Brutus Motorcycles unveils race graphics for Jeremiah Johnson's Pikes Peak bike

Brutus Motorcycles is sponsoring Jeremiah Johnson to race their electric motorcycle on Pikes Peak this year.  I covered the information a month or so ago.   They just posted some pictures of the race bike with the graphics, as well as the race trailer and some other things.

From the looks of this, Jeremiah should take a finishing position a fair bit higher than he did last year, riding a Zero S.

This looks like a real serious race bike.  Hmm.. I wonder if it has enough power on board for a 38.4 mile race around a certain island?

One quibble I have is that in the background of one picture you see a large 18 kilowatt portable generator.  They'll have that on hand for fast charging the bike.  Notice the Manzanita Micro logo on the side - Gene Seymour's former employer - that gives you a clue which charger they'll use.   In any case, charging the bike off a generator somewhat negates all the goodwill that comes from this being an electric race bike.  Okay, not everyone see's the need to take the extra step to build a solar panel array onto the race trailer, and incorporate a large energy storage unit into the trailer.  Pragmatism can say it's easier to just go with the genset and...

Oh, I'm just digging myself a deep hole aren't I?  Guys.. we're all friends here, and I am just saying it would be that much better to take the next step and carry solar panels.  Please?

A cool looking bike like this deserves to be a great testament to sustainability and clean energy.

Post by Brutus Electric Motorcycle.

Jeremiah Johnson returning to Pikes Peak, riding for Brutus Electric Motorcycles

Jeremiah Johnson on the Brutus V2 Rocket

Brutus Electric Motorcycles and Bell Custom Cycles announced today they're entering the 92nd Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and that they've signed Jeremiah Johnson as the rider.  Brutus manufactures a small line of motorcycles that includes cruiser and cafe racer style bikes.  For Pikes Peak, Johnson will be riding Brutus's V2 Rocket electric motorcycle, which has yet to be properly unveiled.

Jeremiah Johnson is a well known figure in electric motorcycle racing, of course.  He's an AMA Pro racer with many years experience.  I first met him in 2009 when the TTXGP came to the AMA Vintage Motorcycle event in Ohio.  At that time he rode a bike built by EnerTrac, but was talking about building his own bike, including one for long distance riding.  In 2012 he rode Zero S's in a couple TTXGP races, and for the 2013 season he rode his own 2013 Zero S in both eRoadRacing and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.  In addition he's helped Terry Hershner with his own cross country electric motorcycle adventures.

Jeremiah has demonstrated a passion for electric motorcycles and electric motorcycle racing.

The press release has him saying:

I am really stoked to get the opportunity to race the Brutus Electrics V2 Rocket for the 2014 race season. I have talked to the team behind the bike many times and their goals are really in tune with their creations. I recently got the opportunity to spend time at their shop in Las Vegas and saw the progress of the V2 Rocket firsthand. The Brutus team really listens to my feedback on the bike’s design, making them a great company to work with. I can see the potential of this bike and I can’t wait to get it on the track. We have a lot of different racing planned for this year and the V2 Rocket is going to be an exciting bike to race. Team Be-Ev.Com has done a lot of work through the years to bring the modern idea of electric vehicles to as many people as possible. I know that working the V2 Rocket into our race program will allow us to showcase the potential of electric vehicles being designed by private innovators. This is going to be a fun year.

Chris Bell, the CEO of Brutus Electric Motorcycles is quoted saying:

Jeremiah’s input on the V2 Rocket project has not only made it a better machine, it has allowed Bell Custom Cycles to expand its line to include racing electric motorcycles. From our initial conversation I knew I had to have Jeremiah pilot the V2 for its first appearance and the many more to come. With Jeremiah’s breadth of racing experience and Team Be-Ev.Com behind him, I am confident together we will have quite a good showing for 2014.

Sophon Johnson, VP of Brutus Electric Motorcycles, is quoted saying:

The first time I met Jeremiah and it felt like a reunion with a long-lost brother! At Bell Custom Cycles we are one big family. Jeremiah is a great fit to our family and for the message we are all try to bring to the public with our one-of-a-kind motorcycles. His knowledge and experience are a great asset to Bell Custom Cycles, Brutus Electric Motorcycles, and the V2 Rocket. I am very pleased he will be racing our V2 over the next year and that we will be working together with him and Team Be-Ev.Com.

Gene Seymour, CTO of Brutus Electric Motorcycles, is quoted saying:

When we started designing our V2 Rocket, I knew instantly who had to race it: Jeremiah. I knew Bell Custom Cycles, Brutus Electric Motorcycles wanted someone with Jeremiah’s passion, skill, and knowledge to ride our introduction into the world motorcycle racing scene. As a technical racing advisor, Jeremiah has helped guide our design and develop the V2 Rocket into what it is today: a flexible platform for racing or street riding that will deliver reliable and exciting performance. I'm looking forward to seeing where 2014 brings the partnership of Brutus Electric Motorcycles and Jeremiah Johnson with Team Be-Ev.com.

I first met Gene during the 2010 TTXGP season, when he still worked for Manzanita Micro.  Manzanita was supporting some of the TTXGP teams, and at each race sent someone (usually Gene) to the race as a support crew.  Gene knows his, er, stuff, about building electric vehicles.  While I've not seen a Brutus bike in person, to know that Gene is involved with the company tells me it'll be a good bike.

The only qualm I have about the Brutus bikes is they all use DC motors.  Okay, so I have a DC motor in my electric car, and I shouldn't be saying this, but really aren't DC drive trains so 1990's?

Anyway, what Brutus has unveiled concerning the V2 Rocket are these specs:

Motor	9” DC
Battery Pack	20 kilowatt-hour
Weight	545 lbs
Length	84”
Width	31”
Overall Height	46”
Wheel Base	58.5”
Seat Height	32.5”

I wonder if for racing they'll keep it with a 20 kWh pack.  The lighter weight of a smaller pack is desirable, right?  With a 9" DC motor there should be plenty of power to keep Jeremiah happy.

On Facebook, Johnson has been discussing organizing a whole racing team with multiple riders.  We still don't know if eRoadRacing will run in North America in 2014, but Johnson is working with Arthur Kowitz on launching the eMotoRacing series.

Whether Johnson will race the Brutus V2 Rocket at anything other than Pikes Peak remains to be seen.  The press release only says Pikes Peak, but in the quote from Johnson he talks about having planned a lot of different racing for 2014.  What the folks at Brutus said in response to my query is: "we are planning on doing other races as the year progresses and will post more info as we are able to set things in stone."

Brutus Electric Motorcycles:  http://brutusmotorcycle.com/index.html

Jeremiah Johnson to race in 2013 TTXGP and 2013 Pikes Peak on a 2013 Zero S

Jeremiah Johnson
TTXGP 2012 World Championship
Daytona International Raceway

Jeremiah Johnson (Be-EV.com) announced on Wednesday that he would be racing a 2013 Zero S in the as-yet-unnamed electric motorcycle racing series that's due to supplant the TTXGP and e-Power series for 2013. I'm sorry that the situation of the TTXGP/e-Power is overshadowing Johnson's plan to race in that series, but that's how it is, and I'll focus on him for the rest of this.  Johnson ran with loaned 2012 Zero S's in two TTXGP events during 2012, including the World Championship race at Daytona where he took 4th place. For the 2013 season he has purchased a 2013 Zero S, and teamed up with Hollywood Electrics for race customization.

Jeremiah stated, “I was a guest of Zero at their 2013 product launch party in Long Beach, and I am really looking forward to racing the ’13 Zero S this year. It has more than double the HP over the ’12 model that I raced last year, and that was a fun bike, so I’m eager to see what the ’13 is like on the track. Also, both Zeros I raced last year were bikes that I borrowed at the last minute to enter the races with. I’m really stoked to have a Team Be-Ev.Com Racing owned Zero Motorcycle that I can modify with Hollywood Electrics to fit my personal riding style. I got a chance to test a couple of the Hollywood Electrics modified streetbikes last year, and I can’t wait to start testing with them at the race track and see what we come up with for a serious race bike. I am very thankful to Harlan Flagg of Hollywood Electrics for making this deal come through.”

Hollywood Electric does more than just sell the bikes, they can do a wide range of customizations.  They've done racing setup for other Zero S owners, such as land-speed-record-holder Brandon Nozaki-Miller, and recently launched an electric-only race series through the M1GP racing club in Southern California.  Johnson says he will participate in a few of these races as well.

In addition to racing in the series-which-replaces-TTXGP-e-Power, Johnson will also run in the 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb as part of the first all-electric motorcycle class in the history of that event.  “I’ve been a big fan of the Pike’s Peak Hill Climb race for a long time now, and I’m really stoked to get the opportunity to actually compete in the event myself,” said Jeremiah. “Being able to do it on an Electric motorcycle during the first year of the new class is even more exciting. I’m really happy to be able to help promote Electric Vehicles to a wider audience.”

Jeremiah Johnson is an AMA Pro racer who has a long history of interest with electric motorcycle racing.  As I noted a year ago when he announced his participation in the 2012 TTXGP season, he was one of the participants in the 2009 TTXGP event held during the Vintage Motorcycle Days at the Mid-Ohio Raceway, the first presence of the TTXGP in North America.

I shot this video at Daytona with Terry Hershner and Jeremiah Johnson going over the modifications they made to prepare Hershner's Zero S for the 2012 TTXGP World Final.

Jeremiah Johnson to race in TTXGP North America, 2012

Over on Facebook, Jeremiah Johnson (a pro AMA Racer) announced he had applied and been approved to race in the 2012 TTXGP North America season.  Johnson, in addition to being an AMA Pro, has been interested in electric motorcycles for several years.  I met him in 2009 when the TTXGP team came to the Vintage Motorcycle Race at the Mid-Ohio track (just north of Columbus).  At that time he was riding a bike built by Enertrac (see picture below), but he explained the large number of race bike frames in his shop in Florida, that he envisioned rebuilding as electric motorcycles, with the intention to race in the TTXGP.  Unfortunately, the 2010 and 2011 seasons came and went with no appearance by Johnson.  Fortunately this is about to change, it appears.

His recent facebook activity has shown he is in the shop building electric bikes.  His most recent posting says:

It's official, my entry is in to race the whole season of the North American TTXGP Championship.  Only bad part is that there is a race at PIR in Portland that conflicts with the AMA Pro Racings race at Barber in Alabama the same weekend.  I'm probably going to have to skip that PIR race.

He was also able to secure his number, 64, to use in TTXGP.  His choice to skip a race will make it incredibly hard to achieve a high TTXGP points ranking, however.