How Electric Power Can Make You Faster | NEW TECH

If we've learned one thing from MotoGP over the past decade, it's this: Fast laps are not only a function of horsepower but also how that horsepower is controlled. Some of the biggest performance advantages have come from engine-management advances—specifically from smoothing the torque curve and also smoothing the gaps created when the vehicle up- and downshifts.

This isn't just about software. Honda has spent millions developing its so-called "seamless-shift" gearbox, said to virtually eliminate "shift-shock" when changing gears at high speeds—a problem that electric-powered motorcycles eliminate inherently and for much less cost. Electric powerplants promise superior control, balance, and traction—traits essential to a racebike—which is why the most exciting performance motorcycles of the future will likely be based on electric power and not internal combustion engines (I.C.E.).

Ignoring the battery-versus-fuel energy storage debate for a moment, an electric motor is vastly more powerful than a combustion engine of equal physical size and delivers power differently too. For a simplified comparison, look at a 40-hp, 250cc, four-stroke single—like what you’d find on a modern Lites motocross bike—compared to a 40-hp electric motor. With the I.C.E., available torque depends on where you are in the rev range: 60 percent throttle delivers a different amount of torque at 4,000 rpm than at 8,000 rpm. With an electric motor, you have 100 percent of peak torque available at any point in the rev range. This means a given amount of throttle input will always return you a consistent response. You don’t have to “hunt” for the torque.

Torque at the crank doesn’t tell the whole story; torque at the rear wheel is what actually accelerates a bike. Selectable transmissions work around the limited usable rev range of a gasoline motor to make more rear-wheel torque available at low speeds and to increase the vehicle’s top speed. As vehicle speed changes, the rider is constantly shifting (or slipping clutch) to keep the engine near peak torque.

An electric motor can have more usable (but not infinite) torque, but with a fixed gear ratio the electric bike might have less torque off the line and a lower top speed. As with a gas-powered motorcycle, if you gear an electric bike for better off-the-line performance, you lose top speed and vice versa.

This is where a good controller comes into play. The motor and controller technology used by BRD (now Alta Motors), for example, stays in the “constant power” zone for much longer, revving to 14,000 rpm and using an internal gear reduction to mimic conventional sprocket sizes, delivering more torque earlier in the rev range without sacrificing top speed. This delivers torque in a manner very similar to a gas motor but more smoothly—like our hypothetical 250cc single, perpetually in the sweet spot of its powerband.

The bottom line is this: Gas motors deliver a lumpy torque curve, and shifting gears upsets balance and traction—two very real challenges that electrics solve. Coupled with rapidly evolving battery technology, advanced electric powertrains can deliver a unique and, in many ways, better riding experience. Electric isn’t an “alternative” to gas motorcycles but a natural evolution that could make anyone—even a MotoGP racer—a faster, smoother, better rider.