Electric bike wins drag race

Battery-powered motorcycle takes event’s title for first time

By Motorcycle.Com Staff, Mar. 14, 2008
An electric motorcycle powered its way into the record books this week by winning a Wednesday Night Drags race event at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

The victory marked the first time in the event’s 20-year history that an electric-powered machine won.

Mike Swallow of ThunderStruck Motorsports raced a custom 102 volt bike, winning the final race in the motorcycle class with a time of 11.561 seconds over the quarter mile. Runner-up Ron Love had a time of 13.228 seconds riding a 2005 Triumph motorcycle.

“I get to come out to races because I’m the lightest guy at the shop, so it was great to get a win,” says Swallow. “I went up to the press box after the race, and the guy told me I’m a part of history at the track. This is the biggest trophy we have at the shop so far.”

ThunderStruck Motorsports uses the weekly drag racing event as a way to test the bike’s battery and improve its efficiency.