Kingston University builds 102mph electric bike

Kingston University has revealed its 102mph electric bike, destined for the all-electric TTXGP race on the Isle of Man this year.

“Being green doesn’t have to mean slow,” said the University's director for motorsport and motorcycle engineering Paul Brandon. “The ideas we and others put to the test on the racing circuit are the ones most likely to become commonplace on the road.”

Designed by six final-year engineering students, the bike is expected to average 70mph around the 38 mile course.

Power comes from a 72V lithium ion phosphate battery.

“The energy density is far less than that of petrol or diesel so how we manage the energy we carry is critical to our success in the race,” said Brandon. “The bike we have designed has a whole vehicle efficiency of 90 per cent, so we are only wasting 10 per cent of what we carry. By comparison a petrol-based vehicle wastes 70 per cent of the energy it carries.”

"The overall CO₂ usage, including the CO₂ generated to charge the batteries, will be around 50 per cent less CO₂ than a petrol or diesel-power bike," said team member Gonzalo Carrasco.

Alongside the Kingston entry, there are 23 other bikes in the TTXGP in June, from countries including America, Austria, Germany, India, Italy and the UK.

"What the Kingston University team has done is extraordinary in speed and scope given the resources available," said TTXGP founder Azhar Hussain.

From left to right, Kingston engineering students Dean Goldsmith,  Michael Payne (on bike), Sean Whittaker, Alex Jones-Dellaportas and Gonzalo Carrasco.