One of the drawbacks of electric motorcycles, or e-bikes, is battery range, with most brands getting around 300 km and 120 km being the norm for the lower end of the market. Swiss e-bike maker Ethec is intent on changing the game, Tesla style, with an electric two-wheeler that promises to go 400 km.
This is achieved with the use of 1,260 Lithium-ion-cells, arranged in the space where a traditional motorcycle engine would sit. Using it’s proprietary Battery Management System (BMS), the Ethec e-bike maximises battery range by manipulating variables such as battery charge and temperature.
To optimise battery performance, the e-bike uses oil-cooling, supplemented by fans and cooling fins, with continuous monitoring of cell voltage and temperature. The Ethec battery pack is rated at 15 kWh, driving front and rear wheel hub motors rated at a continuous 22 kW with a peak output of 50 kW.
Regenerative braking is used to recharge the battery pack, fed by the twin electric motors. A sensor on the brake levers measures the amount of brake force, slowing the Ethec down purely by regenerative braking until more braking force is required and the hydraulic brakes are then applied.
Front suspension on the Ethec is with a girder fork, and conventional twin shock absorbers on the rear swingarm. Inside the cockpit, a 7-inch LCD display shows all the necessary information with rider-bike interface done via the screen.
The Ethec team is made up of 13 mechanical and one electrical engineering students from ETH Zurich and two industrial design students from the Zurich University of the Arts. The team is lead by project head Dr Josef Mayr, with Marco Job and Dominic Schmid as project and technical leads, respectively.
would be nice if it’s not also ugly as sin :/
U look handsome
I take it that this is just a concept to showcase its powertrain
in d ghettos , ppl tend to steal fuel from the bike’s tank
How do stop them from stealing electricity whils charging
sumthin to consider in d future
Looks dangerous meh, you basically sitting on top a reactive material that can blow you up to the ISS anytime.
Tough tropical climate heat and humidity will kill the batteries and shorten its lifespan. Therefore manufacturer claimed range not achieveable.
Not that much of a big deal to be honest. Colder temperatures are the most effective killers of battery. Lithium based batteries work best between 20 and 65 degrees C. Plus, cooling things down is generally quite easy. This bike has direct contact oil cooling, Peltier-effect cooling, cooling fins, fan cooling, and an exposed battery pack.
Also this is engineered in Zurich, and Zurich and can be quite humid (in certain months over 80%, and at colder temperatures no less), so they should have taken their own weather into account. In this case oil cooling is not only the safest choice (non-conducting), but also provides thermal stability to avoid condensation. And who knows, maybe it’s got some other humidity absorbent like silica gels inside the battery pack.