IoM TTxGP - the view from Team Czysz

[The Phantom]

From the VFR Discussion Forum, a tale from one of our members who went to IoM on the MotoCzysz team. Enjoy!


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I've just had the adventure of a lifetime, and wish all of you could have been there with me, so I'll try to convey the experience in words and pics as well as I can.

Most of the underlying story is in the IoM TTxGP topic already, but there's definitely more to the tale...

Six months ago I became part of a team, headed by Motoczysz Inc. of Portland, Oregon, that intended to build an electric-drive racebike for the world's first zero-emissions grand prix, the Isle of Man TTxGP, which just took place on June 12th. You can imagine how ambitious (crazy?) it was to believe we could build a competitive racer in just six months, let alone arrange for practice time and shipping of the bike and team to the IOM, but we did it!


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By May 25th, the Motoczysz E1pc was in the crate and heading across the pond.


I flew over on June 5th. My first impressions were all good. Motorcycles everywhere, with riders who traveled from Ireland, U.K., France, Germany, Italy and farther, not to mention the ancient villages, stone walls, and hedgerows, and stunning vistas everywhere we went.

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I'd guess (pulling this out of my ass a bit) that there were as many as 5000 motorcycles on the Island while I was there (I've never seen so many VFRs - in Europe they sell like mad - and I didn't get to meet any of the riders!), most of them visitors who were constantly out on the roads throughout the week, splitting lanes with cars going each direction beside them with only inches to spare. It was amazing and hair-raising, but I never personally saw a biker down while I was there (though I heard reports of it happening). If you imagine a whole island nation where the motorcycle is revered as king, you've got the picture. My kind of place!

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[The Phantom]

Most of the energy is definitely focused around the Start/Finish line in Douglas, where the grandstands, paddocks, merchandise stalls, tent villages, and race prep areas share space. The first thing I visited was an amazing Norton museum near the entry gate.

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Notice the Spare leather Drive Belt!


While wandering near the grandstands, I bumped into this guy signing autographs. MotoGP racers deserve their due, but roadracers like John McGuinness put their lives on the line at a whole 'nother level.

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The next few days are still a blur. Our team spent most of our time meeting TTxGP organizers and other teams, going through ACU (Auto-Cycle Union, the governing body for UK motorcycle racing) and electrical tech inspections, and then finally revealing our bike to the public. What are the odds that Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini would be on hand that day to see and rev our bike before signing the "tank" cover?! It's true! That's Rossi in the yellow:

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Rossi, About to Sign and Rev Our Bike!


There was also a perfect RC45 on hand next to Rossi's VIP paddock. I wish I'd gotten a chance to meet its owner.

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[The Phantom]

I won't focus too much on our racing fortunes in this thread. Suffice it to say that we had set-backs, primarily focused on our motors. There will be many more motor choices for electric bikes in the near future as enthusiasm for zero-emissions motorsports catches on. Still, our bike performed extremely well during our second qualifying run and during track practice the day before the race, and the bike drew huge crowds and seemed to be appreciated as a real racebike, not just a cobbled-together hobby piece. It's not easy getting internal-combustion racing fans to expand their horizons, but I think the TTxGP did just that.


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Ready for Qualifying Session.


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Ready to Race.

I'm already planning to go back next year. I'm not sure I'll be with a race team next time (though I'd like to be), but once the IOM gets into your blood, you can't stay away. And next time I'm renting a bike!


Pretty cool or what? There's heaps of other info in the actual TTxGP topic running on the VFRD site, I'll cherrypick the good stuff and post here (meant to do so in real-time but have been busy with work and kids)... some follow-ups to Loni's topic:

Q. Love that E-stop button in the rear cowl, or is that the pillion mount?

A. Ouch! Yeah, they made us have redundant safety switches for the corner workers. These electric bikes are actually quite safe, though. You should see all of the nervous firefighters running around with fire extinguishers at the ready when the gas bikes get ready to race!


Q. I noticed the 5 in red but once on the starting grid you had it framed in green was this from another set of skins for it or did you paint for some reason.????

A. Since ours was the "green" race, for the race we had to put stickers on with a green background.


Q. Btw, is that an auxiliary battery pack under the tail?

A. Sure is. On race day we had a ridiculous amount of energy storage; enough to complete the course at full speed with the gearing we were running. I believe we had more energy aboard than any other team, but it's kind of a moot point when a motor fails three miles in :rolleyes: . Kind of ironic, since electric motors are known for their low maintenance and reliability. It's hard to say what Motoczysz will do next year, but I'm hoping they give it another go.

[The Phantom]

Q. So was every part designed specifically for this one machine, instead of starting with a GSXR, CBR, etc frame? Having to design the frame and power plant, plus make the parts, would require a lot more time than just focusing on the motor

A. Yes, the bike was purpose built. Only part of the carbon fiber frame and steering head came from the original C1. Everything else was designed and built locally or in-house within the past six months.


Q. Were you able to find the cause of the motor failure?

A. Not yet. The bike is in a crate en route to the U.S. right now. I'm sure Michael Czysz, the owner of Motoczysz and team leader, will want to target any and all trouble areas, but we haven't had a team meeting since the race. Not sure what, if anything, was found after I left the IOM.

[Rod Richardson]

Great post and really interesting concept bike. However, I can't imagine racing without the sound of a screaming internal combustion engine.

On the lighter side, I would be a bit concerned about the possibility of an electrical short to the saddle. :hot:

[TheFamousEccles]

Great post, really great atmosphere pics. But....

Please, please, please, do not say/write/type the non-phrase "whole 'nother.." anything. Ever again. Please?

[MrJan]

Good stuff, I read this at work the other day and meant to post thanks for putting up here.

Saw a few clips of the TTXGP on the IOM coverage over here and it looked really weird to see silent bikes. However I feel that the sport is a long way from beating combustion as the laps were slow (80ish MPH IIRC) and even on a 1 lap race the difference between first and second was well over 3 minutes.

[patnicholls]

Great post Murray, really enjoyed reading that and checking out those pics.

[The Phantom]

Great post and really interesting concept bike. However, I can't imagine racing without the sound of a screaming internal combustion engine.

That's what I thought, until I saw/heard a clip of the bike in action. Having trouble getting the site in question up so will post it in later.

More from Loni:

"The flat plateau and instantaneous torque of an electric motor, when combined with variable regen (imagine being able to program in exactly as much "engine braking" as you want), no shifting (although some electric bikes with lower-output motors do use gearboxes), and eventually traction control, take driving into and out of corners to a new level. Just go in deep trailing the "brakes" (putting energy back into the batteries), hit your apex, and roll on the throttle with no hiccups. The connection between rider and rear wheel is more telepathic than on the best ICE bike.

One thing that I value most about the MotoCzysz/TTxGP experience is that I got to see team ideas become concrete reality. This stuff really works. At this point we need a few key ingredients to come together and "electric", "supersport", "lightweight", and "equal to ICE" can all be used in the same sentence with a straight face. Racing will spur innovation to that end like nothing else."

[The Phantom]

Check out how it sounds here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmSswrLbmgc

[Rod Richardson]

Check out how it sounds here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmSswrLbmgc

Well.......holy snappin' duck's bums................didn't expect that !!!!

Hope it didn't magnetize the pilot or make him glow in the dark.

[The Phantom]

It's pretty wild huh. Now imagine a whole field of those, with more powerful (and thus louder) motors. The E1 has three motors, other bikes might have two, or four (one motor gets too hot and the heat saps the power output), so each different make of bike is likely to sound different. On decel, the regen braking systems would be generating their own sounds (braking has its own sound at the track but you can't hear it on tv, regen systems would be a completely different story).

I reckon it would sound like a squadron of Tie fighters in battle :vader:

[TheFamousEccles]

It's pretty wild huh. Now imagine a whole field of those, with more powerful (and thus louder) motors. The E1 has three motors, other bikes might have two, or four (one motor gets too hot and the heat saps the power output), so each different make of bike is likely to sound different. On decel, the regen braking systems would be generating their own sounds (braking has its own sound at the track but you can't hear it on tv, regen systems would be a completely different story).

I reckon it would sound like a squadron of Tie fighters in battle :vader:

My spaceship sounded like that during the Kessel Run - 4 parsecs, I believe an unofficial record ? :dozey: