Mission One Electric Sports Bike

While two-wheeled vehicles are already highly efficient because of their ultra-low weight (usually 10 times lighter than cars), the idea of an electric bike has gained momentum in a number of quarters.

Californian company Mission One could be one of the first companies to offer a zero emissions 2-wheeler.

"As a motorcycle enthusiast and engineer I knew I could combine my passion for motorcycles with my passion for innovation and create a motorcycle that truly sets a new standard in the perception of electric vehicles," said Forrest North, the founder and CEO of Mission Motors.

"With the Mission One, we're writing the next chapter in motorcycle design, delivering a new riding experience without sacrificing performance or design in a zero emissions vehicle," added Mr North.

Powered by a liquid-cooled three-phase induction motor hooked up to a lithium-ion battery pack, the silent sports bike generates 135Nm of torque from standstill and uses a single speed gearbox.

The vehicle is expected to blitz the zero to 100km/h sprint as a result of this instant torque.

The American company is targetting a top speed of 241km/h (150mph) and a range of roughly 240km (150 miles) for the electric motorcycle.

Mission One claims the batteries can be fully charged in under 2 hours with a 240V outlet, which would make the bike very practical (it takes 8 hours to recharge with 120V mains).

The bike's vital statistics are as follows:

Powertrain
Battery Pack High Energy Lithium-Ion with Integrated Safety
Motor Liquid-cooled, 3 phase AC Induction
Torque 135Nm @ Zero RPM
Transmission Single speed, #525 O-ring chain

Chassis
Front Suspension Ohlins, 43mm inverted fork, fully adjustable
Rear Suspension Ohlins, single shock w/piggyback reservoir
Front Brakes Brembo forged 4 piston calipers.
Rear Brakes Brembo, 220mm disc; single-piston caliper
Wheels/Tires/Front Marchesini forged Al 3.5"x17", 120/70Z
Wheels/Tires/Rear Marchesini forged Al 6.0"x17", 190/55

Target Performance
Top speed 150mph
Range 150 miles per charge (Est. under EPA drive cycle)
Recharge Under 2 hours @ 240V (8 hours @ 120V)
Features: Adjustable regenerative braking,
Intuitive/adjustable data acquisition system

As the specs show, the bike will feature regenerative Brembo brakes that will recoup energy, plus high quality inverted Ohlins forks and light weight Marchesini wheels which should please enthusiasts.

The new electric motorbike is rumoured to be pencilled in for performance tests in front of thousands of eager motorcyclists at the Isle of Man for the Time Trials Xtreme Grand Prix in June.

If everything goes to plan, Mission One hopes to have its ultra-green, high performance bike on sale late this year or early 2010, but it won't come cheap.

Prices are expected to be higher than industry exotica such as limited edition Bimoto and Ducati models, and early estimates suggest a US$70,000 price tag, which works out to about $108,000 in local currency.

Forrest North and Mission One turned to Yves Béhar's fuseproject team to create Mission's unique design, believing the motorbike makes a 'bold statement about performance, technology, sustainability and design'.

"This project was a dream come true: a statement about how design can make performance and sustainability come together without compromise," said Yves Béhar.

"I believe Mission is an icon for a new era of efficient and exciting vehicles.

"Designed to express speed and efficiency in it's overall sharp lines, the Mission bike is also highly detailed with special attention to a riders needs, bringing a high level of product design and ergonomics to a new generation of performance transportation."

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Mission One could be onto something with its new motorbike and never having to pay for petrol again will work in its favour.

Heavy bike

The import of heavy bikes has been doubled in Pakistan despite the 200 percent custom duty and CC fine on imorted vehicles. The prices of the imported heavy bikes increase threefold in Pakistan, but the youth bikers don't bother about that, said a survey conducted among heavy bike dealers and riders in Lahore city.

The survey said that heavy bikes dealers were importing bikes from 250cc to 2000cc being made in Japan, Germany, Italy, America, China. Some of the most favourites bikes among Pakistani bikeriders are Harley Davidson, BMW and Ducati, which are being sold from Rs 500,000 to 2.2 million.

A heavy bike dealer in Lahore, Ahsan Butt said that during the last five years, a record number of heavy bikes had been imported in Pakistan that showed how the young generation was crazy about motorbikes.

Another dealer Waqar Ahmed said that the youth belonging to elite class of the society could easily buy an imported bike costing 2.5 million, but the government should reduce the amount of custom duty and fine for other buyers. If the government allows import of heavy bikes on less duty, this trade can be developed into an industry, he said.

On the other hand, despite all the measures, the government has failed to provide youth with an attracting racing track to curb the menace of one-wheeling and motorcycle racing on city roads. The sport has now become a profession for youths, who are playing at the hands of gamblers in Lahore.

The practice of one-wheeling and motorcycle racing on city roads has claimed the lives of more than 150 wheelers in the last two years, according to reports published in different newspapers. At least 15 people die every year on Independence Day after indulging in one-wheeling and motorcycle racing.

As many as 15 persons lost their lives and over 400 sustained injuries while performing one-wheeling on roads in the provincial capital and the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi during the celebrations of Independence Day this year. All the victims were between 16 to 25 years of age.

According to the official count, 24 boys have died while performing one-wheeling on roads but police sources revealed that the actual number of deaths by racing and wheeling was more than thrice that because it could not be confirmed whether the others died in accidents or while performing one-wheeling.

It has been learned during a survey that these racers and wheelers occupy Canal Road in Lahore on Sunday morning to perform the bloody practice of one-wheeling. Professional gamblers also go there to put their money at stake. They entice the youths to get involved in this practice on the pretext of giving them money. They also provoke them by terming this disastrous practice as passion.

At the direction of these gamblers the youth of ordinary families indulge in one-to-one and group races. The main areas where one-wheelers and racers perform their foul tricks include The Mall, Jail Road, Lake Road, Main Boulevard (Gulberg), Liberty Roundabout, Fortress Stadium and Defence.

The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) constructed a dirt bike-track with a cost of Rs 2.2 million (US$36,231) at Jallo Park, which was inaugurated by former Punjab Sports minister Naeemullah Shahani on Feb. 18, 2004. The track is one-kilometer long and 18 to 20 feet wide, but PHA had to close it after a short time, as it could neither catch the attention of motorcycle racers nor divert them from City roads.

The Punjab government also introduced a strict penalty on one-wheeling in public places by passing the Provincial Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2005. According to the amended act, passed by Punjab Assembly, whoever rides a motorbike on one wheel and consequently puts lives and property in danger, is liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term that may extend up to six months or with a fine that may go up to Rs 5,000 (US$82). Moreover, the motorbike of the offender can be forfeited at the time of conviction of the accused.

But even after taking this step, the problem has not been solved yet as the flocks of motorcyclists and one-wheelers can be seen on city roads, especially on Saturday and Sunday nights. When asked, one of the youth namely Sajid Butt said that he could not resist performing one-wheeling. He said that he had lost one of his legs in an accident caused by one-wheeling but still he could ride his bike on one wheel better than many others.

Moto Guzzi California

It seems I could have almost anything - bikes were still cheaper than cars at this point. I went allong to the Harley shop but they didn't give test rides and, to be frank, I didn't like their attitude. Ducati's were probably a little to delicate for me and the Japanese bikes were ... just to Japanese. There was a Guzzi shop not to far away and I popped over just to have a look.

I must admit I loved this bike the moment I saw it - that laid back look, the crash protection bars to protect it (and me), hard lugage which actually looked good on the bike, the foot boards. Everything on the bike was simple and there for a purpose. I asked if I could sit on it - they said why not take it for a ride ! Talk about a different attitude to the Harley shop! I drove off into the lunch time traffic and immediately found it was very different to the VFR! I couldn't get it out of 1st gear for the first mile - it has a heel and toe type gear change and you need to be very firm with them until they are run in (about 20K miles!). The braking seemed very week until I tried the foot brake and then nearlly went through the bike's wind screen. Despite all this I headed back to the shop knowing that I'd found my bike.

It could commute, it could race other bikes (if you were very brave) and it could tour. It had a front screen and lugage space, it even had crash protection bars. It even did 50mpg and would cruise all day at 80mph without making you feel tired. I did a couple of round the UK tours on the bike and had a great time.

I crashed them a lot though but, because they seemed to be built from solid iron, it never seemed to bother them - may be sometimes I'd get a small scratch on the bars. I did once manage to bend the front forks - I hit a mini head on and embeded the bike right through the car - and even then I personally thought I could have ridden the bike home.

My best crash was going along the A23, near the Oval. I was banked over and overtaking 3 lanes of traffic when a car up ahead did a very brave U turn. No problem I thought, I'll just squeeze in behind it however this car then collided with a few others and the road was now full of spinning cars. I could see there wasn't a gap anymore, I was still banked hard over from the bend and braking would have me sliding into the 3 lanes of traffic -I decided to just hit the cheapest car - an old datsun that was already spinning in the road. I hit it just behind the back wheel and was a bit surprised when the rear end of the car just exloded into bits - the bumper flew off to my left, the boot and panels to my right. I went through the screen of the Guzi and was now doing a handstand on the bars with my feet above my head. My only problem now was I was still travelling around 40 mph! I also seemed to be be going diagonally across the traffic lanes and I had absoloutly no control of the bike. I could however see the drivers in all the cars behind me staring at me in disbelief and ramming their brakes as hard as they could. For a moment I thought I was going to fall infront of the bike and then run myself over, which would of been very embarrassing, instead I went up the kerb and into a wall. I landed next to the bike with the bikes wind screen still wrapped around my neck. I felt fine but my heart was almost bursting out my chest. A pedestrian was running up to me but I held out my hand to say I was fine. He didn't even ask me how I was, he just said "mate, that was the most ammazing thing I've ever seen". Needless to say I just rode the bike home and ordered a new screen from the garage.

Kawasaki 750 Cruiser

This bike was a lemon. I bought it 2nd hand in the USA with the aim of touring the country for 6 months but it barely lasted a week before terminally overheating. I was riding through death valley when it suddenly went completely dead underneath me - I had to wait 2 hours before someone went past - the guy was driving a large lorry and we couldn't get the bike onto the back so I asked if he would tow me. I soon worked out that this wasn't a good idea. The only rope I had was for the camping and so it was pretty short, I couldn't see anything but the back end of the lorry. I also made the mistake of tying a knot so it was impossible to get unattached. I presume if I did fall off then the lorry driver would find out when he eventually stopped and got out.

Any way we made it to Barstow. A garage said the charging system had burnt out and volunteered to recharge the battery for me. I spent the evening in a pretend country and western bar watching people square dancing or fighting depending on how much they had to drink. I felt miserable.

The next day I set of back to San Fransisco, The battery was fully charged, I'd removed all the lights so all the electricty that was left would just be used for the spark plugs - the garage owner had no idea how long the charge would last but thought I might make it 500 miles. Just after leaving Barstow an oil seal overheated and blew out and so now oil was starting to spew from the side of the engine. I was now feeling very depressed! I plugged the leak with tin foil and string! I then had to ride the bike at no faster than 40 mph (so it didn't overheat). I also had to ride the bike at an angle of roughly 45 degrees to stop the oil from comming out, there were no lights etc and I had to ride roughly 500 miles. It was a dismal ride.

Kawasaki Ltd 440

I had no money left and this was the cheapest bike I could get. I set off on grand tour knowing that this was one of the smallest bikes I'd ever owned. The previous owner had driven it 50 miles a week and kept in garage and now I was planning taking it 200 miles every day and parking it in deserts and mountains. I learnt to love the bike, it was honest, it made friends with everyone and it allways (well nearlly allways) worked.

I only managed to crash this bike once which, concidering the milage, wasn't bad. I'd been driving down the pacific coast just looking out and watching the waves crash onto the beach. It really was a beautifull site but suddenly the road noise just stops and everything goes silent ! I looked down and discovered I'd driven off the side of the road and was now flying through the air and about to land on the side of a steep slope heading down to the beach. The landing wasn't very skillfull but we managed to stay upright and, after a small break to gather my thoughts, I managed to drive slowly back up the slope. Thinking about it I also managed to flip the bike while driving the bike up a steep cliff path with the aim of camping at the top.

When I'd just about finished my trip the bike was beginning to fall to pieces - the battery was shot, the steering wobbled and everything squeeked as we rode allong. I dropped into a motorbike shop on the Appalucian trail and asked if there was anything I could do to make it last a little longer. He asked what I was doing and I told him about the Rockies, Canada, the pacific coast road, the deserts and mid west, the Keys and now the east coast route. He thought for a while and then said "you know what you're problem is ?" , I looked at him expectantly, "you're just having to much fun". He had a point.

Motor Bikes - the art of crashing

You have to love them, it's the excitement, it's living sculpture, rebellion, freedom. It can be a little dangerous and, with just a few exceptions, I've broken every bike I've ever owned. I started riding rather late in life at 30. My girlfriend at the time wanted one, I knew loads of people who lived and breathed them and I just thought, why not ? I think there is a sound track on one of the GTA games where the male radio announcer says 'All any man wants is to wear leather jackets, crash motorbikes and have a one on one with ..' - he's probably summed up the whole male ethos.

RSX100

My first bike, it never seemed to use any fuel and it seemed to run like clockwork but then, 3 weeks after buying it, it just stopped in traffic and wouldn't restart. Had I bought a lemon? It turned out I'd just run out of fuel ! There's something about simple reliable machines that make you love them. After a year I went to a garage to buy a large spanner to adjust the chain. I figured I ought to do some maintanence on it but I was sidetracked by a...

VFR750

It was the back tyre that caught my eye, for those days it was huge. I asked for a test drive and, not being stupid, they wouldn't let me drive and instead put me on the back with one of the garage hands driving. I was hooked the moment it started up. I'd say the bike was 3 times heavier than my last bike, 10 times more powerfull and about 3 or 4 times faster. I believe the exact same model was raced in some transatlantic race the previous year and won - maybe it wasn't the best progression from my trusty learner bike.

The bike was delivered to my place and I drove the neighbours crazy by going slowly round the block 50 times doing left hand corners and then another 50 times slowly doing right hand corners. I had the bike a couple of years and ended up driving it like a lunatic. I think I managed to go faster on this bike than any other - 150mph down a small B road - this wasn't a sensible place to do that speed but I figured I could see all the junctions so why not. Inevitably I managed to have 5 major spills on the bike and, though it was built tough, eventually I had to say it was the end.

I filled the insurance form (a non fault accident for once) and everything seemed to be progressing fine. Then we moved house and things were left. A year later I passed the house and saw the wreckage sitting outside my old house and thought it would be best to finish the claim ! I rang the insurance and they said no problem, just have the bike brought in and they'd pay. I went back at the weekend and found the bike had gone! and of course it was no longer insured now.

I couldn't believe anyone would take it far concidering the condition. I decided to check the local lockups and there it was, resting in the last one I looked in. It had had all the panels removed and the steering lock drilled out. I didn't feel bad about having the bike stolen concidering I'd left the remains dumped at the side of the road for the best part of the year. I moved the bike elsewhere and had it collected the next morning. The insurance people paid up and didn't ask any awkward questions.

At work I qualified for a company car and, after talking with them, I was amazed they would give me a company bike instead...