Electric speedway the future??

[piepower]

On 10/6/2022 at 9:39 AM, *JJ said:

Quite right. And another problem is the chicken-and-egg situation, which also scuppered the 'F2' speedway; why pay £5000 for one of these when you can get a third hand GM for £1500? The same thing will apply to electric bikes,. Unless someone arranges meetings for them with big prizes which will make it worth while to buy them?

Ah you can get a 3rd hand GM however what state will it be in . Piston conrod and new valves needed you could well be looking at a bill between 1500-2000

[*JJ]

Ours worked all right for some time; rebuild cost £800. Like everything else, test it before buying ...

[traged]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9lZqxprvyMY&feature=share

[Ray Stadia]

Looking at the videos, it seems the riders were having difficulty with the weight of the battery and motor?  I'm sure it is different to a laydown and maybe it's more like riding an upright, but probably heavier.

[ch958]

slightly off topic but just seen a bit about Neil Street on fb and the introduction of the 4 valves. Rightly or wrongly I thought to myself 'that was the beginning of the end'

[SPEEDY69]

I think track surface would need to change.  I don't see the bikes having enough flexibility to cope with rapid change of direction with greater wheelspin or the straight-lining if hitting a grippy patch.  They could work well on a smooth/hard surface.

[1 valve]

2 hours ago, SPEEDY69 said:

I think track surface would need to change.  I don't see the bikes having enough flexibility to cope with rapid change of direction with greater wheelspin or the straight-lining if hitting a grippy patch.  They could work well on a smooth/hard surface.

Are you saying current engines rev quicker higher than the electric equivalent which would/could cause problems by the electric motors not being powerful enough to cut through/move grippy surfaces?

[OveFundinFan]

1 hour ago, 1 valve said:

Are you saying current engines rev quicker higher than the electric equivalent which would/could cause problems by the electric motors not being powerful enough to cut through/move grippy surfaces?

Yet the JAP engine seemed to manage tracks well in the sixties, also 2 valve Jawas that followed.

[FAST GATER]

5 hours ago, ch958 said:

slightly off topic but just seen a bit about Neil Street on fb and the introduction of the 4 valves. Rightly or wrongly I thought to myself 'that was the beginning of the end'

You are spot on we left the sport ( as sponsors ) because within a very short period of time costs went through the roof!

[ch958]

1 hour ago, FAST GATER said:

You are spot on we left the sport ( as sponsors ) because within a very short period of time costs went through the roof!

and yet i asked Brian Havelock and he thought it was a great idea! Then laydowns followed and another step to oblivion. The genie is now out of the bottle but us spectators have gained nothing

[SPEEDY69]

On 11/3/2022 at 2:06 PM, 1 valve said:

Are you saying current engines rev quicker higher than the electric equivalent which would/could cause problems by the electric motors not being powerful enough to cut through/move grippy surfaces?

Judging from the trial that the clip showed, yes, I don't think they'd wheelspin as quick and may lift more.

[piepower]

On 11/4/2022 at 2:21 PM, SPEEDY69 said:

Judging from the trial that the clip showed, yes, I don't think they'd wheelspin as quick and may lift more.

The electric motor spins up a hell of alot quicker than a ice motor , the problem comes at the top not the bottom with electric 

[SPEEDY69]

1 hour ago, piepower said:

The electric motor spins up a hell of alot quicker than a ice motor , the problem comes at the top not the bottom with electric 

If you mean the effect at the back wheel then that presents another issue to adapt to as we could see unintentional 'laying it down' mid-bend.  As long as it's able to be progressive it should be possible for a rider to adapt.  How the back wheel reacts to the track surface is critical for the rider to be able to control, to remain in control.

[traged]

Electro engine espeedway 6 000 RPM max. 

[Vince]

I had an electric trials bike for a while, it was very impressive in most ways.

Lack of power/ torque won't be a problem, there is a MX bike due to start being delivered anytime now that has various power settings but capable of producing 80hp. With electric motors that power can come in right from cracking the throttle if you want it to. The Trials bike and I believe the new MX bike came with assorted power maps as well so it can be equivalent to anything from 80cc to 500cc.

I've seen electric bikes in flat track races as well and there is no doubt the lack of noise seems to detract from the spectacle. However with lack of noise comes a lack of complaints from neighbours as well so I am sure it opens up the possibility of motorcycle sports happening within towns again which is something that Speedway desperately misses. Indoor Speedway on a variety of surfaces is also far more possible.

I would imagine one problem will be cost for a while yet, the Trials bikes are all but double the price of a petrol one and the Stark Varg MX bike is £10k which is a lot nearer a sensible price but still expensive for a Speedway bike. There is a possibility though that you could have series from kids through to GP's using exactly the same setup with different maps and bikes lasting for years with next to no maintenance.

A lot of plusses but the big minus could be whether fans would ever accept quiet Speedway. Following the fuss about silencers and then further noise reduction (some seem to think the bikes are quiet now) I very much doubt that they will.

[Ray Stadia]

On 11/12/2022 at 4:28 PM, Vince said:

I had an electric trials bike for a while, it was very impressive in most ways.

Lack of power/ torque won't be a problem, there is a MX bike due to start being delivered anytime now that has various power settings but capable of producing 80hp. With electric motors that power can come in right from cracking the throttle if you want it to. The Trials bike and I believe the new MX bike came with assorted power maps as well so it can be equivalent to anything from 80cc to 500cc.

I've seen electric bikes in flat track races as well and there is no doubt the lack of noise seems to detract from the spectacle. However with lack of noise comes a lack of complaints from neighbours as well so I am sure it opens up the possibility of motorcycle sports happening within towns again which is something that Speedway desperately misses. Indoor Speedway on a variety of surfaces is also far more possible.

I would imagine one problem will be cost for a while yet, the Trials bikes are all but double the price of a petrol one and the Stark Varg MX bike is £10k which is a lot nearer a sensible price but still expensive for a Speedway bike. There is a possibility though that you could have series from kids through to GP's using exactly the same setup with different maps and bikes lasting for years with next to no maintenance.

A lot of plusses but the big minus could be whether fans would ever accept quiet Speedway. Following the fuss about silencers and then further noise reduction (some seem to think the bikes are quiet now) I very much doubt that they will.

However, football, rugby and cricket are quiet sports, much of the noise comes from the crowd, which could happen with 'quiet' speedway. With motorised speedway, you can hardly hear the crowd. In addition, one of the attractions of 'yesteryear' was the whiff of the burning of castor oil in the air. That has virtually disappeared, due to the use of synthetic oils, which the guys use, apparently, to reduce expensive wear to engines. 

[steve roberts]

38 minutes ago, Ray Stadia said:

However, football, rugby and cricket are quiet sports, much of the noise comes from the crowd, which could happen with 'quiet' speedway. With motorised speedway, you can hardly hear the crowd. In addition, one of the attractions of 'yesteryear' was the whiff of the burning of castor oil in the air. That has virtually disappeared, due to the use of synthetic oils, which the guys use, apparently, to reduce expensive wear to engines. 

...was one of the things that grabbed me when I first attended speedway. I used to stand overlooking the pits taking it in!

Edited November 15, 2022 by steve roberts