OrangeCat Fest 2025

A weekend full of speed and development.

Brenden had his work cut out for him as the official test rider, putting each bike through it's paces and noting differences in set-up between the bikes.

OrangeCat Fest received a big red circle on our calendar at the start of the season. Not only because it was an important annual event for our favorite racing partners, but also because it represented a massive effort for our team to be ready for it. Having access to the beautiful Autobahn track for 3 days was going to be the perfect opportunity to get more riders exposed to the kind of riding experience only our racers have enjoyed over the past several seasons. We wanted to show up with maximum Lightfighters on track!

The weeks leading up to OC Fest were hectic with the team traveling between our facility in Ashland, Oregon where the bikes are built and the Bay Area, California where they get final race prep, software loaded, and dyno tested.

How do you transport 4 bikes and equipment more than halfway across the country? In a brand-new Sprinter 2500 Extended Cab, of course! The van came just in time for the trip. No time for a wrap or even stickers meant we'd be rolling across the US incognito - probably not a bad call given the value of what was inside...

It was a tight fit, but yes - you can fit 4 bikes and equipment in a Sprinter.

The van and bikes made it to Chicago on-time, giving us a day of prep at the Cat Cave. Chloe Maddrill went to work getting the OrangeCat livery on the bikes to make sure we looked Pro for the OC Fest. This was the first time we'd have all three OrangeCat pilots on the bikes at the same time.

The "Cat Cave" in downtown Chicago was a dream location to put the final touches on the bikes, including graphics, prior to the weekend's activities. Chloe Maddrill (in background) was instrumental in making sure the bikes looked their best!

5 Bikes under the tent next to the OCR canopy was a sight to behold!

Friday at Autobahn was all-business with the OrangeCat Racing team focused on set-up and getting familiar with the Lightfighter platform. By the end of the day, all 3 riders were lapping within tenths of each other and less than a second off the outright middleweight lap record at the track!

Andrew Lee finally got to spend some time adapting to the Lightfighter. Note the lack of a rear brake lever on the left bar - Andrew requested a footbrake for his bike.

Come Saturday and Sunday, we were able to get more riders onto the bikes to get their impressions on riding the Lightfighter for the first time. It was a real treat for me to reunite with my old Team Icon Brammo Racer Eric Bostrom!

This was the first time back on an electric bike for EBoz since racing for Team Icon Brammo with yours truly back in 2012-2014. It was great to get his feedback on this next generation of electric superbike.

Here's what EBoz and others had to say...

Robert Martinez from Skwidmedia was also on-hand not only to capture these impressions, but also to try the bike out himself!

While the joy rides were occurring, Brenden Ketelsen was putting in the work, comparing the 4 "factory" race bikes to one another in terms of set-up, chassis feeling, gearing, and power delivery. His feedback was very helpful in highlighting some setup differences needed with the new Suter swingarm.

We wrapped up our weekend with an awesome carnival in the middle of the track and had a great time hanging out with the whole OrangeCat Racing team. What a privilege for our little program to be involved with such a fun event. We already can't wait to see how they're going to top this next year... !