World Fastest Electric Superbike

A look at the technology, design, and people behind the Mission One motorcycle

Mission Motor’s Electric Superbike

The world’s fastest production electric motorcycle was built in San Francisco’s Dogpatch—an industrial neighborhood bordered by the city’s waterfront. It is an amalgam of drydocks, former steel mills, and factories. Constructed in the 1860s and having largely survived the 1906 earthquake, the zone maintains a smoke-stacked atmosphere of sturdy stone and brick, the streets redolent of coal- and oil-powered commerce. It is appropriate then, that from this “earthquake proof” area of the old city, Mission Motors is leading the charge to shake things up in the world of electric vehicles.

Mission draws talent from Tesla, Ford, Ducati, Stanford, Yale, MIT, and the Presidio School of Management. Mission’s team is powered by a collection of really big brains and really small electric motors. Their goal is simple, if audacious: to create the world’s best production electric motorcycle without compromising acceleration, speed, range, performance, or reliability. They endeavor to create a product where green doesn’t come at the cost of power, and powerful doesn’t mean inefficient. “If people are passionate about the environment, well then that’s our core customer group, and if they are passionate about performance, well that’s also the core customer group.” says founder and President Edward West.

 

So what’s under the seat? Rather than the bulk and weight of an internal combustion engine, plus crankshaft, exhaust system, various cylinders, and a fuel tank, the Mission’s powertrain is comprised of a high-energy lithium-ion battery pack with an integrated thermal management system, a controller, and a liquid-cooled motor.

It goes 150 miles on a single charge and can recharge in two hours from a dedicated 240v (like what a dryer plugs into) outlet or in eight hours from any old wall socket. In fact, the Mission One travels 150 miles on the equivalent energy of only one third of one gallon of gasoline stored in its battery pack. An average gasoline motorcycle can only cruises for 15 to 20 miles with that little fuel.