After teasing us earlier last month with its silhouette, Mission Motors has finally taken the wraps off its Mission R electric race bike. Boasting some big numbers, namely a 14.4 kWh battery pack and a 3-phace AC induction motor that makes 141hp and 115 lbs•ft of torque, the Mission R ticks all the right performance boxes with its 160mph top speed, 100 kW motor controller, regenative breaking, and barely race legal 545 lbs weight.
Taking lessons learned from the Mission One, Mission Motors has built the Mission R from the ground-up, and tapped some well known names to help the company make this striking motorcycle. With James Parker (of GSX-RADD fame) designing the chassis, and Tim Prentice of Motonium working on the industrial design, the Mission R is not only a very pleasing motorcycle to look at (drool over that billet single-sided swingarm), but also incorporates some advanced concepts to make it a potent and compact racing weapon. Oh, and did we mention the bike looks freaking fantastic?
Starting with the chassis, James Parker designed the Mission R’s unique Quad-Element frame layout, which has a chrome-moly trellis frame, joined to a billet aluminum front piece that incorporates the head stock and forward sub-frame. Enclosed in a carbon fiber box, the Mission Motors managed to fit 14.4kWh of MissionEVT battery packs into the chassis design, while Parker’s main focus was centering the new Mission Motors AC induction motor at the Mission R’s exact center of gravity.
The densest component on the Mission R, Parker’s goal was to put the 3-phase AC induction motor as close to the center of gravity on the Mission R, so as to have the lowest moment of inertia possible. With a wheelbase just 3/4 of an inch longer than a Ducati 1198 Superbike’s, the Mission R should be very flickable and responsive, and Mission touts that it will be one of the most compact and well-balanced designs on the 2011 racing grid.
With Tim Prentice working intimately with the Mission Motors engineers, Motonium’s industrial design aspects have not only made the Mission R very pragmatic in its design, with a small frontal-area and aggressive ergonomic, but also the electric race bike is a stunning two-wheeler that should turn more than a few petrol-minded heads at this weekend’s Long International Motorcycle Show. We especially like Prentice’s fairing design that sweeps down from the front fairing to the bellypan, elegantly showing off the orange trellis frame. With plenty of carbon, and all the right go-fast parts, we challenge anyone not to get excited about this bike visually.
The Mission R isn’t destined to sit around and just look good though, as Mission Motors plans on going racing with the bike in the TTXGP series (just barely under the newly imposed maximum weight provision of 250kg), as well as taking on other series like the Laguna Seca e-Power Championship and Isle of Man TT Zero as Mission deems them fitting with the company’s goals. As of right now Mission plans to only field one bike, with a rider not yet named, but could possibly field a second bike if the sponsorship and funding materializes for such an addition. “Racing is in our DNA,” said Mission Motors Founder Edward West. “The crucible of the racing circuit is one of the key ways we advance our technology. Pushing the envelope for what is possible with electric drive shapes not only the future of motorsports, but the future of transportation.”
Using the Mission R as a rolling showcase of its designs and brainpower, there are no immediate plans at this time for the Mission R to be available as a street bike from Mission Motors, but the San Francisco based company is not willing to say never on that idea. For now though, the Mission R will serve as a proving ground for the MissionEVT components and expertise, which Mission Motors hopes to sell to other manufacturers and OEMs inside and outside of the motorcycle industry. While business seems to be booming for Mission, we think the sound we’ll be hearing the most of this weekend will be peoples’ jaws dropping when they see the Mission R in person at the Long Beach show. Scroll down for photos and technical specs.
Mission R Specifications
Motor: 141 horsepower liquid-cooled 3-phase AC induction
Torque: Crank: 115 ft-lb (0 – 6400RPM)
Top Speed: 160+ mph
Energy Storage
- MissionEVT battery modules with integrated Battery Management System
- Carbon fiber casing with dielectric liner
- Swappable architecture
- 14.4 kWh total energy storage
Power Control:
MissionEVT 100kW controller with integrated Vehicle Management System
- Adjustable throttle mapping
- Regenerative braking
- WiFi & 3G data connectivity
Transmission:
Single speed, gear-driven primary reduction
Chassis:
RADD-designed Quad-Element Frame
- Billet aluminum and
- Chrome-moly
- Power-Unit as fully-stressed member
- Battery box as semi-stressed member
Front Suspension:
- Öhlins FGR-000 TTX25 Gas Charged Fork
- Adjustment for preload, ride height, high and low speed compression and rebound
Rear Suspension:
- Single-sided billet aluminum swingarm with linear wheelbase/chain adjustment
- Öhlins TTX36 Shock and progressive linkage system
- Adjustment for preload, ride height, high and low speed compression and rebound
Wheels:
Marchesini forged magnesium 10-spoke.
- Front: 17” x 3.5”
- Rear: 17” X 6”
Front Brake
- 2 Brembo 320 mm narrow-band racing stainless rotors
- 2 Brembo 2-piece billet 4-piston 30/34 mm differential bore radial-mount calipers
Rear Brake
- 245 mm stainless rotor
- Brembo HPK 2-piston 34 mm caliper
Source: Mission Motors
Still needs to loose about 100lbs however non the less this bike looks hawt. I still think the MotoCzysz E1 looks better. I’d like to see these two duke it out at the TTIOM, oh wait we will! =o)
I’m still quite taken with the E1PC as well, but RAWR! That’s definitely a better looking machine than the Mission One!
i would buy this if it was road legal in australia! well on sale anywhere i guess
Looks like a motorcycle unlike the Chris Yates monstrosity. I would be interested in buying one if it wasn’t so fat.
Absolutely gorgeous work of engineering. Interesting to me that they’re still using a single speed gearbox.
Looks sick! Nice job Mission team! Here’s hoping we get to see you at the track this year. And yes… I’m scared. ;)
Very well executed, this is the type of design that’s gonna need to happen if Electric bikes are to ever be marketable. Yes it’s heavy, but that’s where the technology is at this point. Hopefully weight will start coming down in the years where you could actually buy these.
beautiful. I just wonder if it’s smart to outdate the Mission One… that’s still not available !
I am so sick and tired of this company hyping themselves up with cool prototypes with no intention of selling these to anyone. Once again this is a bike whose only purpose is to generate more hype and venture capital for themselves. Once they have enough, they will most likely go public and then manufacture bikes in China.
Anyone can build a bike like this given enough money, the technology used in this bike has been around for decades. The only thing of value that this company can provide to us is selling these for under $20K, which they have no intention of ever doing.
Beautiful. Here’s an AMERICAN company designing, building and innovating…a company that’s only been in existence since 2007. The tech is coming along, folks…despite the naysayers.
Of course, they’re building prototypes and hyping themselves, if you’d read the article, you’d know that these technical exercises are about selling COMPONENTS, not just whole bikes. As for manufacturing in China, there are reasons it’s cheaper to do business there. Perhaps if you’d like to explore actually DOING something about that, then a little action on all our parts is necessary.
Electric motorcycles was just recently only the realm of a few hobbyists; and yet, here we are watching the birth of a new industry, practically overnight! Shouldn’t we be supporting these efforts rather than nitpicking?
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: The Mission R from Mission Motors breaks covers – http://bit.ly/dNaTI8 #motorcycle #ev #omfg
Looks like they talked Parker out of inflicting his usual hideous front end on the thing. That’s got to be a plus.
It still weighs as much as one of those Harley lead sleds, but thank God it looks a hell of a lot better than that dinosaur Chip Yates built (what the hell is Yates thinking, if Mission can do this why can’t he ?!)!! Looks a bit like that Colard Ducati custom, too…
@ gnmac : Chip Yates is building his bike on his own money. Mission Motors is a company with other financial resources.
Saw the bike yesterday at the Long Beach show. Impressive. Will be a much more interesting year in TTXGP and IOM with this on the track.
Side note: Zero and Brammo were both missing from the exhibitor list at the show. Can’t believe they’d miss the largest and most important trade show in their industry in the most important market if they could help it.
Even after a few days since first seeing it, I’m still stunned. It’s hard to believe that this bike and the Mission 1 are created by the same company, the Mission R as gorgeous as the Mission 1 is butt-ugly. Interestingly…with it’s trellis frame, single-sided swingarm and Marchesini wheels, all the bike needs is a red paint job and you’d be hard pressed not to think this bike was Ducati’s entry onto the electric racing scene. I bet someone at Ducati must be thinking “Damn…we just got beat to the punch!” :-) Good job Mission!! This bike makes me excited to see what MotoCzysz, Brammo and some of the other electric racing manufacturers will have to offer for the 2011 season.
Zero & Brammo did not attend the IMS in Long Beach? I thought is was odd not seeing any European OEMs in Seattle (except for Ducati) as well as electric companies.
Is it something with that show promoter?
First views of this bike are impressive.
Mission R is Amazing Electric Motorcycle, I belive this superbike become futuristic bike
@Sid
No, Zero or Brammo were not in attendance. Seems odd as Southern California is by far the largest market with early adopter potential.
Mission R nice moto!