KillaCycle Electric Pro Stock Dragbike - Wild File

Eco-freaks can babble about environmental benefits 'til they're green in the face, but motorcycle enthusiasts aren't going to listen until electric performance approaches that of conventional internal-combustion machines. Zero emissions is an admirable idea, but at scooter speeds? Not in our garage!

KillaCycle inventor/owner Bill Dub recognizes this reality, and since the late '90s has dedicated significant time, energy and money into developing a dragbike capable of demonstrating the full potential of pollution-free performance.

The KillaCycle looks like any Pro Stock dragbike until you peer beneath the GSX-R-style AirTech bodywork. Instead of throttle bodies and exhaust pipes, the steel-tube frame is crowded with wires, circuit boards and a massive battery that powers a pair of 6.7-inch-diameter direct-current (DC) motors mounted just in front of the rear tire. Not, in other words, your everyday Pro Stocker.

Dub jokingly refers to the KillaCycle as "a giant cordless drill with wheels," and that's not far from the truth. The battery, from sponsor A123 Systems, consists of more than 1200 individual lithium-iron nanophosphate cells wired together in series-and each individual cell is essentially the same as that found in any DeWalt cordless tool. Dub has nicknamed the battery pack "Mr. Fusion," owing to its unique ability to melt even the most robust electric motors attached to it.

Jim Husted at Hi-Torque Electrics is the man in charge of converting the considerable energy (9.1 kWh) contained in Mr. Fusion into forward motion. Husted accomplishes this feat with a pair of custom-made, 1850-amp, DC motors that transmit a staggering 800 lb.-ft. of torque and 500 bhp to the 10-inch, M&H Racemaster rear slick. All that power is essentially available immediately-there is no need to "rev up" an electric motor-so a carefully programmed Caf Electronics Zilla control unit manages exactly how much power is delivered to the rear tire at any point during the run.

Charging the KillaCycle between runs presents another challenge. Like any lithium-ion battery, Mr. Fusion is thermally sensitive. A sophisticated battery-management system regulates peak charge voltage to the battery's 11 parallel groups of 110 cells each, and also signals when each parallel group is full to prevent overcharging or discharging that would damage the battery. A 12-kWh Manzanita Micro PFC-50 charger handles the actual charging duties.

What does this all add up to at the drag strip? Last October at Bandimere Speedway in Colorado, KillaCycle pilot Scotty Pollacheck upped the National Electric Drag Racing Association E.T. and speed records to 7.89 seconds and 174.05 mph-numbers that will get even the most oil-stained motorcycle enthusiast's attention.

By The Numbers
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