In the photos section, click on a thumbnail to get a large picture. Then click AGAIN on the large picture to get a high-resolution picture.
You are welcome to publish any of the photos on the web site in an article about the KillaCycle and/or about the KillaCycle sponsor’s products.
We made a number of changes in the bike that really paid off! We made a huge dent in the overall electric vehicle 1/4 mile record this past weekend at the All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) meet in Chandler, AZ at the Firebird Speedway on March 30th through April 1st.
The Harley crowd went wild every time the KillaCycle came up to the line. They all cheered as the time when up on the scoreboard, dropping in leaps as the weekend event progressed. The last run on Sunday night was the quickest of them all at 8.168 @155.78MPH. This completely wiped out the long-standing top EV (dragster) record of 8.801 held by Dennis Berube for more than 6 years.
We all know it is quite a feat for a bike to take out a record set by a dragster, especially by such a large margin. This typically does not happen in drag racing, but we have the A123Systems Li-Ion batteries that make all the difference. They are more powerful than any other Li-Ion batteries produced. They hold so much energy, we could make 6 or 7 runs without recharging! It only takes about 10 minutes for us to recharge them in the pits, so we top them off for between every run. In electric drag racing, everyone knows “It’s all about the batteries.”
With the latest PFC-50 charger from Manzanita Micro, we can charge the bike in less than 5 minutes!
We made several changes that really boosted the performance for this event. We built a new battery pack with 990 A123Systems M1 Li-Ion cells (110 more than before.) We also implemented a contactor system that allows the bike to shift the motors from series connection on the launch, to parallel connection further down the track. This allows us to push 2000 amps through BOTH motors on the starting line to get something close to a total of 800 ft-lbs of torque. This results in about 2000 ft-lbs of torque on the back tire.
During test and tune on Friday, we couldn’t get the bike to autoshift the two drive motors from series to parallel configuration. (This electrical “shift” shift feels a lot like a two-speed transmission.) The bike was launching great (1.169 60ft) but was not pulling on the second half of the track. We rigged up a manual shift button that worked great for the weekend event. (We’ll upgrade the firmware in the motor controller to fix this bug for the next race.)
We are always making improvements, so it should not be too long before we get the KillaCycle down into the 7’s if our luck holds out. Our next planned event is the “Wayland Invitational EV Drag Race” at Portland, OR on July 13th and 14th.
>>> A few facts about the KillaCycle < <<<
A total of 990 A123Systems high-power M1 Li-Ion cells
1575 amps @75 Celsius
374 volts
300 kW peak, (~400 HP)
162 lbs of A123Systems M1 cells
~180 lbs total battery pack weight, with interconnects and battery management system electronics
Total bike weight (without rider) 619 lbs
Best ET = 8.168
Best Speed = 156.77 MPH
KillaCycle Team:
Scotty Pollacheck, Rider, Tires, Suspension set-up
Steve Ciciora, Electronic battery management system design, construction
Derek Barger, CNC and Electronics fabrication
Jonah Myerberg, Battery expert
Scot Colburn, BMS design, construction
Susan Lefebire, Videographer
Bill Dube’, Owner, Crew chief
When you think about it, the KillaCycle is just a giant cordless drill with wheels. 
Click on pictures for larger image. Click on larger image for high-resolution image
There is an excellent, well-researched article in Designfax here:
http://www.manufacturingcenter.com/dfx/news/stories/feature-5.asp
For Immediate Release
January 2, 2007
World’s Fastest Electric-Powered Drag Bike, the KillaCycle, to Race at Firebird Speedway, March 31, 2007
The world’s quickest electric motorcycle, the “KillaCycle”, will make its next appearance at the All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) on March 31, 2007, at the Firebird Speedway, Chandler, AZ. Driven by Scott Pollacheck, the young man who just made the quickest electric-powered 1/4 mile run in history (8.760 seconds @145 mph) the KillaCycle may set a new record again.
Designed and constructed by engineer Bill Dube’ and the KillaCycle team; Steve Ciciora, Derek Barger, and Scot Colburn, the bike is the product of a marriage between state-of-the-art battery technology and old-fashioned “do-it-in-the-garage” workmanship. The bike is powered by 880, 2.3 amp-hr Lithium Ion cells made by A123Systems. Each of these 70 gram, 3.4 volt cells is about the size of a roll of lifesavers, yet can put out over 150 amps! They are the most powerful Lithium Ion cells ever manufactured. The Zilla 2K-HV motor controller, made by Cafe’ Electric directs 374 volt, 1350 amp flow of electricity from the battery pack to the twin electric motors.
Come by the pits and meet the whole KillaCycle team, learn more about the fun of high-performance electric vehicles, and then watch the bike go from zero to 60 mph in 1.4 seconds, silently!
Contact: Bill Dube’
303-329-9158 (home) 303 859-1592 (cell)
2224 Grape St.
Denver, CO 80207
billdube@killacycle.com
