A team of inventors has set a new long-distance record with an e-mobile from Twike. Without recharging once, they drove from Kloten through the Gotthard to Chiasso and back the equivalent of three times – actually.
The end came sooner than expected. Last Sunday morning at half past eight, almost exactly 43 hours after the start, the three-wheeled Twike electric vehicle ran out of power in the middle of Kloten’s industrial area. With just one battery charge, the souped-up electric vehicle had managed to cover a distance of 1470 kilometers by then.
That’s like driving three times from Kloten through the Gotthard to Chiasso and back again. For this long-distance record, however, the team led by Twike fan Thomas Bechtiger, an e-mobile enthusiast from the very beginning, deliberately stayed on a circuit in Kloten’s Steinacker industrial area.
The illustrious group from Oerlikon brought Daniel Buchs to Kloten. The former GLP politician and electrical entrepreneur is also Vice President and Managing Director of the Electric Car Clubs of Switzerland (ECS). Other routes were also looked at, including the Panzerpiste, the open race track in Oerlikon and a sports facility in the city of Zurich. But in the industrial area of Kloten, the circuit along Steinackerstrasse to the Swiss traffic circle and back via Bassersdorferstrasse proved to be the ideal route.
This is the Twike record track in Kloten
In the airport city, they were able to set up a service area at the company Gyso, a partner and sponsor. It is much easier to ride on a circular route for such an undertaking than to actually ride across the country. The many inclines and the logistics alone would make an attempt across Switzerland much more time-consuming and less promising, says designer Bechtiger.
More would have been possible without rain
The 20-strong crew around the e-mobile designer, who has his own workshop and store in Oerlikon, had actually aimed for much more: they wanted to cover 2,000 kilometers in three days. “Due to the unfavorable weather conditions with the rain, we didn’t quite make it that far, and we also had to brake more in traffic than expected,” explains Bechtiger.
Nevertheless, he is happy to have set a new record. “I rebuilt this twike especially for this.” Above all, it cost him a lot of time. He easily puts the actual value of the tuned vehicle at a six-figure sum. “A hundred thousand francs wouldn’t be enough,” says the passionate mechanic, “if you had to factor everything in and pay for it yourself.” However, he was able to count on sponsors, a well-coordinated team and many friends.
Stronger axles and smart tires
Certain parts – such as the decommissioned scooter batteries as an additional energy source – were therefore made available to him. Otherwise such a record would not have been possible, admits Bechtiger. Instead of the standard moped tires, he had, among other things, installed stronger axles and used tires similar to those found on the Smart.
The usual range of such a Twike is between 50 and 500 kilometers, explains the expert, who is also involved in the electric vehicle club. He generally offers normal services for this brand of e-mobile in his store. But Bechtiger has long known that much more is possible with a Twike. In addition to the technical tuning with more batteries instead of a second driver’s seat, this also means that the driver has to make a correspondingly active contribution and pedal. This is because the three-wheeled vehicle is a human-electric hybrid vehicle (HEHV). The Swiss invention from the 1980s can be driven purely electrically or in combined electric and pedal mode. The latter extends the range enormously.
Theoretically up to 150 km/h possible
Several pilots drove Bechtiger’s Twike on the record-breaking trip in Kloten, but the head of the team himself refrained from doing so. He followed the statistical data live in the pits, made calculations, coordinated missions and repaired damage. He had to intervene twice: once to replace the windshield wiper motor on the spot, another time to replace a front mudguard. Otherwise, everything went smoothly.
“In ten years’ time, what we are achieving here will be completely normal.”
Thomas Bechtiger, e-mobile tuner
A total battery capacity of around 82 kilowatt hours was available at the start of the test. “That’s more than many a Tesla offers,” says the Twike tuner, not without pride. “It’s a real racing car,” he explains. In the version provided for the record attempt, the Twike would reach speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour. “But I limited the speed to 40 kilometers per hour.” After all, the aim was not to speed up, but to achieve a long range. Previously, the record for a Twike was 613 kilometers. Now this figure is more than twice as high. “In ten years’ time, what we are achieving here will be completely normal,” says Bechtiger.
Source: Zuonline
