One of the exciting things about the introduction of electric motorcycles is that we’re still learning how to make the most of them – so there’s scope for giant leaps in performance instead of the diminishing returns we get from fine-tuning petrol engines after more than a century of continuous development.
Vancouver-based tech firm Exro is promising just such a leap with its new, patented ‘Coil Driver’ electric motor control electronics, which are due to reach limited production in the Zero SR-based XP Zero electric bike developed by Anglo-American customer builders Untitled Motorcycles.
While the XP Zero uses the frame, the battery and the motor from the stock Zero SR/F, versions that reach customers later this year will get a performance hike from the Exro Coil Driver motor controller.
Exro, which has been testing its system in a modified Zero SR/F, says that the result is a 15% increase in torque, taking it from an already impressive 140lb.ft to a whopping 162lb.ft, and a 25% boost in peak power, bringing it to more than 125hp.
The firm also says the system allows electric motors to rev higher, helping push the Zero test bike’s top speed from 124.66mph to 141.55mph.
They're "just" a box of chips, capacitors etc.