History of the Electric Motorcycle Part 2

An Electric Motorcycle,powered by a hydrazine-air fuel cell system, was built under the direction of Union Carbide's Dr. Karl Kordesch, a pioneer in fuel cell development. Dr. Kordesch put over 300 miles on the motorbike which could do 25 miles an hour and could travel 200 miles on a gallon of hydrazine. The bike was not built for anything other than a test-bed vehicle for the fuel cell. It wasn't practical for public use, as hydrazine is a rocket propellant, and not something that most people would want to mess with.

However it is the first recorded use of a fuel cell for a Electric Motorcycle.

Also in 1967, the Indian Motorcycle Company displayed a one-of-a-kind prototype of a 1967 Indian "Papoose" Electric Motorcycle. This is on display at the Starklite Museum in Perris, California.

In the early 70's, Auranthetic, another US company, produced an Electric Motorcycle. Known as the Aurenthetic Charger, it was a moped sized scooter. It used a 1HP, 24 volt motor, with 2 12V 90AH deep cycle batteries.
It had a top speed of 25 mph and a range of 50 miles. The wheelbase was 45 inches, with a weight, with batteries of 210 lbs. This one was also produced in California.

Seems the Left Coast is a real hot-bed of Electric Motorcycle innovation.

In 1973, Mike Corbin set the 1st Electric Motorcycle Land Speed Record. Speed, a hot 101 mph. He was definitely jazzed, because the next year, 1974, the company he founded, Corbin-Gentry Inc. began selling a street legal Electric Motorcycle.
No information about the bikes, but that same year Professor Charles E. MacArthur made the first electric vehicle ascent on Mt. Washington, in New Hampshire, using a Corbin Electric motorcycle. The event evolved into an annual rally, called the "Mt Washington Alternative Vehicle Regatta". By the way, a Corbin Gentry entry held the Land Speed Record for Electric Motorcycles at 171 MPH, set in 1974 for quite some time.

From 1978, we find an electric motorcycle created by Transitron out of Honolulu, Hawaii. Manufactured from a Harley Davidson frame, it was the 5th in the MK2 series model. Powered by four 12V deep cycle batteries wired in 24V series-parallel pairs and a Baldor electric motor operating at 24V 95A and 2500 RPM to turn a belt-driven 4-speed transmission. It had a pseudo gas tank with Harley Davidson logo to protect the control system for the motor. The cycle weighed approximately 628 lbs. (285 kg). The max speed and distance are not available, but it was capable of reaching 0-30 mph in 5-6 seconds. S--L--O--W !!! Well no wonder, after all, 628 lbs. Hey, a chopper for the Over-The-Hill crowd. Strip it down, juice it up, drop a couple of seconds off that 0-30mph time.

In the late 90's, the EMB Lectra VR24 Electric Motorcycle was created by Scott Cronk and EMB. It pioneered the use of variable reluctance motors (hence the VR) and marketed as street legal. This had a lot of potential, but from reading the info,
they spent quite a bit of time re-inventing the wheel, so to speak. These were produced from 1996 until 1999. 4 to 6 prototypes, and then 12 engineering build models were part of an extensive engineering and consumer test program that EMB undertook to finalize the Lectra prior to regular production. The total production run was about 100 units. The performance specifications on this one are great. Top speed was 45 to 50mph. Range was up to 35 miles. It used 4 12V Optima batteries, which are maintenance free, giving 300-350 deep discharge cycles. It had a on-board charger that was fully automatic. The VR24 drive system included a regenerative braking mode. The motor was rated at about 8HP peak, with a 3HP continuous rating. It also included a over-heat protection system, as high speed lead to overheat problems in the power train.

Shame they went out of business in 1999.