Versatile Aussie E-Motorcycle Seeks Speed Record
Most land speed racers are purpose-built vehicles with little other utility. But an Australian motorcycle builder hopes to top 200 mph with a wild electric bike that’s ready for the track and the lakebed.
Configured for land speed racing, Catavolt features four motors mounted on the swing arm; they draw juice from a lithium-ion battery pack. Racing in the TTXGP grand prix is as simple as swapping the swing arm, intalling a hub motor and hooking up the battery, a task team boss Jon Eggenhuizen says takes only a weekend.
That versatility came in handy when Australia’s Speed Week was canceled because the venue flooded.
“The dry lake wasn’t so dry,” said Eggenhuizen. “All the roads and the lake its self were flooded by a freak storm. Unfortunately mother nature tells us if we are able to race or not!”
Taking it all in stride, the team made plans to compete in a different event.
“When the event was canceled we removed the swing arm with the four motors and fitted a hub motor to the same bike and entered the TTXGP,” Eggenhuizen said.
This year’s Speed Week was a wash, but the team set a land speed record at last year’s event. Running an electric bike powered by a 72-volt forklift motor, Curtiss controller and Odyssey lead-acid batteries bolted to a Suzuki GS 250 frame and wrapped in Aprilia bodywork, the team achieved 177 km/hr (110 mph).
This year’s machine is purpose-built for the salt and the track. It’s a labor of love for Eggenhuizen, who works on the bike along with other members of the Australian EV Association.
“Since we are not a large company and do all this on our own time and costs, alongside our knowledge, a lot of trial and error goes into our work, as there are not a lot of designs to learn from,” he said.
Configured for land speed racing, the bike sports four Mars motors with a peak output of 70 kilowatts apiece, though Eggenhuizen says they’re configured to deliver 40. Juice comes from a massive pack comprised of 294 lithium-ion cells, each putting out 3.2 volts. A pair of Kelly controllers manages it all. It’s all bolted to a Daelim frame.
When it’s time to hit the track, the team fits a conventional swingarm and ditches the Mars motors for an air-cooled EnerTrack hub motor fixed to a billet rear wheel.
Eggenhuizen claims the bike is good for 150 kilowatts — just over 200 horsepower — on the dyno. That’s well short of the 240 ponies put down by the bike Chip Yates rode at 190.6 mph to achieve the current unofficial land speed record for an electric motorcycle.
Dry Lake Racing Australia - News
That versatility came in handy when Australia's Speed Week was canceled because the venue flooded. “The dry lake wasn't so dry,” said Eggenhuizen. “All the roads and the lake its self were flooded by a freak storm. Unfortunately mother nature tells us
This resulted in an inability – despite an excellent effort on the part of Atlantis's Commander – to reach the prescribed touchdown location on the dry lake bed at Edwards. As a result, Atlantis touched down 623 feet shy of the runway threshold – an
Good to see North American horses finally racing in the UK "I love your humour and that of your commentators although I find some of it as hard to make out as the form for some races! You Brits are the best! The equivalent exchanges here on a Daily
Willers got left high and dry on the first corner and had to settle for third place, behind Willoughby and American Cory Reid. Willers will line up in the next round in Salt Lake City in two weeks before heading to Europe to join up with the New
We're still dry and hoping it'll stay that way," Hamburg Fire Chief Dan Sturm said. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the area. About 600 residents were evacuated last week, when the levee, 5½ miles west of town,
Laguna Seca Circuit | Ben Spies
The track was built in 1957 at a cost of $1.5 million raised from local businesses and individuals on part of the US Army’s Fort Ord (a maneuver area and field artillery target range) after the nearby Pebble Beach Road Races were abandoned for being too dangerous. In 1974, the property was deeded over to the Monterey County Parks Department and continues to be part of the park system to this day. The first race, held on November 9, 1957, was won by Pete Lovely driving a Ferrari. In the intervening years, the track has hosted USRRC, Can Am, Trans-Am, Formula 5000, IMSA GT, Champ Car, American Le Mans Series, Grand American, Monterey Historic Automobile Races, Speed World Challenge, AMA (American Motorcyclist Association), WSBK Superbike World Championship and MotoGP motorcycle races (but 125 and 250 are not admitted). The day-to-day operations of the track, along with the management and promotion of major racing events, are handled by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP), a non-profit organization. With oversight by a board of local residents, SCRAMP operates with a professional staff on-site with the goal of generating income through the operations of the racetrack which is then redistributed to local charities. The track itself has undergone significant changes over the past two decades to meet evolving safety homologation requirements of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile(FIA) and other sanctioning bodies. Changes include the addition of the entire infield area in 1988 (present day turns 3, 4, and 5, eliminating the straight that started at present day turn 2 and ended at present day turn 5) extending the track from its original 1.9-mile (3.1 km) length to meet the minimum-track-length criteria of the FIM for MotoGP events, plus the more recent relocation of pedestrian bridges and embankments, and the expansion of gravel pits outside turns 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 for additional runoff. Turn 2, with its difficult and technical double-apex, has been renamed the ‘Andretti Hairpin’, in honor of former Formula 1 World Champion Mario Andretti, while Turn 9 has been renamed ‘Rainey Curve’ in honor of 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion Wayne Rainey, a resident of nearby Salinas, California.
Dry Lake Racing Australia - Bookshelf
Los Angeles Magazine
Force, who's survived many crashes, says that racing is "like sex: It only ... Timing Association and competed on the dry lake beds of the Mojave Desert. ...Official year book of the Commonwealth of Australia
Often dry. (4) Probably fills from Talywalka Creek in very high floods. ... and on the lake, and it is an ideal sheet of water for skiff racing and shallow ...Merriam-Webster's geographical dictionary
Oklahoma, bordered on three sides by Oklahoma City: pop. (I990c) 40318. Moore, Lake. Dry lake in SW Salt Lake Region, Western Australia, Australia. ...Popular Science
The land-speed record is motor racing's heavyweight division. .... An alternative is the Black Rock desert, a starkly beautiful dry lake some 120 miles ...The encyclopedia of sports
DRAG RACING The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), formed in the 1950s using dry lake beds or abandoned air strips, has more than 160 sanctioned drag ...Everyday News Directory
Dry Lakes Racers Australia - Home Page
The official home page of the Dry Lakes Racers Australia
"Internet Barn Find": Dry Lakes Racers Australia | MyRideisMe.com
The Dry Lakes Racers Australia held it's first Speed Trials meet in March 1990 and has ... The racing happens on Lake Gairdner (well, it used to be a lake) ...
Speed Week Downunder - Australian Dry Lakes Racing at Lake ...
This 2-disc DVD set covers land speed racing at Lake Gairdner in South Australia, where they have Speed Week once a year. See how they do it on the other side of the ...
Gail Watson Phillips
Their newest vehicle is a Streamliner which has arrived in Australia in preparation for racing at the DLRA's Speedweek event at Lake Gairdner in South Australia. ...
Bonneville and El Mirage racing schedule
Races at Lake Gairdner are sanctioned by the Dry Lakes Racing Association Australia, whose Web site can be found at http://www.dlra.org.au ...