An electric motorcycle built by Lightning Motorcycles has beaten all the gasoline powered bikes at this year's Pikes Peak hillclimb event. Pikes Peak is particularly difficult for combustion engines due to the high altitude. The almost continuously uphill route puts a premium on torque, which the electric bikes have in abundance.
The electric bike's winning time of almost exactly 10 minutes was 21 seconds faster than the second place bike, a Ducati Multistrada 1200 S. So if all rides were 12 miles or less, we'd all want electric motorcycles.
For comparison, an AWD car with 875 hp, looking a little like a Peugeot 208 hatchback, has set this year's fastest time, a blistering 8 minutes, 14 seconds. That's a new record by more than 90 seconds. The second place car recorded a time of 9 minute 2 seconds, also beating last year's record.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/01/lightning-electric-motorcycle-bests-gas-powered-bikes-at-pikes-pe/
The electric bike's winning time of almost exactly 10 minutes was 21 seconds faster than the second place bike, a Ducati Multistrada 1200 S. So if all rides were 12 miles or less, we'd all want electric motorcycles.
For comparison, an AWD car with 875 hp, looking a little like a Peugeot 208 hatchback, has set this year's fastest time, a blistering 8 minutes, 14 seconds. That's a new record by more than 90 seconds. The second place car recorded a time of 9 minute 2 seconds, also beating last year's record.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/01/lightning-electric-motorcycle-bests-gas-powered-bikes-at-pikes-pe/
