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[xmjsilverx]

I am a Zero SR rider myself but I am always excited to see EV's of any kind proving to the masses how amazing they can be.  Tesla has done it with the fastest sedan, Lightning has done it with the fastest land speed record and pikes peak win and now victory places 3rd in the epic isle of man tt race.

http://www.cycleworld.com/2015/06/10/iomtt-victory-motorcycles-ses-tt-zero-race-report/

[Ranga]

I'm sorry but you're mistaken.  Victory placed 3rd and 4th in the ALL ELECTRIC Isle of Man TT Zero.  Its a different race, 1 lap instead of 6 on the mountain course.  Mugen Shinden took 1st and 2nd.

[Chocula]

A win in any class at the Isle of Man is still a win.  The Senior TT, which was shortened to 4 laps this year, are not the only wins counted as John McGuinness chases Joey Dunlop's 26 record wins.

I think the electrics made a phenomenal showing this year.  Even the gas bikes refuel after only 2 laps at top speed.

[Justin Andrews]

The Senior TT, which was shortened to 4 laps this year,

Not true. Techinically it was six laps, as two laps had been run by the time the race was red flagged when Jamie crashed out at the end of lap 2.
So the restart and subsequent 4 lap race was simply because the bikes had already done 2 laps, and mechanically it would have been unfair to push the bikes to run what would have been an 8 lap race had the race restarted on 6 laps.


The electric TT for that last couple of years has finally reached a lap speed worthy of being a TT race, as McGuinness joked, in the first few years the lap speeds were so slow you could lap with your Thermos and Sandwiches on the tank, but now the riders on the faster electrics are starting to have to think about correct line placement. You simply cannot dawdle around the mountain course at 100mph. Now that the bikes are finally hitting 120mph they stand a chance of being taken seriously.

The electrics are about the speed now of the lightweights, that is the non-race prepped 650cc bikes. Which is pretty good. Its expected in the next couple of years that they'll start to catch up with the Superstocks, and then you might start people paying more attention to the Zero Challange.

[Burton]

There are some who will still poo-poo the range and the fact they are not doing "6 laps" despite the ICE bikes gassing up at 2 laps. :/

I imagine if batteries were so good we could get two hot laps out of these bikes there would be no question in anyone's mind these bikes are here to stay and are true contenders.

[Chocula]

Techinically it was six laps, as two laps had been run by the time the race was red flagged when Jamie crashed out at the end of lap 2.

I was under the impression that the results of the first 2 laps were tossed and the race was restarted as 4 laps.  If the first 2 laps were included in the results, then it would indeed be a 6 lap race. 

The race results only show 4 laps so I am sticking with my original statement. http://www.iomtt.com/~/media/Files/2015/Race-results/PokerStars-Senior-TT/Lap%20by%20Lap%20Senior.pdf

[kingcharles]

The Victory bikes had roughly 17kWh battery capacity for the IoM TT Zero.
This wasn't even enough to go full throttle the entire lap. So for two hot laps of the mountain course an electric bike would probably need something like 40kWh at least.
That will need a few more years of battery development before that fits in a bike that isn't too heavy.

[protomech]

The Victory bikes had roughly 17kWh battery capacity for the IoM TT Zero.
This wasn't even enough to go full throttle the entire lap. So for two hot laps of the mountain course an electric bike would probably need something like 40kWh at least.
That will need a few more years of battery development before that fits in a bike that isn't too heavy.

The Enertia TTR that Brammo ran in 2009 had 8 kWh onboard. Magen's initial 2012 race entry was rumored to have a 20 kWh pack; reportedly the large pack size was too conservative (couldn't quite use all the battery) so they scaled it back in later years.

With power limiting, the current crop of race bikes could certainly make it around the course twice today, but at significant cost to average speed; Brammo averaged 75 mph in 2009, 35 mph off their 2015 pace. This will always be the case for the foreseeable future; even gas bikes only package enough fuel for two laps, and with a much larger fuel tank they could surely make it six laps if that was desired.

What would be more entertaining: laps at 120+ mph with battery swaps every lap or laps at 85 mph w/ battery swap every other lap? I know which I'd rather watch.

[xmjsilverx]

Oh, I guess I was mistaken.  I didn't realize it was an all electric race.  I didn't watch it but just saw that they had placed 3rd.

[Chocula]

The TT Zero (zero emissions only, hence electric) was one of 9 races run at this years Isle of Man TT which also included 2 sidecar races.  No single person or team wins the whole thing, but the Senior TT seems to be the most prestigious class as they are running the fastest bikes for the most laps.

[Justin Andrews]

Techinically it was six laps, as two laps had been run by the time the race was red flagged when Jamie crashed out at the end of lap 2.

I was under the impression that the results of the first 2 laps were tossed and the race was restarted as 4 laps.  If the first 2 laps were included in the results, then it would indeed be a 6 lap race. 

The race results only show 4 laps so I am sticking with my original statement. http://www.iomtt.com/~/media/Files/2015/Race-results/PokerStars-Senior-TT/Lap%20by%20Lap%20Senior.pdf

I mentioned it, as your original statement sounded like they reduced the race to 4 laps this year prior to the race day, in that the riders entered the race day knowing it was a 4 lap race.

While we both understand they actually rode a six lap race where only four counted. From a rider fatigue and bike reliability stand point there is a massive difference between the two, and that might have been less clear to people who had not watched the Senior TT race.

Thats all, I was trying to provide clarity to your statement, not say you were wrong.

[Justin Andrews]

Oh, I guess I was mistaken.  I didn't realize it was an all electric race.  I didn't watch it but just saw that they had placed 3rd.

Yeah the TT is run over two weeks, one week practice and qualifying, one week of races. As a result its a multi format discipline, with riders have the option to take part in the various bike races. The electric category is just one of the race formats over the week.


 

[SopFu]

The Senior TT, which was shortened to 4 laps this year,

The electrics are about the speed now of the lightweights, that is the non-race prepped 650cc bikes. Which is pretty good. Its expected in the next couple of years that they'll start to catch up with the Superstocks, and then you might start people paying more attention to the Zero Challange.

FWIW, the lightweights are most certainly race prepped to the gills, which is why they had so many mechanical failures. They're putting out almost twice as much horse power as my old SV650, and more power than a stock 600cc four. The EV's are definitely in good company where they finished this year.

[Justin Andrews]

The Senior TT, which was shortened to 4 laps this year,

The electrics are about the speed now of the lightweights, that is the non-race prepped 650cc bikes. Which is pretty good. Its expected in the next couple of years that they'll start to catch up with the Superstocks, and then you might start people paying more attention to the Zero Challange.

FWIW, the lightweights are most certainly race prepped to the gills, which is why they had so many mechanical failures. They're putting out almost twice as much horse power as my old SV650, and more power than a stock 600cc four. The EV's are definitely in good company where they finished this year.

Yeah, apparently so, I just had a skim through the tech regs for the class and they allow you to swap out a lot more parts than I was expecting. Interesting.