plus 4, Go Racing on Mavizen’s Electric Superbike - Wired News |
- Go Racing on Mavizen’s Electric Superbike - Wired News
- Motorcyclist who died was 1 of 3 going 100 mph on I-95, police say - Richmond Times-Dispatch
- High-definition equals high sales for wearable video camera - USA Today
- West faces more charges - Richmond Times-Dispatch
- World of Outlaws returning to I-96 Speedway - MLive.com
| Go Racing on Mavizen’s Electric Superbike - Wired News Posted: 03 Nov 2009 09:16 PM PST
The entrepreneur behind the world's first zero-emissions motorcycle race is back with a limited-edition competition-caliber electric superbike we'll see on the track next year. The Mavizen TTX02 unveiled Tuesday in Las Vegas marries top-shelf components and racy styling with a lithium-ion battery pack and two electric motors. Azhar Hussain built it to provide a ready-made machine that anyone can ride in the 2010 TTXGP, the second running of the green grand prix he launched this year. "We want the TTxGP eGrandPrix to be affordable and accessible," Hussain told Wired.com. "The TTX02 is a step toward that goal." Mavizen joins Mission Motors in the quest to electrify high-performance motorcycles. But while the Misson One is a street-legal machine, the TTX02, like the one-off Bramo Enertia TTR we saw last year, is meant primarily for racing. What really makes it unique, however, is its interchangable drivetrain and open-source software that allows riders to customize their machines to suit their needs. "It's a competitive platform to start developing and tweaking," Hussain said. "This is about giving everybody access to the best tools so they can go racing and have a stab at making history." In that way, the TTX02 is a seed from which Hussain hopes the future of the eGrandPrix and electric motorcycle racing will grow. And the kernel of that seed was provided by KTM, a company most famous for its dirtbikes.
 One of the bike's two Agni motors. The rolling chassis is a KTM RC8 street bike, and they're sent directly to Mavizen from the KTM factory. They arrive without the engine and other bits needed for internal combustion, but everything else — from the chrome-moly trellis frame and WP suspension to the Brembo brakes, cast aluminum wheels and slick bodywork — is exactly as you'd find it in a KTM showroom. "This way we benefit from one of the best chassis in the world married up with a boosted version of the drivetrain that won the Isle of Man TTXGP," Hussain said. Propulsion comes from a pair of Agni 95 electric motors, each producing 22.5 kilowatts continuous power (about 30 horsepower) and 36 kilowatts peak (48.2 horsepower). Hussain says the bike weighs "about 160 kilograms" ready to ride. Riders will choose one of three lithium-ion packs, each developed specifically for one of the TTXGP's three racing classes. The biggest pack, the Snaefell, is an 11 kilowatt-hour unit designed for the 38-mile Isle of Man TT course. The 6 kilowatt-hour Circuit pack is for the 25-mile course. A smaller "Sprint" pack is being developed for the eGrandprix's six-mile course. There's no word yet on who's building the batteries. "The technology is moving too fast to commit to one manufacturer," Hussain said. "For us, performance is key and price second, so our design is flexible enough not to lock down to a particular battery." The drivetrain is swappable, allowing racers to mix-and-match packs and motors to suit the circuit and their riding style. The software controlling it all runs on Linux — Hussain says it boots up in less than three seconds — and the system bus for power and data features a USB port. "This allows all kinds of peripherals to integrate into a single command system," Hussain said. "So, for example, a camera feed can integrate with battery management and GPS to form a single view of the race." Mavizen included a web browser into the system to allow remote login, configuration and system diagnostics. Hussain says that will make it easier to provide software upgrades and for racers to customize the software. The command system is called Chewii, and Hussain says it will be available in March at no cost to anyone who wants it. Hussain plans to build the TTX02 in the United Kingdom. Volume will depend upon demand, but Mavizen has set an initial goal of 50 bikes. The first of them will be delivered in April. The price will depend upon what battery pack is ordered, but Hussain said "a typical circuit configuration will be about $40,000." Although the bike is designed specifically for the TTXGP, you don't have to race on the Isle of Man to buy one. "Anybody who wants to get into electric bike racing or just wnats to get the bike on the road is welcome to come and we'll get them going," he said. Photos : MCN See Also:
The electric drivetrain and lithium-ion battery sits in an RC8 superbike chassis provided by KTM.
Another view of the two motors, plus the WP shock and a portion of the chrome-moly frame.
The TTX02 runs on Linux and includes a built-in Web browser to make updating and modifying the software a snap.
When you don't need gasoline, under the gas cap is a great place to stash a USB port.
Another studio shot of the TTX02 electric motorcycle. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Motorcyclist who died was 1 of 3 going 100 mph on I-95, police say - Richmond Times-Dispatch Posted: 03 Nov 2009 10:42 PM PST A Henrico County man who died after crashing into a guardrail Saturday was one of three motorcyclists who eluded police on Interstate 95 while racing in and out of traffic at more than 100 mph, authorities said yesterday. Erwin Brower, 27, of the 4400 block of Foxtail Lane died at the scene after crashing his Suzuki GSX-R600 racing bike on the ramp leading from southbound Chippenham Parkway to northbound I-95, said Sgt. Thomas Molnar with the Virginia State Police. A companion riding another bike, identified as Anthony L. Forbes, 25, also of Foxtail Lane, was arrested later at his home and charged with felony eluding police and reckless driving/racing. Molnar said the trooper chasing Forbes lost him during the pursuit but obtained his license-plate number. Brower and Forbes were among three motorcyclists who were clocked by radar traveling more than 100 mph on northbound I-95 just south of the Chester exit, Molnar said. "There were three bikes racing in and out of traffic," he said. A trooper gave pursuit, and one of three motorcyclists was able to escape without being identified. The trooper chased Brower about 10 minutes from I-95 onto northbound Chippenham Parkway before the motorcyclist circled back and headed south on Chippenham toward I-95. "When he entered the curve [on the ramp] at a high rate of speed, he lost control . . . and crashed into the guardrail there," Molnar said. The pursuing trooper struck debris from the wrecked motorcycle but didn't hit Brower, Molnar said. Forbes is set to appear in court in Colonial Heights on Jan. 26.
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| High-definition equals high sales for wearable video camera - USA Today Posted: 03 Nov 2009 09:23 PM PST The Seattle-based start-up makes the ContourHD, a "wearable" video camera targeted to outdoor sports enthusiasts — skiers, cyclists, skydivers and motorcyclists. The camera captures footage from mounts for helmets and goggles. At this point last year, as Twenty20 was about to enter its peak selling season — ski time — the recession whacked sales to the point where they were "non-existent," Barros says. So Barros and co-founder Jason Green came up with something that their wearable-camera competitors GoPro and V.I.O. had yet to exploit: high-definition video recording. In the spring, Twenty20 released a Contour camera with high-definition 720p resolution; two weeks ago, it released a unit that records in full 1080p, called the ContourHD1080p. Sales have "quadrupled" since the May launch, says Barros, the company's CEO. "We're selling them faster than we can make them." He projects sales of 50,000 cameras this year, or just under 100,000 units since forming the company in 2003. The outdoor enthusiast market is 50 million people in the USA, and 100 million worldwide, Barros says — giving him a large footprint to sell to. Jeff Smith, director of retail giant Amazon's camera and photo department, says the first ContourHD has consistently been in the top 40 of video cam sales, alongside bigger, established firms such as Sony, Canon, Samsung, Kodak and Pure Digital. "With all the buzz on HD, high-def has clearly taken the Contour to another level," he says. The tube-shaped camera — which sells for $279 for the 720p version or $329 for the 1080p — comes with a mount, and an on-off button designed to work even with gloves on. The camera, which is 4 inches long and weighs about 4 ounces, ships with a 2-gigabyte miniSD memory card, which holds about one hour of footage. The battery lasts three hours. With the Contour attached to your helmet, you get a bird's eye, ultra-wide-angle 135-degree view of the world. The clips are in the .MOV format, which play in both Windows Media Player and QuickTime. Luke Parmeter, a student at the University of Wisconsin, bought the ContourHD for motorcycle racing this summer. He wears the camera on his goggles. "The quality is really good, awesome," he says. "People come up to me all the time (and say), 'What do you have on your goggles?' They can't believe it's a camera." Parmeter had used a wearable camera from GoPro, but wanted more than standard definition. (GoPro has announced a $299 high-definition version, scheduled to be released this month.) Gregg Stansbury, who runs a Seattle construction company, bought the Contour for skiing, and has since advanced to motorcycle and dirt-bike riding. "I'd tried hand-holding a camera to get video of my (son) skiing, but it's pretty tough," he says. "With a helmet camera, it's very smooth." Student project Barros and Green got the idea for the camera while they were students at the University of Washington, as part of a business plan competition. Their wearable camera came in third, worth $20,000 in seed money. They started the company with that, plus $50,000 from a loan that Barros' uncle co-signed. "We didn't have wives, families, homes or anything tying us down," Barros says. "So why not do it now?" The first camera was bulky, made of several parts and had to be connected to a regular camcorder. Sales were decent but not fantastic, says Barros. Then he read an article about a successful design firm in nearby Portland, Ore., Ziba Design, and pushed to become a client. Steve McCallion, Ziba's executive creative director, at first brushed him off, saying he didn't have time to take it on. "We get so many of these kind of requests, the first response is usually hesitancy," McCallion recalls. "But we saw a guy who was very passionate about seeing an unidentified or unmet need in the marketplace. We saw an opportunity to help them deliver on their promise." Ziba, which has helped design products for Sirius Satellite Radio, Logitech and Microsoft, transitioned the camera into a self-contained unit. Building community While the company is called Twenty20, Barros says most folks know them as VholdR, the name of its first, and now discontinued, standard-definition camera. VholdR is the moniker for the website, as well. With the new Contour in the marketplace, Barros and Green, the company's vice president of technology, realized they needed to make the website a sharing community to set it apart from competitors.
Their customers wanted to see their action videos online, and in one place, so they worked at making VholdR.com a community for adventure enthusiasts. Some 75% of buyers register for VholdR.com and share videos there, Barros says. "Every new camera sold brings six new visitors to the site." The Contour software, which comes with the camera, offers tools for easy trims to make short online videos. "They want to show their friends what they did — but only the good stuff," says Barros. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| West faces more charges - Richmond Times-Dispatch Posted: 03 Nov 2009 09:02 PM PST NBAWest faces more chargesWASHINGTON - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West was indicted yesterday on additional weapons and traffic charges stemming from his Sept. 17 arrest for speeding on a motorcycle and carrying multiple weapons. The eight-count indictment sheds no new light on why West, 26, was riding a motorcycle on the Capital Beltway in Prince George's County, Md., at 10 p.m. with two loaded handguns and a loaded shotgun. Prosecutors yesterday added an 8½-inch Bowie knife to the list of concealed weapons West was carrying. It's illegal in Maryland to carry concealed weapons and to transport loaded handguns. Prince's games streak endsAUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince missed last night's game against the Orlando Magic with a back injury, ending his games streak at 496. Prince will be sidelined for at least three games before his status is re-evaluated this weekend. His games-played streak was second among active players, trailing Andre Miller, and his games-started streak of 439 was the longest active run.
SOCCERSoehn out as United coachWASHINGTON - D.C. United said Tom Soehn has withdrawn from consideration to stay on as the team's coach after three seasons. Soehn's contract expires at the end of 2009, and the team said on its Web site it will start searching for a replacement immediately. United was 36-30-24 in Major League Soccer matches under Soehn. He went 55-48-31 in all competitions. The team went 9-8-13 this season and missed the playoffs. HORSE RACINGZenyatta made early 5-2 favoriteARCADIA, Calif. - Zenyatta was made the early 5-2 favorite in a field of 13 for the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, in which she'll put her 13-0 record on the line against the boys for the first time. Zenyatta will break from the No. 4 post in Saturday's 1¼-mile race at Santa Anita. She had also been pre-entered in Friday's $2 million Ladies' Classic, which she won last year. But owners Jerry and Ann Moss, along with trainer John Shirreffs, had a bigger goal in mind for the 5-year-old mare. "There's an opportunity to make history in the Classic, that's why we chose the Classic," Shirreffs said, referring to the fact that no female horse has ever won in the race's 25-year history. With a victory, Zenyatta would better Personal Ensign's career mark of 13-0 set from 1986-88. That filly retired as the first undefeated champion in American racing in more than 80 years. Missing from America's richest race is Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra, the 3-year-old filly that won all eight of her races this year, including three victories over male competition. Her owner, Jess Jackson, shut her down for the year because he doesn't like Santa Anita's synthetic surface, where his two-time horse of the year Curlin faded to fourth in last year's Classic. COLLEGE BASKETBALLGophers suspend forward, guardMINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota coach Tubby Smith suspended two players indefinitely for breaking team rules. Smith would not say why freshman forward Royce White and senior guard Devron Bostick were in trouble. They'll be held out of exhibitions tomorrow (against Minnesota Duluth) and Monday (against Minnesota State Moorhead) and possibly more, until Smith decides they're ready to return to the No. 25-ranked Gophers.
The PGA Tour is leaving the FedEx Cup just as it is with the playoff schedule and points system. Rick George, the chief of operations for the PGA Tour, said that any adjustment to the points system was not on the agenda and not discussed at a board meeting earlier this week. It would be the first time since the FedEx Cup began in 2006 that the points system was left alone. Tiger Woods won the $10 million prize this year, although four players had a chance to win the cup on the back nine of the Tour Championship. The Champions Tour is going to Mississippi with a new tournament next spring to be played at Fallen Oak. Tour officials said the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic will be played April 30-May 2. - From Staff and Wire Reports This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| World of Outlaws returning to I-96 Speedway - MLive.com Posted: 03 Nov 2009 09:31 PM PST By Steve Kaminski | The Grand Rapids PressNovember 04, 2009, 12:20AM Track promoters across the state are busy hammering out their 2010 schedules now that the 2009 season has been completed, and the I-96 Speedway already has secured one date that you don't want to miss.Officials at the Lake Odessa half-mile dirt oval recently announced the World of Outlaws will be returning Saturday, May 22. I-96 Speedway had the only Outlaws date in the state in each of the past three seasons. In addition, I-96 has scheduled an AMA Pro Grand Nationals motorcycle race July 11. Outlaws season wrapping up Schatz enters the third annual World Finals at The Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., leading Meyers by 19 points and Saldana by 46. It is pretty amazing that we have such a close points battle after 63 races. Schatz, of Fargo, N.D., heads into the finale with 12 victories and 38 top-five finishes, while Meyers, of Clovis, Calif., has kept pace with eight wins and 32 top-fives. Saldana, of Brownsburg, Ind., leads the series with 19 wins, and he has 36 top-fives. Schatz will be racing his Mario Andretti/STP tribute car for the second time this season. He won the Knoxville Nationals with it earlier this season. "Being able to be associated with Mario Andretti is an honor," Schatz said in a release. "Meeting him this summer and talking with him every day of the Nationals was pretty incredible. We talked a few weeks ago, and he was pumping me up about going out and finishing the season and winning the championship. "Everything worked out how we hoped it would at the Nationals. The fun part now is going to Charlotte with the car and hopefully getting a few more wins with it. Mario told me he only associates with winners, so we're going to do our best to get the STP car back to victory lane and carry on his winning tradition." Action will begin with Thursday's qualifying, followed by heat races Friday. Speed TV will televise Saturday's World Finals live at 8 p.m. Audio for the first two nights will be available at dirtvision.com. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
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