FB Corse to Join MotoGP in 2010 with Former BMW 3-Cylinder Prototype Race Bike



Former World Superbike Team, FB Corse, looks to be poised to enter the MotoGP Championship series for 2010 with race bike that uses a proprietary chassis and a 3-cylinder motor that was originally designed for BMW’s MotoGP effort.

The motor was designed by Mauro Forghieri, of the Oral Engineering Group, who was an engineer from Ferrari’s Formula One program. Forghieri has also designed engines for the likes of Bugatti and Lamborghini. If rumors are correct, this three-cylinder motor is the same one that BMW had hoped to campaign, before scraping their plans to join MotoGP.

The motor is unique in MotoGP as it will be the only inline triple raced in the series. Because of the fewer number of cylinder, it is expected to make around 200hp-210hp, or 10% than the other bikes on the grid. However with the power disadvantage, comes a weight advantage, as FIM regulations allow for a three-cylinder motorcycle to weigh 15lbs less than a four-cylinder configuration.

The power difference is also a lesser concern because FB foresees that the new motor restrictions (6 for the whole season) will cause the high-strung motors of 2009 to be replaced with more reliable counterparts for 2010. With more reliability comes less power, and that could tip the balance of power (if you’ll allow the pun) in FB’s favor, who would then have a motorcycle that makes just as much power as the rest of the field, but also weighs 15lbs less.

With an all Italian design team, it seems almost certain that we can expect an Italian piloting the FB come 2010. So far early rumors point to Ducati Pramac man, and former FB WSS rider, Niccolo Canepa, but, names like Alex de Angelis, and even James Toseland have been also whispered in the paddock as possibilities.

While the team has a laundry list of technical and non-technical hurdles to overcome, one thing is for certain: Dorna and the FIM will be pleased to see another season start with 18 motorcycles on the grid. Also, new blood in the MotoGP series is always a good thing, hopefully FB Corse will be able to put up some good results in their first year. Thanks for the tip Alison!

Nuclear-powered Motorbike 2050 version 2

French designer Romain Herment considers that nuclear fusion will allow the turning of nuclear energy into a power source for motorcycles. Not only that, but he has even come up with a concept bike meant to reveal the designer’s idea about how motorcycles based on the new technology will look like.

The “Motorbike 2050 version 2,” as it is called, is a fairly cool looking thing with plenty more interesting details needed to be unveiled. For instance, it will supposedly rely on deuterium and tritium – two inexhaustible natural elements – to make it efficient, as efficient as 1 liter of water per 100 km can be four decades from now.

While we have no knowledge of version 1, we must say that for this project the designer made sure to cover every single aspect such as power being generated by an electric engine weighing only 55kg, but they don’t mention much about the materials used to achieve the overall also light weight.

Each time I see something like this, I start thinking more and more seriously about recording a Harley for when we’ll be riding on this sort of motorcycles.

Voltra Electric café racer concept looks fast

Electric bikes have entered on an ascendant path and we’re seeing more and more interesting concepts. Among these, we’re caught up by Dan Anderson’s Voltra. Living in Sydney, Australia, the industrial design student created the electric café racer of the future for his final year thesis project. Dan says “the Voltra is the result of research into motorcycling history, society and culture as well as technology, materials and manufacturing and product semantics,” but you can see that by simply taking a look at the bike.

What you can’t really tell is what’s powering it and the claimed performances. Our Australian designer made sure to mention that an AC induction motor with a programmable controller is powered by Li-Ion batteries, which allow the thing to run an estimated 90 minutes after a full recharge, which lasts two hours. In return, riders get 129Nm of torque and a 200 kg weight (thanks to its carbonfibre monocoque chassis), translating into an impressive top speed of more than 200 km/h.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I hear about this concept turning into a prototype and heading to production in a couple of years.

Zero Motorcycles enters 2010 TTXGP Electric Motorcycle Championships

Zero Motorcycles has announced their entry into the 2010 TTXGP series, which turns them into competitors for Team Agni and CRP Racing. The company’s race bike will be built around a Mavizen TTX02 chassis, the same as on KTM’s RC8 superbike, while the battery packs and electric motors will be those of the Zero’s Z-Force.

Sounds like the competition is getting stiffer and stiffer in the TTXGP’s electric motorcycle racing series, eGrandPrix and we can’t wait for next year’s May, when the first race is scheduled at Infineon in California.

Press release is attached after the jump.

Rumor: Derbi unveiled their all-new GPR Electric Motorcycle in Barcelona!



We usually don’t like rumors, but when we heard that Derbi has most likely built an all electric race version of their GPR 125, we dug more into the subject and came to find that the so-called rumor is actually supported by a video posted on Youtube by Sevcon, a UK based manufacturer of electrical equipment. According to the source of the video, this is Derbi’s all-new electric bike which uses a controller supplied by Sevcon.

Seen in the mysterious video is the full bike called the Derbi GPR EV being unveiled and tested at Parc Motor De Castelloli in Barcelona, Spain. To us, this looks like the latest open class TTXGP competitor, but there’s no official word about it yet, so we’re only left with seeing the bike in action until new information. The video is attached after the break.

Roehr to enter US TTXGP with 96bhp, 210lb/ft eSuperbike

Roehr starts the year with the right foot as the American motorcycle manufacturer made famous by their 180 horsepower 1250sc model priced at $49,999 (see picture above) has just announced a completely new electric model range. The eSuperbike will supposedly be a new US TTXGP competitor relying on a 10 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack and AC induction to develop 96 hp and 210 pound-feet of torque. But Roehr has also thought at making a lower spec’d version called eSupersport, which will be powered by a similar motor fed by a 6kWh battery pack, but develop only 48 hp and 105 lb-ft. This translates into a top speed of 100mph.

The full press release, which we attached after the break, does not mention the starting prices, but stay tuned for when we have more information about Roehr’s surprising move.

2010 Comoto by Hirsch Design will probably be the world’s lightest production motorcycle



Although it looks like a slightly heavier downhill bicycle, Hirsch Design’s Comoto will probably be the world’s lightest production motorcycle later this year when it will be officially launched.

A unique idea for an electric motorcycle, the 2010 Comoto weighs an impressive 53 kg (116.8 lbs), relies on a 72V 20ah lithium ion phosphate battery to keep it lively and even features 6061-T6 alloy aircraft aluminum sheet metal as well as other high intensity components, making it not only very light, but also thrust-worthy to ride.

A world record or not, the Comoto will definitely see its way on the market as a green short-distance commuting motorcycle. Nice!