The Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah is over 150 square miles of blinding white expanse that has traditionally been the place people go to back up boldly-made high speed claims. This was recently the case for Mission Motors who, at the launching of their Mission One electric motorcycle, made the assertion that their machine would not only have a 150 mile range, but be capable of topping 150 mph as well. This despite never actually reaching that mark in early testing or even during its disappointing fourth-place performance at the TTXGP earlier this summer where its highest speed on the 38-mile road course was only slightly north of 105 mph.
The San Francisco start-up attended the 2009 BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials with the sole goal of besting their boast. With product manager and experienced racer Jeremy Cleland ensconced in the saddle, they achieved just that and set a new AMA electric motorcycle land speed record in the process. Despite poor salt conditions and high cross-winds, the bike managed to achieve a 150.059 mph two-pass average run sustained for one mile in a day that saw it reach single pass speeds as high as 161 mph. With this milestone behind them, how does a certain proud product manager feel about the Mission One? Says Mr. Cleland:
This is a bike that can rip up the track at Infineon Raceway, do power wheelies at 80 mph, and then come out here to Bonneville and dismantle the prior electric world speed record. It pulls hard all the way from 0 on up to 161mph, all in one gear, with incredible torque. It's a riding experience like no other. The important thing to understand is this is not a one-off race vehicle, this is a production prototype. It is the same bike that we raced at the Isle of Man and features the same powertrain that we will be delivering to our customers in 2010.
Hit the jump for official footage of the battery-powered beast doing its high speed thing on the salty surface of Bonneville interspersed with bits from a racetrack and an undisclosed desert highway. The official press release follows the video.
