It’s Official! ElectroCat has the Record at Pike’s Peak! 16 minutes and 55.849 seconds is the very first electric motorcycle record time.
We did it! ElectroCat, with Pike’s Peak veteran John Scollon riding, set the electric motorcycle record for Pikes Peak on June 27th. The ElectroCat is now, officially, the first electric motorcycle in history to conquer Pike’s Peak.
Picture: ElectroCat with Pike’s Peak veteran John Scollon. John replaced me after I injured my wrist earlier in the week. Photo: John Bidwell
Racing is not an “I” but is a “we”. It took a lot of help from a lot of people to make this happen:
Thanks to the kind folks within the PPIHC organization that that really worked hard to make it happen when it became a big “soap opera” of conflicting opinions. (Being the first electric motorcycle to race in the PPIHC was “interesting.”) Now that we have broken the electric barrier, next year will go more smoothly for other electric motorcycles that wish to participate, I’m sure.
Thanks to all the “Friends of ElectroCat” that contributed in vital ways:
– A123Systems provided the awesome battery pack that effortlessly propelled the ElectroCat all the way to 14,110 feet.
– Kelly Controls provided a state-of-the-art lightweight, high-power, compact motor controller. (It was truly “plug and play” simple to install.)
– Faster Motorsports gave us a LOT of great advice and provided the tires, chain, and a perfect selection of sprockets. (Selecting the right gearing is vital to this particular event.)
– Rider’s Discount provided the very best protective gear for me. (My wrist was injured in a tumble that kept me out of the competition, but I would have been severely injured without the protection from my Rider’s Discount gear.)
– Manzanita Micro gave us an awesome HUGE charger and provided a great BMS for our battery pack. (The BMS just plugged in and worked perfectly. Nifty color-coded LEDs tell you exactly what is going on. Plug in your laptop if you want the detailed info on a cell level. Plugs right into the charger. Awesome.)
– Mars Electric, LLC provided the motor that survived the abuse and extremes of the race. (Thin air, hot weather, dust, rain, and, honestly, abuse beyond its ratings from us.)
– Woody’s Wheel Works perfectly aligned and balanced the wheels on the ElectroCat. (Nobody does wheels better than Woody. It is a well-known fact internationally.)
– University of Denver provided enthusiastic support and the technical engineering “edge” that made it possible to do it right the first time.
– The CycleAnalyst that gave us the vital data that took us to the top successfully. And to a bargain price!
– Team members and supporters Dennis Korth, Joe Sellars, Norm Smith, John Bidwell, John Bruszenski, John Scollon (who got us into this mess in the first place! :-)) and also Paul Thede.
– Special thanks to Dr. Bo Hall and my dad Sven Håkansson. There would be no ElectroCat without them both. My mom Lena Håkansson also deserves a big thank you for helping me building the battery pack.
<< PHOTOS WANTED >>
Do you have any photos from the record run? Good or bad – it doesn’t matter!
We didn’t manage get any photos at all ourselves, so anything would help!
Please send me an email at eva@killacycle.com. Large file size is no problem.
Please also let me know what we should put as photo credit.
Many thanks in advance!
Picture: John Scollon and ElectroCat in front of Ducati’s HUGE Peterbilt race rig. Falkner-Livingston Racing entered their beautiful Ducati machines and ran insanely fast. Photo: John Bidwell.
Picture: John Scollon talking to one of the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb board members. Photo: John Bidwell