Zachary Norman of Venice, California will try to set a record in the Omega class on his electric-powered Harley-Davidson motorcycle at the Bonneville Nationals SpeedWeek. The experimental bike is built around the frame of a 1940s-vintage Harley and is intended for street use. After plugging it in to a normal socket, he expects it to go well over 70 mph.

From the Market Watch website comes this:

ASHLAND, Ore., Aug 12, 2008 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX) — Electric Moto Corp., Inc. (Pink Sheets:EMOT), a U.S.-based designer, manufacturer and retailer of highly efficient electric battery-powered motorcycles, scooters and ATVs, today announced the appointment of Abbie Zands as Chief Operations Officer, effective immediately.

Mr. Zands is an early-stage Electric Moto investor and has been increasingly involved with the strategic decision making process at the company over the past 12-24 months. He brings with him a vast pool of knowledge and experience in electrical vehicle development, brick & mortar and online sales and distribution channel marketing.

Source: Market Watch

Our very own Lennon Rodgers made Popular Mechanics Top 10 Coolest Backyard Inventions of 2008. Lennon’s 72 volt electric motorcycle was anointed Thriftiest Ride.

Even though Lennon’s time is taken up between hiding from the poperatzi that surely comes from being in Popular Mechanics and building warp drives at NASA’s JPL, he still has managed to put together a very informative website called ElectricMotion.org. Be sure download his Excel spreadsheet!

Lennon in Popular Mechanics

Five University of Victoria students have built an electric motorcycle as their final project. They claim the nickel metal hydride batteries will charge in about an hour and the dash has a nifty touch screen. The bike has a range of 15 miles and a top speed of 60 mph.

The team took three months and $8,000 to complete but it appears to be worth the effort. They won three awards at the Capstone Project Day on July 25.

Source: Victoria News.

In two related articles for the Boston Herald, Laura Crimaldi, mentions that New Bedford, Massachusetts, police are patrolling on Vectrix ZEV electric motorcycles. Vectrix Corp donated the two motorcycles to the 282-person department for patrolling the waterfront and the downtown shopping district.

Police: rising fuel costs are ‘major public safety issue’

Mass. municipalities aim to boost efficiency