Brammo Owners Forum
General => Brammo Racing => Topic started by: BrammoBrian on July 14, 2014, 11:56:10 PM
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The Brammo race team will be attending the Tesla Motors Club TMC-Connect conference https://www.teslamotorsclub.com/connect/ (https://www.teslamotorsclub.com/connect/) in Monterey on Friday (18th) and Saturday (19th) and then hitting the track for the ReFuel Races SportElectric Time Trials http://www.refuelraces.com/ (http://www.refuelraces.com/) on Sunday (20th).
We had a great turn-out last year with Teslas, home-builts, Brammos, and Zeros all battling for top honors. Should be fun this year. Come out to participate or just hang out with the team.
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-pPnJXsJ/0/M/i-pPnJXsJ-M.jpg)
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-g4p93v5/0/M/i-g4p93v5-M.jpg)
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How many (and which ones) Brammo bikes will be there?
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Ok...I am going to force myself to do this next year....
G
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Ok...I am going to force myself to do this next year....
G
I thought I scolded everybody last year appropriately, but yup, I was the only one again! This year was even more fun for me because I was less terrified going in, now having a few trackdays under my belt.
I have Gopro footage of me slowly trundling around the track and various pictures that I will try to upload tonight.
Also note: I ran with the Pilot Road 4s and they were great.
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Awesome riding this weekend, Jeff! A 5-6 second/lap improvement is HUGE! I would love to see more Empulse riders out there next year.
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-d3fGtXT/0/M/i-d3fGtXT-M.jpg)
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-9rcrkvF/0/M/i-9rcrkvF-M.jpg)
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-d6vQMdq/0/M/i-d6vQMdq-M.jpg)
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Awesome riding this weekend, Jeff! A 5-6 second/lap improvement is HUGE! I would love to see more Empulse riders out there next year.
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-d3fGtXT/0/M/i-d3fGtXT-M.jpg)
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-9rcrkvF/0/M/i-9rcrkvF-M.jpg)
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-d6vQMdq/0/M/i-d6vQMdq-M.jpg)
sorry I missed it...looks like fun
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Awesome riding this weekend, Jeff! A 5-6 second/lap improvement is HUGE! I would love to see more Empulse riders out there next year.
Thanks Brian! Yeah, I was waaay more comfortable out there this time around. Partially due to having some track days, but also in large part due to all the pointers and whatnot over the past year from Eric/Shelina/Shane/you/everybody. I feel like a couple of the corners I've actually kinda figured out now.
Seriously, to everybody that was not there, I'll say the same thing I said last year: there is nothing in the world like getting in from a session and getting to bug the race team about 'hey, how does turn X work?' Also it was yet again awesome meeting a ton of fellow EV nerds. There were a lot of first-timers this time around as well.
Anyway, as promised, here's some video!
Not captured on film: me grinning maniacally the ENTIRE time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDyHJgk3S7o#) (edit: PS wow, video embed does not work with https links!)
Turn 2 continues to mystify me in its crazy double apexness. I need to not slow down between 3 and 4 -- watching the video makes me realize how much extra room I had. Also I think I needed to turn in later going into the corkscrew.
But I am quite happy! Susanna passed me early on and I eventually caught back up with her. I pretty much achieved my goal of not lifting down the front straight -- it is harder than it looks, what with turn 1 being basically full-speed and totally blind. I got to consistently 100+ by the end of the day.
Also the very last lap was with the regen off from heat so I was a little more cautious.
Look at ~9:00 or so for a certain Mr. Bostrom gracefully carving past everybody on the TTX.
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Excellent ride, Jeff! Watched the whole thing... kept on saying, "catch up with Pinky...pass her!" I've met Susanna a couple of times and she is loads of fun. I really admire her. But I'm glad you beat her. :)
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Jeff,
Cool video - really gives you a nice perspective of what it's like to be on the track. Doesn't quite give the full impression of the elevation change from the corkscrew through Rainey (Turn 9), but you'd have to experience that one in person to believe it. :o
Your lines look great - even through 2. You miss the apex a little on the entrance, but honestly - I was struggling with that the whole day as well. You've got the lines, so all you need to do is get your body moving off the bike, get aggressive, and add speed! ;)
This video is unlisted. Do you mind if Brammo shares it with the world or would you rather keep it private?
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They just posted the ReFuel Report:
http://www.brammo.com/blogs/?p=1946 (http://www.brammo.com/blogs/?p=1946)
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Brian -- sure! I just made it public and added some tags.
Haha also next year I may want to consider rearranging the camera mount (although the view of my handlebars down the straight is surely very exciting).
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Times are also uploaded. Brian's riding something called a Brammo Impulse?! New bike confirmed! : D
http://www.refuelraces.com/sportelectrictt2014.php (http://www.refuelraces.com/sportelectrictt2014.php)
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That must be because all the twitter bots are now re-tweeting the "Impulse" cutaway tweet... I guess the crowds at EICMA have finally disappeared ;)
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Here's my full report on the Brammo Blog:
https://www.brammo.com/blogs/?p=1946 (https://www.brammo.com/blogs/?p=1946)
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-xxptkN8/0/M/i-xxptkN8-M.jpg)
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-q7mdG8G/0/M/i-q7mdG8G-M.jpg)
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Nice write-up, and congrats on your podium debut!
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Hey Jeff -
I finally got around to watching your video. Very cool.
Did you change back from 42T to the stock rear sprocket (38) for the race?
I've noticed in my street riding that the motor power drops off considerably past 6K rpm. I believe I read that peak power (and peak efficiency) was as 5K, so when I'm trying for my little personal records on the street, I try to shift right at 5.5K to drop down to 4.5 for the next gear. I noticed you spent a lot of time in the green light zone. Was that part of your plan? I also notice when I'm going for it on freeway merges, the revs can easily get away from me as I focus on traffic. Luckily the Empulse motor is very forgiving of my lapses: I haven't thrown a rod yet!
Maybe next year, I'll finally figure out how to remind myself that ReFuel is happening and get my butt registered in time! Sure looks like fun.
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Some great coverage of Brammo's record setting ReFuel run:
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/07/29/refuel-2014-shane-turpin-sets-sportelectric-tt-record-video/ (http://green.autoblog.com/2014/07/29/refuel-2014-shane-turpin-sets-sportelectric-tt-record-video/)
Can't believe I even managed to get mentioned among the likes of EBoz and ST on my competitive debut. ;D
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-Cj8RQFS/0/M/i-Cj8RQFS-M.jpg)
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Brammo Racing Technology (BRT)
ReFuel Time Trial 2015 hosted by Speed Ventures Report
Having just returned from the Isle of Man TT, where I was running the Victory Racing entry (video: https://youtu.be/FDsOJCiTubs (https://youtu.be/FDsOJCiTubs)), and with the event’s proximity to Pikes Peak, where we had crew supporting the display of the TT bikes, I was not sure the annual ReFuel Sport Electric Time Trial was in the cards for us this year. Not to mention a growing landscape project at my house in Oregon, and a wife that’s had to manage our toddler solo while I was out “playing” at the TT…
Luckily, as it all played out, I was able to sneak out of Talent, OR in our passenger van with the seats removed, 1 experimental bike, hand tools, pop-up for shade, and a crew of myself + 1 to make it down for the 7th annual running and Brammo’s 5th consecutive contest of the event.
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-6VZTVjQ/0/M/i-6VZTVjQ-M.jpg)
There would be no celebrity riders, however, this year, with timing and budgets to blame. The burden to perform would be on me and one extremely dedicated Brammo customer, Jeff Moore. Jeff had recently rebuilt his 2013 Empulse R after a crash on the mean streets of SF left it literally in pieces (see:http://brammoforum.com/index.php?topic=3027.msg22228#msg22228 (http://brammoforum.com/index.php?topic=3027.msg22228#msg22228) for more). Riding the risen Empulse would be his friend and assistant on the rebuild, AFM racer, and generally cool dude – Conan Dooley. With aspirations to race the bike in AFM, they had fitted clip-ons, a full fairing, and rear sets to help the bike around the track.
(http://i.imgur.com/6c3GfoQh.jpg)
Jeff Moore's fully repaired, fully faired, and fully operational Empulse R with Conan at the controls. Me and my Empulse HVR to his left.
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-LWxpD2r/0/M/i-LWxpD2r-M.jpg)
Empulse HVR at rest. Thanks to Jeff Moore for the photo!
I would be riding my personal project bike, which I like to refer to as the Empulse HVR or High Voltage Racer. The bike is a marriage of our production and prototype technologies and is one of the only 300+Vdc bikes with a six-speed transmission in the world. In testing and an eMotoRacing round at Sonoma, the bike has shown some good speed and promise, but has ultimately been hampered by technical gremlins. Since I was not able to make it to the aforementioned eMotoRacing round, I thought it wise to get some firsthand experience with the bike and see if I could help “get her sorted”. I also had some new parts on the front of the bike in an adjustable offset triple clamp that allowed me to adjust the front end trail versus the stock configuration I was previously running. Plus – it’s fun to ride motorcycles… ;)
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-vpCswMz/0/M/i-vpCswMz-M.jpg)
As far as competition goes, there would be over a dozen Zero S, SR, DS, and FX bikes competing and this year marked the return of 2013 FIM eRoadRacing runner-up at Laguna Seca, one Kenyon Kluge. I had also heard a rumor that CRP would be bringing the Energica electric superbike, but this, sadly, did not turn out to be true. I was really looking to see this bike in the flesh and compare lap times, but it was not to be.
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-MW9fNMm/0/M/i-MW9fNMm-M.jpg)
After a great first session on the bike, I began to see those technical gremlins pop up. In the second session, I ended up with the best seat in the house to watch the other bikes whizz by at the exit of Turn 2 as I waited for the track to clear to limp back to the pits. Eventually, I determined that the strange behavior and lack of reliability was down to some pins un-seating in the motor encoder connector, which was fairly easy to remedy. This got me back out and the bike back to full performance for the Time Trial.
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-fWG2p7g/0/M/i-fWG2p7g-M.jpg)
One of the real challenges with the TT is the amount of time you’re forced to sit to wait to go out on track and the limited amount of time you have to get any heat in your tires as they release you from the top of Turn 10. Admirably, Jeff Moore has taken matters into his own hands and is in communication with the event organizers about starting next year’s event from the hot pit, which would allow nearly a full lap to get tires up to temperature before starting what is meant to be a flying “hot lap”. * It’s a challenge, but it’s the same for everyone, so I tried to not think about it too much and just focused on making the most of the lap I was given. With the tires cold from waiting for about 15 minutes to get on track, it was impossible to push for the best time, but I still managed a 1:50.8, which was good enough to win the modified class and be fastest motorcycle at the event.
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-HZtMwwV/0/M/i-HZtMwwV-M.jpg)
I went into the event with very few expectations beyond proving to myself that the new triple clamp was a worthwhile investment and getting a bit more direct experience with the bike. It was a pleasant surprise and certainly a reward for all the effort to see just how fast the bike really is. From the first session, I could tell the bike was quick by the noticeably shorter rest time I had between corners. That coupled with my lack of fitness made for a much more physically demanding session than my last years’ experience on the production Empulse R. While I had transponder issues throughout the weekend, so did not get any official timed laps in the practices, I believe that I was lapping somewhere in the 1:48 – 1:50 range, which is a 10 second/lap improvement on my pace from last year! Given my lack of track riding this season and overall lack of fitness, I’m going to say that the improvement was all down to the bike itself, not the rider!
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-t8kXNWS/0/M/i-t8kXNWS-M.jpg)
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-RDf5QRX/1/M/i-RDf5QRX-M.jpg)
I must admit that it was a truly rewarding experience to have built and “raced” a bike of my own creation. That said, I also want to acknowledge the many people who have sponsored or supported this effort directly and indirectly. Specifically: Ely Schless, Rogue Energies, Parker Racing, Rinehart Motion Systems, Brammo Power, and of course…my family. I’m looking forward to attending this event again in 2016 and I would highly recommend it to anyone that’s got an electric motorcycle. There’s something truly unique about having Laguna Seca all to yourself, if only for a day.
(http://brammoelectricmotorcycles.smugmug.com/photos/i-Tt7BmNs/0/M/i-Tt7BmNs-M.jpg)
*I recently received an email that indicates this procedure is very likely to be adopted for 2016. Sometimes all it takes is one person… good job, Jeff!
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BTW - 2015 results and photos recently posted here:
http://www.refuelraces.com/sportelectrictt2015.php (http://www.refuelraces.com/sportelectrictt2015.php)
http://www.refuelraces.com/galleries.php (http://www.refuelraces.com/galleries.php)
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Congratulations Brian, great achievement and I hope that we can see the improvements on a production bike in the future.