Electric Motorcycles - History

History

  • Late 1860s: Earliest references to electric motorcycles can be found in patents.
  • 1911: Electric motorcycle available according to early Popular Mechanics article.
  • 1920s: Ransomes, current makers of forklifts, explored the use of an electric powered motorcycle. This and other developments helped pave the way for the company to use electric mining cars and lorreys.
  • Early 1940s: Fuel rationing in United States caused Earle Williams to convert a motorcycle to electric power. This became the basis for the formation of the ParCar from the Marketeer Company.
  • 1941: Fuel rationing in Occupied Europe encouraged a Belgium company by the name of Socovel (SOciété pour l'étude et la COnstruction de Vehicles ELectriques) to create a small electric motorcycle. Approximately 400 were manufactured.
  • 1967: First Fuel Cell powered electric motorcycle created by Karl Kordesch at Union Carbide debuts. Demonstrated the feasibility of fuel cells as a power source. This particular fuel cell was an alkili fuel cell that operated with hydrazine, a rocket fuel propellant.
  • 1967: "Papoose" moped sized electric motorcycle prototype is created by Indian Motocycle Company under the direction of Floyd Clymer.
  • Early 1970s: Aurenthetic Charger moped sized mini bike (small motorcycle) sold.
  • 1973: Mike Corbin sets first electric motorcycle land speed record of 101 mph.
  • 1974: Corbin-Gentry Inc. begins sale of street legal electric motorcycles.
  • Professor Charles E. MacArthur makes first electric vehicle ascent on Mt. Washington, NH using a Corbin Electric motorcycle. The event evolved into an annual rally called the "Mt Washington Alternative Vehicle Regatta".
  • 1978: Electric Harley Davidson MK2 created by Transitron manufactured in Honolulu, Hawaii.
  • 1988: Eyeball Engineering creates KawaSHOCKi electric dragbike and is featured in a major magazine.
  • 1996: Peugeot Scoot'Elec was the first mass production of an electric motorbike.
  • Late 1990s: EMB Lectra VR24 electric motorbike pioneered the use of variable reluctance motors (hence the VR) and was marketed as street legal.
  • 2000: Killacycle made a record run of 152 mph (245 km/h) at 9.4 s quarter mile (400-metre) time at Woodburn Drags 2000, OR.
  • 2000s The development of lithium-ion batteries and powerful electric motors (originally for military applications) made mainstream electric motorcycles more feasible.
  • 2007: A123 Li-Ion cell-powered Killacycle set a new quarter mile (400-metre) record of 7.824 seconds and 168 mph (270 km/h) in Phoenix, AZ at AHDRA 2007.
  • 2008: Electra Green made by Orlando Tony Parker in Omaha, Nebraska was the first electric motorcycle made in the state of Nebraska.
  • 2009 "The 24 Hours of Electricross", the first all electric dirtbike race.
  • 2009 The first Time Trial Xtreme Grand Prix (TTXGP) all electric street motorcycle race took place on the Isle of Man.
  • 2010 ElectroCat was the first electric motorcycle to climb pikes peak and set a record time in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Read more about this topic:  Electric Motorcycles

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    “The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
    —John Adams (1735–1826)

    “The history of philosophy is to a great extent that of a certain clash of human temperaments.”
    —William James (1842–1910)

    “Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history, since its statements are rather of the nature of universals, whereas those of history are singulars.”
    —Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)