A small DIY, low-buck grassroots motorcycle racing team wants to make a run at the TTXGP electric motorcycle championship but needs help to get there.

Jennifer Bromme and the crew at Werkstatt Motorcycles – a small San Francisco shop founded and run by women – is scrambling to raise the cash to get a Mavizen TTX02 electric superbike to the states in time for the TTXGP California race at Infineon Raceway. It's a long shot, because they're well short of the $21,000 they need. But they aren't giving up because they're committed to seeing electric motorcycling succeed in the States.

That's where you come in. You could get a chance to ride the bike of the future.

Bromme hopes her fellow riders, EV advocates and anyone interested in cool technology, motorcycle racing or just helping people achieve a goal will donate money.

"I know $21,000 sounds like a lot of money," Bromme told us. "But if 210 people donate $100 each, it's not such a big number."

The Werkstatt team is not a school of squids. They know how to ride, they know how to wrench and they know how to race. Bromme has been riding for 22 years, and she opened Werkstatt 16 years ago. She's raced 750 superbikes and motorcycle sidecars, and she currently races a vintage Honda CB160.

"I'm perfect for the Mavizen because I'm really good at having to maintain my cornering speed on a bike with low power from racing the CB160," she said with a laugh. The Mavizen sports a pair of Agni 95 motors for a total of about 60 horsepower continuous and 97 horsepower peak.

She's got a solid crew backing her up. Carolyn Coquillette owns Luscious Garage, a San Francisco shop specializing in hybrid repair and plug-in hybrid conversions. Anton Bertraux is "a mechanical wizard" handling the wrenching duties. And Twitter's Jeremy LaTrasse is onboard as well.

Bromme's first goal is to help electric motorcycling gain a foothold in the states. Although she loves her vintage Rickman and that old CB160, she's convinced the future of the sport is electric.

"It's pioneering," she said. "It's very exciting to be part of something new."

But she's more than an altruist looking to usher in a new era. She's out to win, and if she gets a look at the grid and thinks she's outgunned, she knows a lot of seasoned American Motorcyclist Association racers who'll be happy to take over riding duties.

Bromme had hoped to build an electric bike of her own but ran short of time, so she's worked out a deal with Mavizen to rent a TTX02 for the season. She needs $21,000 to cover rental for the season, shipping the bike to California from England and getting on the racing grid for the first race May 14 to 16. If the team makes a good showing at Infineon, Bromme is confident it can get the support needed to compete in the rest of the American electric grand prix series and vie for a spot on the grid at the world championship race in Spain.

Time is running short, because Bromme's got until Friday Sunday to show she can raise the money. To encourage people to chip in, Bromme says anyone who donates $500 or more gets to ride the Mavizen. Once the bike arrives in the states and people see it, she's confident the team will line up more donations, if not a sponsorship.

"Once we get the bike here and people can touch it and sit on it," she said, "we can build some real excitement."

Click here to donate.

UPDATE 11:15 p.m. Eastern April 22: We've just received word that the deadline has been extended until Sunday.

UPDATE 8 p.m. Eastern April 26: Jennifer tells us Mavizen has agreed to send the bike even though the team is still short of its goal, but it still has to come up with the money.

UPDATE 3:30 p.m. Eastern May 6: The team's new goal is $10,000.

Photo: Jim Merithew / Wired.com