ElectroCat and I will participate in the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb at June 27. An upgraded battery pack and controller will assure that ElectroCat will make the 12 mile (20 km) long course with a 4 950 ft (1 500 m) climb.
Picture: The legendary Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb. Photo from Wikipedia Commons.
The legendary Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb race has been run since 1916. This year’s race is the 88th, but the very first where electric motorcycles are allowed. The advanced in battery technology over the last ten years has made a race like this possible. Without lithium batteries, an electric motorcycle wouldn’t be able to make the 4 950 ft (1 500 m) climb over 12 miles (20 km) at any decent speed.
ElectroCat will get an upgraded battery pack with higher voltage and a new, more powerful controller. The controller is sponsored by Kelly Controls LLC. The higher voltage will make the Mars ETEK-RT motor to spin faster, generating the same horsepower with lower current. Lower current means less losses which means less heat, and overheating of the motor is the weakest link in ElectroCat.
To take advantage of the higher voltage I will optimize the gearing for the hill climb. With the present gearing, the new higher pack voltage (which will be about 150 V), will give a top speed of about 100 MPH (160 km/h). However, Pike’s Peak is VERY curvy, it is uphill and half the distance is gravel, so I will probably never get to use the 100 MPH. ElectroCat will therefore be geared for about 60 MPH to begin with. The practice runs at June 5-6th will show if this was a correct guess…
Read more about Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb at www.ppihc.com and keep an eye on this website for updates about ElectroCat.