Buckeye Current sets sights high at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
The Ohio State University student team that claimed the title of world’s fastest collegiate electric motorcycle for the past two years has high hopes for their performance in the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 28. Buckeye Current will be the only collegiate team competing in the electric modified class of the event.
The second oldest motor sports race in America, the Hill Climb is run on a 12.42 mile course with 156 turns that finishes at the 14,115 foot summit of Pikes Peak, Colorado.
Following consecutive third-place finishes at the 2014 and 2013 Isle of Man TT Zero, the electric motorcycle racing team developed an entirely new bike to conquer Pike’s Peak. Buckeye Current’s third generation vehicle, called RW-3, is designed to average 76 mph through the course, with a top speed of 125 mph.
The bike features a student-designed and -built electronics system, carbon fiber fairings and a custom-designed battery pack that holds 7.8 kilowatt-hours of energy and contains 972 individual cylindrical battery cells.
"Pikes Peak is an exciting new challenge on a grand stage and the team has created a brilliant new design to meet it," said Administrative Team Leader Kyle Stewart, an electrical engineering graduate student. "I'm looking forward to showing the world just what our students are capable of."
Made up primarily of Ohio State engineering students, the Buckeye Current team consists of 34 students from nine majors of study, including aerospace engineering, electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering and welding engineering. The diverse team includes five women and students from Ohio, Connecticut, Virginia, Missouri and Washington, as well as Turkey and Egypt.
Student team members have devoted countless hours over the past year to design, test and build their new bike, plus raise the funds needed to cover all expenses.
"Buckeye Current has shaped my entire Ohio State experience,” said Technical Coordinator Polina Brodsky, a mechanical engineering major. “I am lucky to have taken part in building some of the world’s fastest electric vehicles, and the project has shaped my technical knowledge, hands-on skills and future career plans."
The team received donations and in-kind services and parts from many generous sponsors, including Bosch, Harley-Davidson and the Honda/OSU Partnership.
RW-3 will be raced by three-time Pikes Peak 450 Pro Class winner Joe Prussiano, a professional race instructor at the Texas Tornado Boot Camp.
Launched in 2010, the Buckeye Current team researches, designs and races electric motorcycles to create innovative electric vehicles and educate both students and the community about green technologies. In addition to their consecutive third place finishes at the Isle of Man, the team’s first bike, RW-1, set the East Coast Timing Association record for electric motorcycles at 144 miles per hour.
