AMADA MIYACHI EUROPE announces the successful conclusion of STORM Eindhoven, a student-led quest to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days on the world’s first electric touring motorcycle. AMADA MIYACHI EUROPE was a major sponsor of the tour, supplying battery pack manufacturing expertise and laser and resistance welding technology needed to produce the more than 200 battery packs used on the tour. The tour began on August 14, 2016 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands and ended on November 2, 2016.
The motorcycle performed extremely well, after an initial inverter problem nearly scuttled the mission just after take-off. The STORM Eindhoven team worked hard to find a solution to the problem – and proceeded to drive the next 23,000 kilometres with no further issues!
“It was truly amazing to see how we were welcomed every day and everywhere we went,” said Bas Verkaik, who is in charge of external relations for STORM Eindhoven. “We were hailed as heroes, and everyone was really enthusiastic about us and the motorcycle. We visited some countries that may seem dangerous, but we actually felt very safe everywhere. The people are extremely hospitable and do everything they can to make you feel at home”.
According to Mr. Bas Verkaik, the battery packs performed very well and the range was even better than expected. The battery pack swapping process went really smoothly and wherever they went, people wanted to help them with the charging process so they could continue with the tour on schedule. A Chinese electrician once rearranged cables to enable the team to charge. In Turkmenistan, they were allowed to shut off an entire hotel so they could charge all the batteries at once. The team used these occasions as a great excuse to organize a fun social and educational event around the charging.
“The swappable and modular battery pack was really great for our tour, as we had to cover such large distances and also drove on some tough roads in which less weight is beneficial,” said Verkaik. “AMADA MIYACHI EUROPE really has a large share in the success of our project. The battery pack was the unique factor in our motorcycle and it was difficult to develop. With the help of AMADA MIYACHI EUROPE we could weld all battery cells together properly so that they could reliably power our motorcycle. We are so glad that they supported us so intensively, even though we needed way more time than originally expected.”
“We are extremely happy that the tour was such a great success and gratified to have played a role in showing the world about the importance of battery pack technology in new greener transportation options,” said David van de Wall, sales support manager for AMADA MIYACHI EUROPE.