Friday, October 14, 2011

And now for something completely different but electrifying...

While some of us are investing heavily in green photography, others are making a serious investment in alternative transportation. Meet my friend Ted Dillard and his R5e motorcycle project. Starting with an old but great handling restored ‘71 Yamaha frame, he has built, from the ground up, an impressive electric motorcycle powered by some serous lithium ion batteries. While it would take a motorcycle dynamometer to determine the exact amount of power this thing makes, trust me, it is seriously fast. The frame configuration and “clip on” handlebars are of the classic cafe racer style with a hunched over riding position that’s too low for my old neck, but fun. The wiring is so complex that it took an electrical engineer’s assistance to figure out. Suffice to say it has enough voltage to fry wiring that’s as thick as a Bic pen. Everything is purpose fabricated for this bike, from the electric motor mount (which has to align perfectly with the rear sprockets - no easy task) and the new “fuel tank” which, of course holds no fuel but adds cooling to the system, to the numerous recharging connections that look something like an octopus on steroids. With a top speed of over 100mph, and going 0-60 in 4 seconds, it's an electric vehicle that will change a lot of minds about electric transportation.  Ted is looking for for some help- sponsorship, advertising, donations... If you’re interested in furthering the future of personal transportation, or just helping to create some seriously fun future motorcycles, check Ted out on his Website:

http://www.evmc2.com/

1 comment:

  1. Thanks guys! Come see us at Plug In Day at Concord NH on Saturday:

    http://evmc2.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/plug-in-day-concord-nh-dept-of-be-there-bitches/

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