Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team competition: day 1 update

From the Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team:

July 7, 2012

Just wanted to give you a quick update about ECTA today.  We were only able to get two runs in due to rain arriving around 4pm.  On the first run we were only able to get ~85mph due to over-temperature occurring on the motor controller which limited power.  There was too much air in the coolant line and I don't think we were getting any flow.  We topped of the coolant line and got most of the air out.  We also increased the motor current limit which unfortunately wasn't maxed on the first run (oops).  On the second run no thermal issues occurred.  Jenn started slower to make sure thermal wasn't a problem and was able to get up to 131.051 mph before the controller shut off on her.  We believe this to be due to the 12V battery running too low.  She also was never at full throttle meaning that we have more power to use.  So we have decided to return tomorrow and taking 2-3 more passes and really believe we should be able to hit 150mph.  With full motor current, a charged 12V, and full throttle we should get some positive results tomorrow! The whole time the batteries have performed amazing.  We all really enjoyed the day even with all the issues.  It has helped us learn so much about what to expect when at a race and how to find the root cause and fix it with limited supplies and time. More to come tomorrow. 

Thanks,

Kyle

Kyle Ginaven, co-team leader/technical team leader
http://bemrt.org.ohio-state.edu/