Ok, so it’s been a while since we updated the world on our electric pit bike. The project unfortunately had to go back to the drawing board at the pre-production phase when the price of rare earths shot through the roof almost tripling the price of our motor & making the project unviable. There were also quite a few negative comments noted on the internet relating to the styling of the bike, so we took this opportunity to redesign the whole bike, virtually from scratch.
In hard testing we have had motor overheating issues (burnt out windings & commutator) & we have been working closely with suppliers on a bespoke motor design that suits our high power requirements. The JBE now features a motor temp cut-out, so if for example a rider decides to ride the bike up into the welsh mountains & overheats the motor, it will cut the power to the motor until it has cooled down again. The speed controller is also our own specification, based on an industrial design with a few tweaks for top speed & acceleration control with additional current limiting to prevent riders burning out the motor.
Because this bike is targeted at a very low price bracket we cannot use many of the new technologies on offer as they are far too expensive, e.g. brushless motors, lithium based batteries etc. This bike uses lead-acid gel batteries & brushed motor technology.
Due to the hardware limitations we have had to come up with some clever tweaks to get the performance we need, at a price the customer is willing to pay. We are not prepared to state the true power out put, but let’s just say it’s over 1 kw, can pop wheelies with a little bar tug & hits a top speed of around 22 mph. Perfect for youngsters or big kids (adults) to play on too. It will last typically 1 hour 10 minutes when ridden flat out. however, if you turn dow the acceleration & top speed e.g. for kids learning, it will run for up to 3 hours on 1 charge.
I have read some funny comment about electric pit bikes e.g. ‘you cannot jump them…’ errr. This baby jumps just fine, based on a CRF50 style chassis it’s light nimble & flick-able & most certainly jumps without issue. In fact it’s a blast, albeit a virtually silent one (think stealth, woods, trails, street spots, concrete skate parks etc. of course all private legal ones).
We have also come up with some other clever innovations such as the ‘beeper buzzer’ this lets the rider know the bike is live. When the throttle is closed, there is a delay of a few seconds before a subtle beeper starts to sound with a small LED for visual warning. This device reminds you to switch off the bike when you come to a standstill.
We have experienced many times what happens when people are unaware of the electric JBE being switched on. Kids & adults have a natural obsession with opening the throttle of a bike. This is fine on a petrol engine because you can hear it running. However on an electric bike it generally results in the bike flying off its stand crashing into whatever is surrounding, with the intrepid throttle puller hanging off the back crumpling to a heap on the floor. In more severe cases a child could be sticking their fingers where they shouldn’t. The Beeper buzzer aims to prevent this with the audible & visual warning.
Although we are still at the final prototype phase, we feel we have finally cracked this little beast & will soon be designing for production once again. Let’s hope nothing stops us in our tracks this time & we can get the JBE on sale by the end of the year. Fingers Crossed
