Charge of the Lightbulb Brigade
CHARGE OF THE LIGHTBULB BRIGADE
THE ELECTRIC MOTORBIKE Company, in Sebastopol, California, claims to make the "world's first practical electric motorbike." Scott Cronk, 32, EMB president and founder, whose father helped build the Lunar Rover, knows that the market in the U.S. for affordable electric motorcycles is tiny. But demand will increase worldwide, he says, especially in the crowded cities of Europe.
Cronk got the idea for an e bike while sitting (and sitting and sitting...) in a traffic jammed London taxi. His first
prototype rocketed from 0-45 mph in 4 secondssnapping keviar drive belts with its instant hit of power. Today, the $3500 production model is called the Lectra, and its power output won't snap any belts: A brushless, laminated steel-cored motor mounts to the swingarm and drives a #520 chain through a gear-reduction unit.
Half of the Lectra's 340pound weight consists of four huge maintenance-free, starved electrolyte batteries-designed not to spill acid in an accident-
mounted in a full-cradle steel-tube frame. Life expectency for the batteries is 9000 ,I miles; individual charges take four hours with the onboard charger. Riding the bike is a new sensation. Sitting at stoplights, you wait for the green with an absolutely dead motorcycle. Once the light turns, the whine from the motor is the only sound. Turn the twistgrip and the bike ghosts away. On the move, a handlebar-mounted
"power" button acts as a kind of supercharger-press it, and the motor magically gains sev eral more horsepower (kilo watts?), revving up to 11,000 rpm to cope with overtaking or hiliclimbing. In town, hit the power button and you can keep up with 45-mph traffic.
Hold the power button more than 10 minutes, though, and a red temperature-warning light glows. Then a sensor alerts the main computer, which cuts power to prevent motor burnout. Back to the gutter.
Handling, helped by the sticky YSR5O racing tires and the centrally located mass of batteries, is excellent. The high, wide han dlebar allows a rider to flick the bike from side-to-side instantly. The dou ble-piston front brake damn well should stop you quickly from the Lec tra's usual cruise speed of 25 mph, and the rear brake-a motor-mounted regenerative unit that actually charges the batteries as it bleeds off speed-works about as well as a conventional drum. Lights and accessories are all 24-voltyou'll be searching the aisles at your local truck stop for spares.
You may also be in search of a power outlet. At the end of my 10-mile ride, which admittedly included several steep hills and much pressing of that addictive power button, the Lectra was down to 15 mph, gasping for a charge. The world's first practical electric motorbike? Don't throw away your gas card just yet.
Andy Saunders
