Making its debut at the 2012 Isle of Man TT, the 2012 MotoCzysz E1pc was unveiled today, ahead of the first TT Zero practice session on Saturday. Campaigned again by the Segway MotoCzysz Racing Team, the 2012 MotoCzysz E1pc is based heavily off its 2011 counterpart, but with obvious aerodynamic changes, as well as subtle system improvements. Boasting 200+ peak horsepower and 14kWh of battery pack, the new MotoCzysz E1pc tips the scales at 525 lbs — a full 45 lbs lighter than its main competitor, the Mugen Shinden.
Defending his #1 plate, Michael Rutter returns to Team Segway MotoCzysz, as well as American Mark Miller, who has been with the squad since its first TT race four years ago. Unlike last year, both riders will be on the same spec race bike, as MotoCzysz is racing to be the first team to crack the 100 mph average lap speed barrier. The Isle of Man government has put up £10,000 to the first rider to crack the 100 mph mark, which nearly went to Rutter in the 2011 SES TT Zero race.
Noticeably apparent on the 2012 MotoCzysz E1pc are the aerodynamic fins and ducts, which the team has developed through the use of Solidworks, and hopes will help make the Ep1c slip through the air on the Mountain Course with ease. Since wind resistance is a square-function in relation to velocity, a two-fold increase in speed results in a four-fold increase in wind resistance, and as such MotoCzysz has placed a high priority on aerodynamics for the 2012 season.
“We had to look for the areas that would be easiest for us to go faster,” explained MotoCzysz CEO and Team Principal Michael Czysz. “We’ve done a pretty good job of elevating the drive system, the chassis,and the suspension. So we could go back and attack those things again, or we could work on the aerodynamics, which we’ve never really touched. We did little hints, and we tried little bits last year, but we really never studied it — we’ve just always had bigger problems to deal with first.”
Making refinements to the 2011 design, MotoCzysz returns with its under-tank suspension design, which uses two shocks with forward and aft linkages to facilitate the front forks and swingarm suspension duties. Other improvements have been made to the bike’s electric drivetrain, which include increased efficiencies, more accessible packaging, and better mass-centralization.
“We’ve done a lot of what we call connectivities and interconnections…they are all small changes, and that’s what happens. Look at it this way: let’s say we do 100, 102, or 104 mph this year. It is going to be hard to add another 5 mph next year, and another 5 mph the year after that. It gets more difficult obviously, and it’s the same thing we’re talking about with these components. It was easy the first couple of years to make big adjustments, but there weren’t those big obvious ones to make this year, just lots of little ones.”
“Physically the battery pack is slightly bigger, but that’s because we have changed some dimensions for other dimensions. We don’t have air flowing through it this year, so we’ve had to make up that cross-sectional area. We’ve also done a much better job of cooling our batteries, which has meant doing some thermal stuff inside the batteries.”
Though the 2012 MotoCzysz E1pc has been tested prior to its arrival on the Isle, tomorrow’s practice is the first chance Rutter and Miller will have to swing a leg over the machine. Talking to Michael Czysz about the TT fortnight, he said biggest hurdle will be setting up the bikes to each rider’s specifications in only two mountain passes. Helping the two Segway MotoCzysz Racing riders conquer the Mountain Course is an upgraded systems dash, which will better communicate the pace of the rider in relation to the course, and what is occurring on the 2012 MotoCzysz E1pc.
“We’re communicating to the riders very simple, clean, and efficient strategies on what they can do with the bike — and that’s on-the-fly as they go,” said Czysz. “This is really one of our secret sauces this year.”
2012 MotoCzysz E1pc Technical Specifications
| Frame | Twin Spar Carbon Fiber Frame |
| Wheelbase | 1435mm (56.4in) |
| Rake | 22.5° |
| Trail | Adjustable from 87.5mm-100mm (3.5-4in) |
| Head Angle | 22.5° |
| Front wheel travel | 127mm (5in) |
| Front wheel | Marchesini 10-spoke magnesium 3.50 x 17 |
| Front Tire | Pirelli Diablo Superbike 120/70 R17 |
| Rear wheel travel | 127mm (5in) |
| Rear wheel | Marchesini 10-spoke Magnesium 6.00 x 17 |
| Rear tire | Pirelli Diablo Superbike 190/55 R17 |
| Front brake | 2 x 320mm full-floating discs, radially mounted Brembo Monobloc calipers 4-piston, 2-pad |
| Rear brake | 220mm disc, 2-piston caliper |
| Dry weight | 238kg (525lbs) |
| Seat height | 800mm (31.5in) |
| Cells | Dow Kokam Lithium Polymer |
| Energy | 14.0kWh |
| Voltage | 330V+ |
| Type | Proprietary Liquid Cooled, Permanent Magnet, Brushless DC (IPM) |
| Power | 150+kW / 200+hp |
| Torque | 220Nm |
| Motor Controller | 150kW Liquid Cooled |
| Transmission | Single Speed Gear Drive |
Source: MotoCzysz; Photos: © 2012 Jensen Beeler / Asphalt & Rubber – Creative Commons – Attribution 3.0
thats sick! i dig the SolidWorks sponsor sticker on there too :)
Oh my Jesus. I think it needs another spoiler.
Very futuristic bike indeed, but…it’s kinda more suitable for “movie-making” than a race bike…
The secret of MotoCzysz is a conduit through which the air flows from the front to the back for to defeat aerodynamic resistance ????
If they have 200 bhp a 130 mph lap should be no problem.
If they have more than 100bhp for the bike to last the lap I’d he surprised. No problem to stick something on a dyno and show big numbers if it doesn’t have to last any time
“Since wind resistance is a square-function when velocity doubles, MotoCzysz has placed a high priority on aerodynamics for the 2012 season.”
My stomach just turned a little. Nothing wrong here, exactly, but sounds the idea wasn’t finished. Wind resistance is always a square-function, regardless of velocity. If velocity doubles then wind resistance increases four-fold.
Whatever, give me the original C1.
Tight deadline on this one Justin. Hopefully the update appeases your senses.
Bike Porn for sure:) Good luck guys.
Mmmmm, Secret Sauce!
Vaguely 80′s CBR1100 looking/Britten bastard love child.
Proof will be in the running.
Added 12 more photos from the Grandstand unveiling. Note Michael Rutter’s matching Puma sneakers. Enjoy.
Is that the Mugen guys looking on in the second-last picture? They look kind of worried! :)
The ENTIRE Mugen squad was front and center for the unveiling. Lots of talking, pointing, and looking.
my god, that thing is ugly. looks like something out of Judge Dread. but things dont have to be pretty to go fast. we’ll see if all that stuff is worth while tomorrow…
Niiiiice!! :-) I don’t think these new E1pc’s look ugly at all. Purposeful is more like it. I really hope this strategy of focusing on the aerodynamics of the bikes pays off in the race and proves to be effective.
Best of luck MotoCzysz!
Saw this bike being tested during the lunch break at a MotoCorsa track day in Portland over a month ago. Thing was fast and the sound kinda reminded me of a tie fighter flying by. Good luck guys! Kick honda’s, I mean mugen’s ass!
I’m assuming the aero was focused on cutting through air with less resistance, but what about side winds?
I wonder how easy/hard it is to shift these bike from side to side when tackling corners. Aside from the obvious weight, I wonder if the “large” side profile would make it more difficult to bank from corner to corner… I remember Honda motogp started deploying “snub nosed” rc212v’s just for this phenomenon. Winglets also seemed to be abandoned by Ducati over the past year. And various motogp teams drilling holes in the fairings on windy circuits. Is the Island windy at all?
That said, I appreciate the “out of the box” thinking and doing in this bike. Hope it works! Just wondering, why another redesign in the front suspension? What happened to the czysz patented “in the middle damper” used in the C1?
The front suspension on the 2011 & 2012 models is an evolution of the C1′s suspension. Why put a 15 lbs shock on the nose of the bike, when you can move it farther back to the bike’s center?
Oh no! Mugen Honda, run to the hills!!111!!!!!
Haters gona hate Honda.
I didn’t know the new suspension is an evolution of the old previous designs… must have missed it :)
It would be cool if you can do a feature on the bike’s suspension. And also get a feedback to the racers who are traditionally accustomed to forks.
I really hope this thing breaks the 100mph barrier
Egad. Looks like some early 80s Japanese future sportbike concept that wanted to wrap everything in plastic. Except much worse.
It looks amazing! The presentation pic is just another photo of a TT bike, but the other photos when reading the article, it’s just amazing, it looks completely futuristic without being cheesy or cliché’d, I really like it!
For the “electric motorcycle”, well it’s still not my cup of tea but I’m hoping them good luck, one day the technology will be viable for the masses and they are pushing the limits.
@ngads
Nice to see the CAD sponsor show up! (I am a 11 year Solidworks user myself)
Got to be good coverage for them. The bike looks sharp in a 1992 futuristic/cyber/anime sort of way. I dig it.
Can they stop McGuinness on the Shinden though?
Any Idea where the radiator is on this guy? Looks like maybe in the belly pan, but its hard to tell
Radiator is in the tail.
More photos here boys: http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/bikes/2012-motoczysz-e1pc-photos/
Well I, for one, am rooting for Flynn to vanquish Sark on that thing.
@ Damo
Nice! I’ve used Solidworks and ProE for about 5 years now (i prefer Solidworks), just got my Bachelor of Engineering :)
I think McGuinness will be hard to stop, but he has never raced in this category b4 and we don’t know how good the honda is yet. Cant Wait to find out!
It sure is an interesting looking bike. I look forward to seeing how it performs on track.