Fred Spaven, a UCL Mechanical Engineering research student, designed and built his own electric motorbike to become the first person to complete two of the UK’s most historic motoring trials, the Edinburgh Trial and the Land’s End Trial, with an electric vehicle of any kind.
Mr Spaven completed the Edinburgh Trial, a historic motoring event known for its tough off-road sections, for the second time in September 2024, using the machine that he designed and built as part of his doctoral project. The bike is built around a Royal Enfield Bullet frame with an 8.5kWh battery and a 24kW motor (current limited to 16kW by the battery).
Images
Fred riding through the hills on the Edinburgh Trial.
Stopping to recharge the electric bike.
Fred with his Edinburgh Trial finisher's certificate.
This second success in the Edinburgh Trial follows his achievement at Easter of becoming the first person to complete the 308-mile Land’s End Trial, which runs from Somerset to Cornwall, using an electric vehicle. He needed three full recharges to complete the circuit.
He is the first person to complete both trials on an electric vehicle of any kind. The trials are run by the Motor Cycling Club (MCC), have been used to test the reliability of motor vehicles for over a century.
The motorbike is the culmination of a project to create a vehicle that could replace petrol motorbikes in areas of the world where they are relied upon heavily for transportation, such as parts of Africa, South America and South-East Asia.
