Posted: April 6, 2007

Nanotechnology battery propels motorcycle from 0 to 60 mph in under 1.5 seconds

(Nanowerk News) The KillaCycle, the world’s quickest electric motorcycle and the official world record holder in the ¼ mile drag, broke the world record again using lithium-ion batteries based on new highly active nanoscale materials. The official record for any electric vehicle worldwide in the ¼ mile is set now at an elapsed time of 8.16 seconds. Further, The KillaCycle holds the top speed record for the ¼ mile, at a blistering 156mph.
KillaCycle powered with nanotechnology batteries
The KillaCycle – the fastest electric motorcycle in the world.
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Powered by 990 A123Systems Nanophosphate™ cells, The KillaCycle set the new world record for the fourth time in two days at the All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) event at the Firebird Speedway in Chandler, AZ on Saturday, March 31, 2007. Weighing just over 165 pounds, the A123Systems battery pack delivers over 350 horse power to the motorcycle drivetrain and holds 7.5 kWh of energy. With the A123Systems battery pack, The KillaCycle goes from 0 to 60mph in under 1.5 seconds.
“We continue to be thrilled with the superior performance of these cells, which we first started using last year,” explained Bill Dube´, designer, builder and owner of The KillaCycle. “The improvements we’ve made to the bike in the past three months paid off and we improved our time by over 0.6 seconds, a huge performance increase in such a short time. With these batteries, we know that we will be able to continue to improve our performance and establish new records.”
The A123Systems Nanophosphate cells are next-generation Automotive Class Lithium-Ion™ batteries designed for exceptional power, safety and life. Using a unique, patented, revolutionary chemistry, these batteries provide high performance and abuse-tolerance unmatched by any other lithium-ion battery chemistry.
“The KillaCycle is a great example of how our battery technology enables electric drive automotive applications to experience a new level of battery performance,” said Jonah Myerberg, senior engineer at A123Systems. “We look forward to working with Bill Dube’ and his team to continue to push the limits in racing and can offer these same improvements to others within the automotive market.”
Source: A123Systems