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Mission One Electric Superbike Revealed

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

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The Mission One claims a top speed of 150mph and range of 150 miles, amazing performance numbers for an electric motorcycle design.

For Mission Motors it’s all about the number 150. The Bay Area motorcycle start up has gained instant notoriety in the two-wheeled world with its unveiling of the Mission One electric superbike, making incredible performance claims of 150mph top speed and 150-mile range.

The creator of Mission One is Forrest North, who founded Mission Motor Company after leaving the Tesla Roadster electric car project. Formerly known as Hum Cycles, Mission Motor has rebranded with the debut of its new design, taking its name from its office location on San Francisco’s Mission Street.

Battery technology has been the hindrance of performance and range in previous electric rides, but it would seem that Mission has found a solution with its high-energy Lithium-Ion units. The secret to the impressive power claims may come from sheer battery quantity, as photos from the Mission Motor website (www.ridemission.com) show the exterior bodywork houses a tubular frame chassis that is practically bulging with battery packs.

The battery power juices a liquid-cooled, three-phase AC induction motor, which Mission PR describes as “about the size of a soccer ball.” A chain drive is visible, which will transfer the immediate 100 lb-ft of torque produced by the electric mill. The electric drivetrain requires no gearbox, clutch or exhaust.

But before the lofty 150 gets branded into consumer brains, it is worth noting those claims are listed on the spec sheet under “target performance.“ Making us wonder what the current real-world performance numbers are for the Mission One (we are eagerly awaiting official word from Mission representatives).

The Mission One was designed by fuseproject's Yves Behar.

Still, the claims shatter conventional performance and range limitations in other electric motorcycle designs – displaying the incredible potential of the electric drivetrain in a motorcycle application.

Befitting the Mission One’s high-tech credentials is wireless data acquisition, enabling riders to download and tune their ride via wireless laptop connection. There will be some wires required, however, as the Mission One will need to be recharged – taking “under 2 Hours @ 240V (8 Hours @ 120V).” The cost to “fill-up” the new ride from full empty will be a scant $1.96 – a claim made by Mission based off California energy prices.

Of course, the big to-do about electric vehicles are their pollution and CO2-reducing ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle) benefits. Even sourcing fossil-fuel powerplants (mostly coal in the US), the efficiency of an electric motor is far greater than internal combustion – thus reducing C02 emissions.

Like many battery-powered vehicles, the Mission One enhances its already high efficiency by taking advantage of regenerative braking, capturing otherwise wasted kinetic energy on deceleration. There is an extra wrinkle in the Mission design, however, as the regenerative braking is tunable by the rider.

Will the Mission One live up to its 150 claims? Potential owners can drop $5K and reserve a limited-edition version to find out.

The remaining specs live up the Mission One’s high-performance claims. Fully adjustable Ohlins suspension, front and rear. Brembo brakes, with dual 310mm discs and radial-mount four-piston calipers up front. Forged aluminum Marchesini wheels. The interesting styling of the Mission One, designed by Yves Behar of fuseproject, certainly make it look like something capable of 150mph.

Mission is currently taking reservations for the “Premier Limited Edition of the Mission One” on their website. A $5000 fee will get you on the list for a 2010 Mission One. No final price is yet listed.

Stay tuned for further developments of the Mission One and other electric designs here at Motorcycle USA.

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Comments

milwakee mike - Yeah right! April 30, 2009 05:55 AM
Have any of you been caught in the rain? Remember that water and electricity don't mix. Looks like some lawyers are going get rich with these toys.

Stoner number 1 - ..... April 14, 2009 07:15 AM
This is a joke right? lol

Joshua - Thermal Runaway April 11, 2009 12:09 PM
Well, yes that is a possiblity... but gasoline explodes. So, is it really that big of a deal?

Sean - Welldone - What Is The Future I think not March 15, 2009 02:53 PM
To whoever said "Welldone - What Is The Future", well you're an idiot. Do you know how heavy the batteries are for a car? Your idea of exchanging batteries is about as good an idea as exchanging petrol tanks in a car. Electric cars are in the concept phase at the moment and nothing more than that. And Brian is 100% correct, this is a shift of the problem, not a solution. End of the day we can talk about helping the environment a lot... but until china and the other large asian countries start to clean up their act it's a waste of time.

Welldone - What Is The Future? March 11, 2009 09:47 PM
The electric motor driven vehicles are here to stay. This bike (and Tesla Motors cars) is proof of that. You could also google the electrical "killacycle", which recently made a world record in drag racing, zero to sixty mph in one second! In the future I see "fuel stations" where lorries, vans, cars and motorbikes go when battery power nears zero. The batteries are not bought, only the energy. Just like for the bigger gas bottles, you buy the first battery together with the car, and from then on you exchange for a fee that covers electricity, handling fees and profit for the station. This solves the fear of future battery failior and a big bill for a new one. When you can pop out the empty batterypack and pop in the recharged one in a minute, it is as fast as filling up the previous millennium tech combustion engine vehicle with petrol products. When you combine that with the vehicle RFID tag, there is no need to go separately to pay for it, its automatically drawn from your bank balance, saving you more time. As far as clean energy, at least in my country you can opt to choose a power company which produces its electricity from clean sources. There is wind energy, geo-thermal, and solar, not to forget the still existing waterfall turbine stations. It will be a big profitmaker for the battery-charge/change stations, to announce that their electricity is from clean, *non-food* sources. Depending on the situation, you can opt to recharge your bike at the station, perhaps read and answer emails, shopping and eating meanwhile (or overnight at home), or change it fast at the station, which is more expensive, but gives unlimited mileage.

Dannicus - 150 bike February 21, 2009 03:11 PM
IMO, electric vehicles are the gateway to clean transport. Coal burning plants will inevitably go away just as coal is non-renewable. As for the CG, it's prolly easier to get it right as lithium ion batteries are lighter. They recycle well, too.

Dan - electricity costs February 20, 2009 01:16 PM
Lets not forget that electricity, although very clean fuel, is not so clean to produce. Like it says, most electric plants are coal fueled and spoil the planet too. And then what to do with the spent batteries? Another problem for the kids to worry about. I also wonder how low these guys can get the center of gravity on this bike. I wish em luck though, I think a forest safe dirt version would be cool.

Dusty Roads - Battery-Thermal Runaway! February 19, 2009 05:38 PM
I've heard these batteries can have a thermo-runnaway event whereby without warning,can begin getting hotter and hotter and.....you get the picture.Please correct me if I'm wrong. Also,for the $5K down and no set price,the least they can do is to issue a stock certificate in the company redemable(if you choose)at final purchase. I do love the consept and what I see and read,so far.Just make it real!

Andrew - $$69K!!??!! February 19, 2009 08:53 AM
On their site the price is $69K. That is a LOT of gas on ANY other bike. Oh, and you could buy a street legal MotoGP (Ducati Desmosedici) for about the same price... No Thank you to this buying this weird looking bike with "targeted performance".

Julio A. - Mission One February 19, 2009 08:39 AM
RJ WALTERS - can I give you a virtual slap across the forehead? It is a friggin ELECTRIC bike. It doesnt make any noise at all - totally silent bike. You can probably have a conversation with your passenger at 100mph without having to raise your voice much...and the wind would be the factor, not the bike noise! Seems like a cool ride. I'd certainly be down to ride it - I love quirky stuff! Thats why I own a Z1000!

RJ Walters - Mission One February 19, 2009 04:25 AM
Build it for a competitive price to combustion and they will come.... How about some video to get a glimps of what this thing sounds like? Need any test riders in the hills of New England? :-)

patrick - electric bike February 18, 2009 09:31 PM
looks like fun for a non-gas-er i hope people are willing to give it a try for the future of this planet,wheres the 3-whellers though?

Bandeeto - Works for me February 16, 2009 03:24 AM
If they can keep the range at around 100+ miles, and even with a lower top speed, this bike works for me. I've never been 150mph on any sport bike I've ever owned. I've only been to 120mph once, just to see what it felt like. It just seems a little odd for people to nitpick this bike for failing to do things that most people won't, or shouldn't, do anyway. If you want to tour, get a touring bike. If you NEED your ride to go 150mph, get something else. If you need your ride to be the lightest bike on the road get a scooter. This bike will take me to work and back 6 times on one charge! And I can charge it at work (without asking!!!)! If it's less than 15k, and comes with a good warrantee, I'd consider getting it.

Sean_2 - Mission One Bike February 15, 2009 04:54 AM
It's among the worst looking vehicles of any type I've ever seen in my life so hopefully future versions will feature better styling. As to the batteries, one of the posters above mentions they are "highly toxic" but I thought the whole thing with lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries was they were very environmentally safe which is in sharp contrast to previous generations of batteries like nickel cadmiums and nickel metal hydride batteries? I can't comment on the manufacturing process and CO2 output because I'm not familiar with how they are made. Either way, as fuel prices go up I'm sure this type of technology will be the wave of the future. The performance and range are very similar to the Speed Triple I've been contemplating purchasing. Again, lets hope they can improve the styling because it's simply awful in current form.

Brian - Waste not, want NOT. February 13, 2009 09:19 PM
$5000 just to get on the "waiting list" for a bike with no true specs/price yet (only "targeted specs")?? LOL! Yeah...good luck with that! Here we go again. When will people learn that power is only as clean as it's source. Worried about toxic battery waste? Worried that the additional electrical charge comes from a coal burning power grid (such as mine)? Ahhh... Welcome to the "illusion" of "clean" electric power. No such thing. It's just moving the emissions of a clean burning, efficient motor to a much less clean burning power plant (plus the battery disposal issue). Electric? Sounds nice...too bad it's a "shift of problem"...not a "solution".

x2468 - shock February 12, 2009 10:11 PM
i'll be curious to see how it handles with that weird shock/swingarm setup. it looks like the vertical shock from the first dirtbikes that came out with mono shocks in the 80s.

Sean - Cost and C02 February 12, 2009 02:12 PM
Everyone raves about the low carbon footprint and low cost of electric and hybrid vehicles yet no-one considers the construction, disposal and replacement of the batteries. The batteries used are highly toxic and technologically advanced, so there is a lot of CO2 produced to make the battery. And as for the $2 to refil. I'd rather pay $20 and not have to pay for the replacement of the batteries....

GixxerChris - Not sure weight is an issue... February 12, 2009 10:34 AM
They are claiming 5.9s to 100mph, so it can't be all that heavy. It'll probably be heavier than the latest sportbikes, but they have the ability to move that weight around since it's only a battery (there aren't a lot of constraints on where it can go). Plus, instant torque, no gear shifting and some interesting possibilities for traction control, wheelie control, tuning of response to throttle application, better feel for power delivery (like the crossplane crankshaft), and a number of other cool features. Sound definitely is an interesting problem, though it hasn't hurt the Tesla guys. On the track, it probably doesnt matter since you never need to shift anyway and torque is so consistent that you dont need sound to tell you what the engine will do. I dunno, the more I think about it the cooler it sounds. If it is anywhere near their projections, I'd probably bet that most average riders would be faster around a track on this thing than a lot of mondern sportbikes since it will be more consistent and could take less work (even if it's heavier).

Vidi - Its so... February 12, 2009 10:30 AM
Ugly

Superlight - Mission One February 12, 2009 10:17 AM
This new company should invest in a designer; boy is it ugly! Looks like Home Depot got the call for the folded/punched aluminum pieces on the sides.

Oliver - Mission One February 12, 2009 08:40 AM
Even with heavy batteries, the engine will likely be lighter, and with no transmission, no clutch, no exhaust, the bike may likely weigh less than it's internal combustion brethren. More importantly, the gyroscopic effect may also be far lower given that there will be no spinning transmission, rotating valves, etc. By lowering the rotational forces, the bike theoretically should change directions and accelerate faster. The key will be to centralizing the mass and not putting it up too high. The lower they can place the batteries and play with the engine location, the more handling options the bike should have. Given a smaller engine "the size of a soccer ball," they should be able to move the motor around in the frame with more options than current internal combustion motorcycles. This is all good stuff, but will likely depend on the efficiency of the batteries. I wonder what the engine braking will be like, more two strokish with little engine braking, or more four-strokish with potentially lots of it? I suspect the former.

Dr. Bombay - It probably won't do 150. It probably won't go 150. And it'll probably take longer than two hours to charge. February 12, 2009 08:36 AM
Frankly, I'm tired of optimistic claims and protypes being pitched as fully-developed production models. Face it, all the wishful thinking in the world isn't going to give current battery technology enough power to meet most of the wild claims of the all-electric-vehicle builders and proponents. The fact is that these things still aren't practical in most cases--not even as recreational vehicles. I'd be willing to bet that reality falls far short of the claimed numbers, just like all the other high performance electric vehicles. I encourage these guys to keep developing bikes, but, please, lower the hype.

philamar - electric bike February 12, 2009 02:22 AM
I have a 90 mile commute, straight shot on expressway so I see this as a possible option. It takes about 5 bucks worth of gas on my Royal Star tour deluxe so it would save 3 plus change...I would like a 120 mile range to be safe but since my ride weighs 800+pounds the weight really isn't a issue..like to see a naked bike version!

DSM1098 - Weight Anyone??!! February 11, 2009 03:52 PM
Has anyone even thought of what this thing is gonna weigh?! Last I checked, batteries are heavy! Be interesting to see where they mount them tho'....they could use them to create a relatively low CG. IMHO, i prefer burning fossil fuels!!!! Get over it hippies, Global Warming is a SCAM!!! And hell....hamfisting an electric motor doesn't create the beautiful melodious sound that comes from COMBUSTION!!!, like that of an L-twin, V-four, IL-3, (sorry no love for IL-4's!!). Cool concept tho'

RustyAx - Mission One February 11, 2009 03:21 PM
Very Interesting concept. Should work well for the track or short rides/commutes. I sometimes ride 250-300 miles in a day and have done 600 mile days on my CBR1000RR. The Mission One will hinder those who like to pile on the miles, as a conventional engine can be refuled quickly almost anywhere, not in 2 - 8 hours.

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