Motoczysz C1 Done?
Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 8:58 pm by angrybob
Hmmm…unfortunately it looks that way. There are two recent articles in the Motoczysz ‘club’ that lead me to think the C1 will be part of motorcycle history before it ever made its official production debut. Having visited their operations back in 2006 and always being a quiet cheerleader for their efforts, I am saddened at this apparent news. Spare me the I told you so’s as the task at hand for one guy was immeasurable - but he still had the sack to try. For that, Michael Czysz will always have my admiration as an innovator.
Ckeck it out:
The last blog entry in its entirety…
The likely straw that broke the camel’s back…
As I accelerated down the straight, I hoped all issues were resolved. Test riding is different than normal riding - it is much scarier. Within seconds, 150+ mph, break for the first corner, and BAM…as fast as you can think, you are sliding thru and off turn one with your single pursuit in life cartwheeling in front of you. Inside the insulated world of your helmet, the sound seems amplified. The crisp noise of carbon fiber being ground by asphalt. The gravely sound of aluminum being re-machined by the circuit. Everything is being destroyed. Everything is being ruined. Everything is sliding to a stop.
I could not bear to look. Seconds ago, I was riding a vehicle that could change our lives and hopefully make Americans proud. Before I stopped sliding, I stood up and walked away from a pile of what feels like a life long amount of work, I had to get back to the pits. I had VIP guests waiting.
The new mission - Electric motorcycles and the Isle of Man TTXGP:
Specs:
Frame: MotoCzysz Carbon Fiber/Aluminum “Open Architecture”
Front Suspension: MotoCzysz 6X flex with gas filled single Ohlins damper
Rear Suspension: Ohlin’s with MotoCzysz swingarm and linkage
Front wheel / brakes: 16.5 x 3.5 Carbon BST with 320mm Brembo
Rear wheel / brake: 16.5 x 6.25 Carbon BST with 220mm Brembo
Drive: MotoCzysz PMDC propulsion pack
Energy: Lithium Ion ‘Hot swap’ battery packs/digital configuration up to 15kWh
Control: 2,400A with regen
Weight: 195Kg
Power: 115hp+
Torque: 300 Ftlbs peak, 150 Ftlbs nominal
Max speed: 150mph+ (w/ single speed gear box); 175mph+ (w/ multi speed gear box)
A huge change of direction and a huge GOOD LUCK from me. We’ll see what happens with this venture,
Permalink
Filed under: 
Bob,
I don’t think their goal was ever realistic. If Kenny Roberts couldn’t pull off creating his own genuinely successful MotoGP machine then a bunch of rich guys with far less experience and connections than KR were not likely to get far either.
The electric bike project might turn up some interesting technological bit they can sell to a big company but you and both know from our career experience that it takes cubic dollars and vast numbers of talented engineers to really bring new technology to a marketable or winning point.
I was speaking once to a very high level engine guy in Germany about an advanced engine project. He said “To make such an engine and drive it around a little bit is easy. To make it for production is another matter entirely.”
Doug