“The computer model showed a possible maximum speed of ~270 mph. For the first time ever, practice agreed with theory.”
That is how Eva Hakansson, pilot of the KillaJoule and the co-engineer behind its development and build, describes the momentous event. The KillaJoule team, which includes Eva’s husband and co-engineer Bill Dube of KillaCycle fame, marked the Mike Cook’s Shootout event at the Bonneville Salt Flats with a record-obliterating 270.224 mile per hour average run.
Eva, of course, was already the fastest woman on a motorcycle and the KillaJoule was already the fastest sidecar motorcycle as well as the fastest electric motorcycle, thanks to last month’s 241 mph run. An early report from Bonneville during the Shootout had Eva hitting 255 mph before her chart-topping 270 came about.
In a blog post on the KillaCycle Racing site, Eva attributes the speed to the new A123 System batteries they assembled for the KillaJoule.
“The A123 Systems 14 Ahr pouch cells are really unbelievable. They have [been] touting them for some time, and we finally agreed to try them. They are _really_ stiff. We attribute the remarkable top speed to the low sag of these cells under load.”
Certification of the speed is currently pending, but is expected to return soon. A certificate from the raceway has already been had, so it won’t take long for the governing body that certifies records to agree.
The KillaJoule team is returning to their garage in Denver, Colorado to continue work on the electric motorcycle. They believe that with some changes to the body shell, improvements in aerodynamics, and perhaps some tweaks to eke even more power from the cells, they can meet a 300 mile per hour goal next year.
“300 is such a nice, round number,” Eva croons.
UPDATE: The KillaJoule now holds the official fastest time at the Shootout Test-n-Tune this year.
