Mavizen's electric bike hits 130 MPH, ships with Linux and WiFi
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Nov 5th 2009 1:49PM
posted Nov 5th 2009 1:49PM
Mavizen, the manufacturing arm of the TTXGP (the Time Trials Xtreme Grand Prix -- a race for zero-emissions motorcycles) has just announced the TTX02 at this year's SEMA. A shining example of "EVs as consumer electronics" (the buzz-concept going 'round the electric vehicle scene) this guy is being billed not as a bike, but as a development platform -- shipping not only with a chassis and drivetrain, but with an open source Linux OS, web server, USB-based system bus, and WiFi connectivity. If you're looking to give the gang from Mission Motors a run for their money at the next TTXGP, hit the read link -- about $41,000 will get you in the game. Videos after the break.
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I believe the scientific term for this is 'mega awesomely hypercool'
It looks damn good...Except for the sound..Guess I will be sticking a lolly pop stick ( popsicle for the US readers ) in the spokes or just screaming Vroom vroom in my helmet.
..Wifi?? So when I get pulled by the Rozzers ( Police )... My bike will have already told them how fast I was going..Damn this technology.
@Zak, if you want the sound, get the version with a 155hp 1148cc twin.
http://www.ktm-rc8.net/
i can just imagine it in the future:
'alright, who hacked my motorbike?'
or
'alright, Who uploaded donkey porn onto my motorbike?'
hmm that 41k price tag is just ridiculous, at most i thought this would be 25k, i'll pass.
"'alright, who hacked my motorbike?'"
They said Linux, NOT windows
This is a platform where multitasking support could get you killed.
or save your life ... ahem
since electric sort of implies drive by wire... you are about to run into another car apply the brakes and the acellerator never stops so you continue moving and wreck all thanks to a single tasking os that couldn't turn off the motor while applying the brakes at the same time....
Yes I realize that is stupid
Cruising the web at 130 MPH. makes LTE/WiMax/HSDPA look lame
@cb88 errr... u ok dude?
@cb88
you don't know how drive by wire works do you?
@cb88
*WHOOOOSH*
Why do motorcycles have to go electric? They are already extremely fuel efficient.
Hopefully all the torque all the time....
Nothing wrong with being better, ever bit counts... Unless research in this area is somehow only useful to emotorcycles and not all evs, there is no harm in improving all aspects of our generally wasteful society
I see your point there.
I do see a motorcycle being a better use for electricity in transportation than cars. Cars are still many years from being remotely feasible as all electric.
Most sport bikes are surprisingly inefficient...
I recall being happy getting mileage in the upper 30's...
Motorcycles are nowhere near fuel efficient since they are tuned for super performance. If you ride it slow and steady you might be able to squeeze hybrid car type fuel efficiency out of it. But lets be honest I doubt that happens.
In London, electric vehicles get a 100% refund from the Congestion Charge. And motorbikes also get a 100% refund. Therefore, with an electric motorbike, the government actually pays you to enter the Congestion Charging Zone.
In California, motorcycles account for 1% of miles driven but 8% of the pollutants. No cat/egr systems.
Because people like to spend 41,000 dollars on a motorcycle?
Snark aside, as a proof of concept, I salute the engineers. As an actual motorcycle...not so much. When choosing a motorcycle, I think fuel efficiency is pretty much off the list of priorities...at least for me. That sort of calculus is better left to cage shopping, IMO.
Pure practicality? Buy a scooter...still fun and much better gas mileage.
They are the ideal platform for an all electric vehicle in the near future, as batteries are expensive, and the lower the vehicle weight and smaller the frontal profile, the less batteries you need for an acceptable range.
Between electric assist bicycles and electric scooters and motorcycles, there really isn't much of a reason for anyone to use gas commuting and running little errands.
Seems like bikes used to be fairly efficient... Nowadays it's hard to find one with a smaller engine than my beetle! Part of the problem is probably emissions control, reducing horsepower so much that they need gigantic engines to cope.
I always think of the super cub when considering motorcycles and fuel economy. One gallon gets you 330 miles on a super cub, but they're illegal here (U.S.) because of emissions. Is it really worth it to burn 1000% more gas?
But anyway, no argument here that electric motors are a much more elegant solution. However, the only problem is the batteries. We have not yet invented an efficient way of storing energy for electricity. And while I think the problem of CO2 and other "pollutants" is highly exaggerated, I also feel that it's just not quite right to sump up deeply buried materials and release them into the environment in mass quantities.
Erm, I've got a yamaha yzf r-125, small engine, decent speed (ok, not *great*) - up to about 85mph, great acceleration, and I get on average 95mpg, in city use.
one thing that need to be done is we ned some loud noise coming from the bike. riding is very dangerous as it is in traffic, it so hapens that a lot of cars don't see you and the removal of noise is really ot going to help in this case.
wow!! I didnt get it!! Its a bike with OS, USB and WIFI ???
if yes then 50% chance that Im going to rob a bank!!! :D
I can't wait to go 130MPH while configuring my Apache server.
Nah, it has an old version of glibc, so you can't put Apache or anything else on it.
I've done it at 650 over the ocean. Bet this bike can't do that.
^ But you weren't driving...
Good marketing and name-dropping (recall: "like an ipod on wheels")
Product quality remains in question.
$41,000 for the priveledge of getting clipped by some old f*ck in a Prius and ending up sideways under a truck .. no thanks.
That's my only gripe about the new crop of electric bikes. All the ones I actually like (styling wise) are about as expensive (if not more expensive) than the Chevy Volt will be. I would love to have that bike, but I can get a top-of-the-line gas-powered sports bike AND a pretty nice car for the same price. I could live with a ~$5 grand premium over a comparable gas-powered bike, but not a ~$30K premium.
priveledge? dude, you totally killed that word.
I'm with you, pal. For ~$41,000 I could just about replace my K1200LT--twice--or buy a year-old GSX-R 1000 four times over.
Brammo offers a far more affordable (if less EXTREME) EV motorcycle options. http://www.brammo.com/
It'll be interesting to see if these kinds of vehicles can gain acceptance, at least relative to the gas-powered 2 wheelers.
P.S. the guy at the podium in the bottom pic: i hope they screened him for explosive devices. just sayin.
Is the operations of the vehicle tied in at all to the conputer system? this sounds like a hackers joy. They can drive up to you, hack your bike, and wreck you!
Linux webserver, move along.
YES!
Finally I can read engadget while cornering at 130 mph around the park way!
Yeah, but does it run... oh, wait, nevermind.
*Waits for someone to make a controller driver for it*
Burnout Paradise has never been so much fun!
add son servos, gyroscopes, accelerometers,gps and some extra code, and that bike will run alone.
Hopefully this wont require recompiling the driver.
Wow. Electric bike based on the beautiful KTM RC08. Good Choice.
sudo go faster
sexy as hell, i would defiantly buy one if the price was right.
The biggest problem I see with this is the noise it makes. The main reason why bikes should be so loud is because of safety concerns. Having a loud exhaust on a sport bike or any bike for that matter is to allow other cars in traffic to know that you are near by. If this electric bike is as slient as a prius going around the city, it'll be pretty dangerous to ride this any where near other cars.
Pure bullshit. That's the argument asshole Harley riders use to justify the hideously loud, obnoxious straight pipes they put on their Hawgs. It is the single biggest fallacy in all of motorcycling; not only do loud pipes -not- save lives, but they're detrimental and damaging to the image of the motorcycling community as a whole:
http://www.virginiawind.com/byways/loud_pipes_save_lives.asp
In fact, loud, obnoxious motorcycles are so derided by the general public, and so harmful to motorcycling's image, that the biggest cycle group around--the American Motorcyclist Association--has issued an official position statement on the subject:
"The single greatest threat to motorcycling in America -- both on- and off-highway, including ATVs -- is excessive exhaust sound... As motorcyclists, we have to realize that we live in a world already filled with unwanted distractions, and chief among them is sound that is so excessive that it becomes a nuisance to the general public. Excessive exhaust sound plants targets squarely on the backs of all riders, even those who ride with reasonably quiet exhaust systems."
Read the full text of the AMA's position statement here:
http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=609
you cannot argue with the asian need to have a loud, shrill, irritating exhaust note.