugen who finished with a time of 102.2pmh, 23 seconds behind with 2010 SES TT Zero champion Mark Miller a further 15 seconds back in third place. Rutter gets the prestigious number 1 draw and will be first away on the road, followed by his teammate Mark Miller.

MotoCzysz return with their new 013 e1pc and are looking to achieve a sub 20:34.8 lap which would give them an average lap speed in excess of 110mph, a time that would make them competitive in the conventional 650cc Supertwin class for petrol powered machines.

Nineteen time TT champion John McGuinness will again spearhead the Mugen effort, and will carry the same number 3 plate that he has in the conventional classes. The 'Mugen Shinden Ni', their 2013 machine, features an all new chassis and power train as well as completely new bodywork. The team, which made its debut in the race in 2012, has been carrying out a series of wind tunnel and engine bench testing programmes as well as track sessions and has targeted a lap in excess of 110mph.

Six countries will be represented in the 2013 SES TT Zero with ManTTx and local rider Dave Moffitt representing the Isle of Man, Italian outfit Vercamoto and Chris McGahan and last year's debutant competitors Komatti-Mirai Racing Team from Japan with Japanese national Yoshinari Matsushita. USA based Lighting also return after missing the 2011 meeting.

University outfit Kingston, which has competed in every event since the electric bike inception in 2009 and won the University prize in 2011 as well as finishing on the podium that year, will again campaign their 'Ion Horse' machine. The university outfit went close to the 100mph time in last year's qualifying session but ultimately ran out of power just 800 metres short of the finish line. George Spence will again represent the University outfit.

A strong University entry also sees Brunel returning to the race in 2013 with Welsh rider Paul Owen. Other University outfits include 'Buckeye Current' from Ohio State University with 2009 Race winner Rob Barber and Imperial College who will be represented by Spain's Antonio Maeso.

Mark Guthrie, MD of race sponsors SES Satellite Leasing Ltd, commented:

"SES is delighted to once again support the SES TT Zero Race. As a company we pride ourselves on innovation and groundbreaking technology and it's clear that there is going to be real competition at the front of the field again in 2013. Whatever the result, all the teams can be proud of their efforts as it's a real achievement just to get a bike on the starting grid."

2013 Isle of Man SES TT Zero Race Schedule:

May 31 - Qualifying
June 1 - Qualifying
June 3 - Qualifying
June 5 - Race

#	Team	Team Country	Rider	Rider Country
1	MotoCzysz	USA	Michael Rutter	England
2	MotoCzysz	USA	Mark Miller	USA
3	Mugen	Japan	John McGuiness	England
4	ManTTx	Isle of Man	Dave Moffitt	Isle of Man
5	Vercamoto	Italy	Chris McGahan
6	Komatti-Mirai Racing Team	Japan	Yoshinari Matsushita	Japan
7	Lighting	USA
8	Kingston	England	George Spence
9	Brunel	England	Paul Owen	Wales
10	Buckeye Current	USA	Rob Barber
11	Imperial College	England	Antonio Maeso	Spain

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MotoCzysz looks to sell equity stake for $10m

Electric drive system innovator MotoCzysz will look to raise $10m through the sale of a 25 per cent equity stake in a capital raise that will see it expand its production capabilities.

Company founder Michael Czysz said it had already secured an order for its D1g1tal Dr1ve technology, which it bills as the simplest and most complete electric drive solution for any company manufacturing electric vehicles, and is now looking to increase its production levels.

The California-based company is also a pioneer in the electric bike space, recently winning the Isle of Man TT Zero race with its MotoCzysz E1pc 011 model.

Czysz told NewNet that to date capital has been solely raised from high net worth individuals but it was open to various options going forward.

‘We are looking to raise $10m for a 25 per cent equity share in the business. We have not gone down the venture capital route yet and I think that has so far been of benefit to the company. We are open to venture capital investment, we would just choose our partners very carefully,’ he said.

He said the company was very focused on getting the D1g1tal Dr1ve units into production and is in the process of securing more orders.

Earlier this year the company announced a strategic alliance with battery systems provider Dow Kokam, for MotoCzysz to build battery systems based on its lithium polymer batter technology for the motorsports market.

Czysz also hinted that a further industry collaboration was due to be finalised.

He said the technology the company has developed for the electric bike market could be easily transferred to other forms of green transport, with a revolution in how hybrid vehicles are being developed needed.

‘I do believe the technology we are developing is almost 100 per cent applicable to a car. Ultimately the cars have to be competitive in price. Range anxiety is easy to overcome and we need a hybrid vehicle where the combustion engine supports the electric vehicle. Integrated drive is a major step forward in that.’

Ahead of this year’s TT Zero race expectations were running high that the 100mph average lap time could be achieved for the electric bikes but even the fastest model missed just shy of that barrier.

Czysz said progress has been made since he first competed at the race three years ago, but evolution of the technology is not happening as quickly as some had hoped.

‘We can not go round the track about 7/8ths of the speed of the other bikes. There has been progression of the technology but the economy has harmed that rate of progression. In addition, the big companies have not come into the sector yet.’

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Michael Rutter just misses out on historic ton in SES TT Zero race

Isle of Man TT star Michael Rutter narrowly missed out on cracking the prestigious 100mph mark for an electric bike for the first time in today’s SES TT Zero Race.

He took his Segway MotoCzysz machine to an electric bike record 99.64mph lap, breaking the record that his team-mate Mark Miller set last year, but narrowly missing out on the £10,000 prize fund allocated by the Isle of Man Government for the first electric bike team to achieve a 100mph average speed for the 37¾ mile circuit.

2010 TT Zero Race winner Mark Miller went off in the Number 1 position from Glencrutchery Road with riders starting at 10 second intervals in the time trial race. He was followed by his team-mate Michael Rutter who had passed him on the road by the first checkpoint at Glen Helen with John Burrrows, riding for Lightning Motorcycles running in third.

Russ Mountford (Brunel X Team) and George Spence for the ION Horse Ecotricity Kingston University outfit were next on the road, the first two of four University outfits competing for the £5000 University Prize. Japanese debut outfit Team Prozza and leading American University Massachusetts Institute of Technology were next on the roads with Dan Kneen (ManTTx) and Roy Richardson (Imperial) completing the field.

The nine machines that started all made it to Ballaugh Bridge, with Rutter extending his lead to 102.853mph, maintaining a gap of 10 seconds on corrected time with both Segway Racing MotoCzysz outfits running together on the road. John Burrows, George Spence and Russ Mountford made up the top five with all nine machines reaching the second checkpoint although Dan Kneen and Russ Mountford were reported to have dropped out by Sulby Bridge and Glenduff respectively.

Rutter topped the speed trap times at Sulby, posting an impressive 149.5mph, and he later revealed in the post race press conference that he thought that the bike could have gone even quicker but held back to conserve power.

The MotoCzysz pair still topped the leaderboard by Ramsey hairpin but were joined in the top three by George Spence, the Kingston outfit posting an impressive average of 95mph to Ramsey, and the same trio held the top three positions at Cronk-ny-Mona with Brew, Matsushita and Burrows the only other outfits still on the course.

Rutter was the first to finish and agonizingly clocked 99.604mph for the lap (22.43.68) to narrowly miss out on being the first electric bike rider to achieve a ton, 54 years after Bob McIntyre achieved it on a conventional bike. He was followed home by Mark Miller (98.288mph) and George Spence (88.435mph), who took the University Prize for Kingston. Allan Brew (MIT) and Yoshinari Matsushita completed the top five with John Burrows also achieving a finish by pushing his machine over the line.

Rutter said:

"99.6mph - that’s the story of my life. I tried to conserve battery life and stay smooth. It’s a totally different way of riding, but I really enjoyed it. We only saw the bike on Wednesday, so I think if we had more time there would be more to come set-up wise."

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Segway Racing MotoCzysz continues to set pace in TT Zero practice

Segway Racing Motoczysz remain the team to beat in the 2011 Isle of Man TT Zero race with both of their riders – Mark Miller and Michael Rutter – sitting on top of the qualifying session. Conditions were perfect for the second practice as all nine of the bikes for Wednesday’s Race lined up on the grid on Glencrutchery Road.

2010 TT Zero Race winner Mark Miller was first away followed by all Manx effort of Dan Kneen riding for the ManTTx. John Burrows was next away for American Outfit Lighting Motorcycles followed by the ION Horse outfit of perennial electric bike competitors Ecotricity Kingston University, the first of the four University outfits.

Another University outfit, prestigious American based Massachusetts Institute of Technology were next off the startline with Allan Brew and all Japanese outfit Team Prozza and Yoshinari Matsushita followed them away. Roy Richardson and Russ Mountford, both competing on behalf of university outfits Imperial and Brunel respectively were the final University outfits and all eyes will be on the competition within the competition for the fastest University team in Wednesday’s SES TT Zero race that comes with a £5k prize fund.

Last away was Michael Rutter, riding the second Sedgeway Racing Motoczysz outfit and he was quickly into his stride, leading on corrected time at Glen Helen with 5.45.46 (101.081mph). John Burrows split the Motoczysz pair with a 10 second lead over Mark Miller who was third at the first checkpoint in 6.52.85.

George Spence (7.11.56), Allan Brew (7.21.69), Russ Mountford (7.38.52) and Joshinari Matsushita (8.32.11) were the only other outfits to remain on the course as Dan Kneen and Roy Richardson retired on Bray Hill and at Crosby respectively.

Rutter continued to set the pace and after extending his lead to over a minute from Burrows by Ballaugh with an average speed of 106.647mph he posted an impressive 138.4 through the Sulby speed trap. With Burrows dropping out at Whitegates and Mountford retiring at Alpine, Rutter was left with only his team-mate Miller (81.133mph), Kingston’s Spence (80.442) and fellow University competitor Brew (78.536) in close proximity and finished with a lap of 24.15 at an average speed of 93.353mph for the 37 ¾ mile course. Yoshinari Matsushita also brought the Team Prozza bike home in 35:59.22 (62.906mph).

The teams will now prepare for Wednesday’s SES TT Zero Race and the prospect of the first 100mph lap, which comes with a £10k prize fund from the Isle of Man Government remains a possibility.

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Remy and MotoCzysz Partner to Produce Electric Drive System

Remy International, Inc. announces that its subsidiary, Remy Electric Motors, LLC, has entered into an agreement with MotoCzysz LLC to bring a revolutionary, new generation electric drive system to market. The unique drive system leverages Remy's patented High Voltage Hairpin (HVH) electric motor technology and patent-pending cooling and integration technology from MotoCzysz. The resulting breakthrough is a "complete electric drive system" optimized to elicit and manage the full performance benefit of the powerful Remy motor. The new integrated D1g1tal Dr1ve is the first of its kind of a new classification of complete electric drive solutions. Its compact size, originating from motorcycle racing and winning performance, are expected to provide a remarkable efficiency advantage to automobile and other vehicle manufacturers.

MotoCzysz is an internationally recognized design and engineering firm and considered the leading innovator in the American motorcycle industry. Today, the company focuses primarily on electric drive systems and electric vehicles. "I believe electric drives are the purest and best solution to propel the majority of automobiles around the world. The D1g1tal Dr1ve was designed specifically with that vision in mind. Our partnership with Remy Electric Motors will allow us to deliver a modern, simpler, evolved replacement for the 100 year-old gas engine. Remy is a powerhouse in electric motor design and manufacturing and our first choice for a partner in this emerging sector," says Michael Czysz, Founder and CEO of MotoCzysz. Czysz concludes, "Our mutual goal is for the D1g1tal Dr1ve to deliver the highest performance, greatest efficiency and most integrated packaging solution available for companies needing electric drive solutions."

Remy, a leading global manufacturer, remanufacturer and distributor of light duty starters and alternators and Delco Remy brand heavy-duty systems, also manufactures electric motors for hybrid and electric vehicles. With over a billion miles of proven reliability, Remy motors are an industry leader. Remy CEO John Weber says, "MotoCzysz proved their ability to optimize a Remy motor with their astounding test results and win in the TT Zero electric motorcycle race on the Isle of Man this year. Integrating that same groundbreaking engineering with the patented Remy HVH motor is a win for our electric automotive and light duty commercial customers. Remy and MotoCzysz have the experience and technology to make this remarkable propulsion system the new industry standard for electric automobiles."

The new D1g1tal Dr1ve combines high performance and efficiency in the smallest, most integrated solution available. The system was originally designed to fit a motorcycle frame. When applied to automobiles, this weight and size advantage, coupled with disproportionately high performance, will leapfrog other systems and provide OEMs, integrators and converters unheard of efficiencies. In typical electric vehicles, various components from a variety of vendors are assembled and then connected together via wires. The D1g1tal Dr1ve system optimizes and matches all high-voltage components in a single housing. The highly integrated system is packaged as a "super axle" located between the two drive wheels, delivering torque with unprecedented efficiency and compactness. Additionally the D1g1tal Dr1ve's nearly wireless solution provides additional overall safety for the vehicle.

The first D1g1tal Dr1ve utilizing a liquid-cooled Remy internal permanent magnet (IPM) motor will create class-leading torque 338 Nm (250ft/lbs) and 100kW (135hp) of power at 93% efficiency, measured at the rotor. Future models will extend the D1g1tal Dr1ve range to include an even more powerful drive as well as a smaller, more compact option. Remy and MotoCzysz will make the game-changing D1g1tal Dr1ve unit available in the second quarter of 2011.

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MotoCzysz Wins TT Zero - Sets 99.5 MPH Lap Record

The MotoCzysz team from Portland, Oregon was dangerously close to being the first team to set a 100 mph lap on an electric motorcycle around the Isle of Man mountain course. MotoCzysz missed the 100 mph mark by less than 0.5 mph, and won't be able to claim the 10,000 pound prize, but they do get to be called the champions of the TT Zero race.

MotoCzysz's E1PC electric motorcycle, ridden by Mark Miller, pulled a final lap of 23 minutes and 22.89 seconds to take the win from defending champions Team Agni.

The E1PC clocked a 99.513 mph lap around the mountain track, and were the most consistent team racing around the mountain. Miller got the E1PC machine up to 135 mph at one point.

The local ManTTx team achieved a top speed of 107.2 mph speed, and Team Agni's Z1 reached 104 mph.

For now, the history mark of 100 mph remains in tact, but it won't stay in tact for long.

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MotoCzysz E1pc D1g1tal Superbike Favorite for TT Zero Isle of Man 2010

It's TT time again with the second running of the Elecric Superbike class. Last years winners Agni Motors have been eclipsed in practice by the MotoCzysz team. Mark Miller did the quickest pace yet for an electric motorcycle during the Isle of Man TT of 94.66 mph around the 37.7-mile course aboard the MotoCzysz E1pc. We thought we'd have a closer look at their machine.

The 2010 E1pc D1g1tal Superbike has a liquid cooled PM (permanent magnet) 75kW (100hp) electric motor with a torque density of 250+ft/lbs/340+Nm continuous 77lbs/35kg.

The PM solution generates more torque while being more efficient than any comparably sized AC induction motor. The MotoCzysz patent pending cooling system elevates the motor’s nominal power output closer to the motor’s peak power output.



The MotoCzysz motor can deliver a continuous 75kW (100hp) and is 93% efficient under continuous heavy load (140C). The motor is available to accommodate either right or left hand chain drive.

The MotoCzysz LQ 240V 85kW Controller is specifically optimized for the motor, in both function and packaging. Accepting 240V and 350+ amps the sealed Controller contains ALL the high voltage components and plugs directly into the motor, resulting in a nearly completely wireless (high voltage) system.

The Controller receives battery motor and rider command data and adjusts current accordingly. The Controller software has multiple embedded maps for setting or customizing functions like torque contouring and overall power settings.



MotoCzysz is currently the only EV manufacturer utilizing a functioning ‘hot swap’ battery solution and the MotoCzysz eDD system incorporates the latest generation. The new D1g1tal battery pack utilizes high density, high discharge LiPo (Lithium Polymer) cells.

Each pack is embedded with monitoring capability that sends vital data wirelessly via IR (infrared) to a DVMS (d1g1tal Vehicle Management System) and ultimately to the Controller. Additionally, each battery pack houses an LED display that indicates the overall pack as well as individual cell group data.

Each MotoCzysz (patent pending) D1g1tal Battery pack weighs less than 18lbs and effortlessly “snaps” into the “suitcase” chassis. The “suitcase” holds 8 battery packs for a total ESS (energy storage system) of 10kWh.



MotoCzysz has designed the “suitcase” chassis to optimize the ESS mass location and vehicle’s overall on board energy density. The chassis accommodates virtually any modern double sided swingarm from a 1,000cc motorcycle. The suitcase also ships with a matching top plate for the mounting/fabrication of a new or existing front end.

MotoCzysz Electric D1g1tal Dr1ve Specifications:

Motor:
Voltage 240V+
Power 75kW/100hp (continuous)
Weight 77lbs/35kg (complete with pump and plates/mounts)
Diameter 254mm/10″
Width 190mm/7.5″
Cooling liquid (oil)
Efficiency 93% (under continuous load at 2X 70c operating temp)

Controller:
Voltage 240V
Current 335A
Power 85kWh
Weight 17lbs/7.7kg
LxWxH 335×205x90mm/13.2×8.0×3.5″
Cooling Liquid (water)
Efficiency 95%

Battery Pack: individual
Voltage 29.6 (nominal)
Capacity 40Ah
Weight 17.5 lbs/8kg
Energy Storage 1.25kWh (1.2kWh nominal)
Discharge 10c peak
High voltage direct contact to buss
Low Voltage Data Link via infrared
Hot swap yes
Voltage monitoring yes
Thermal monitoring yes
Digital status readout yes
Alarm status LED’s yes

Total ESS:
Voltage 240V
Capacity 40Ah
Weight 140lbs (17.5lbs X 8) /63.5kg
Energy storage 10kWh (9.6kWh nominal)

Complete eDD System:
Total Weight 255lbs/115kg
Total Length 635mm/25″
Total Width 320mm/12.5″
Total Height 675mm/26.5″

Price:
Complete Electrical D1g1tal Dr1ve System W/ 10kWh ESS $42,500 *
(motor, controller, suitcase chassis, 8 battery packs)

Complete Electrical D1g1tal Dr1ve System W/O ESS $24,500
(motor, controller, suitcase chassis)

BTW the race was scheduled to run Wendesday 9th June but has been postponed due to bad weather.

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