Electric Motorcycle

[sanoke]

I stopped at the dealer to pick up a few parts and noticed that they were now selling electric motorcycles.

ZERO MOTORCYCLES ? The Electric Motorcycle Company - Official Site

I've always been intrigued with the idea but they never seemed to have the performance or range that I wanted. Looks like that has now changed. The new models have a range of better than 100 miles on a charge and according to the salesman, the batteries have a lifetime of over 300,000 miles. It would be kind to my arthritic hand to not have to work a clutch and the thought of not needing to buy gas is interesting. I'd probably have to put some sort of noise maker on it otherwise I'd freak out all the bicycle riders I pass.

Can't quite get past the cost though. I could buy a lot of gasoline for the difference between the electric and a comparable gas bike.

Just sayin'

sanoke

[kacealraid]

Only down side to me? The time it takes to charge a battery...

[dernp]

Well we knew it was coming.

[sanoke]

Originally Posted by kacealraid

Only down side to me? The time it takes to charge a battery...

Yea, that used to be my concern too but with a 100 mile range, that's the same as my typical week day rides. Of course, it couldn't be my only bike because my weekend rides are a lot longer.

[woodboats]

If the day ever arrives that they can sell them at a reasonable cost, then they could contribute to much healthier cities, mostly in Asia.

[Earthling789]

All electric bike kinda defeats the "loud pipes save lives" theory, don't it?

All electric means no noise... this is also the problem with many of the electric cars and hybrids (when running on battery)... no noise, so they become a danger to pedestrians who think since they can't hear it, it must not be running/moving...

Don't get me wrong... I like the idea, but not for me...

[CrazyDave]

Originally Posted by Earthling789

All electric bike kinda defeats the "loud pipes save lives" theory, don't it?

All electric means no noise... this is also the problem with many of the electric cars and hybrids (when running on battery)... no noise, so they become a danger to pedestrians who think since they can't hear it, it must not be running/moving...

Don't get me wrong... I like the idea, but not for me...

Adding Sounds to the Silence of Electric Cars | PRI's The World

Maybe loud pipes will be required by law?

[Phil]

Originally Posted by sanoke

Yea, that used to be my concern too but with a 100 mile range, that's the same as my typical week day rides. Of course, it couldn't be my only bike because my weekend rides are a lot longer.

Maybe someday they'll make the Chevy Volt version of a motorcycle. It would first run several hundred miles on battery power and then when the batteries are exhausted, the "On Board" single-pin, V-twin powered generator recharges the batteries for an additional 300-miles on one pint of gasoline...........
With its included 120-volt factory charger, the motorcycle will fully recharge in 8-hours, if you buy the optional 220 volt charger, you can fully charge the batteries in 35-minutes.

Plus, you can control many of the motorcycles electronics from anywhere in the world with its factory included 64GB iPhone and electric motorcycle apps.

Phil

[craig s.]

well,the link was definitely disappointing,,i thought they were gonna talk about the bike..but they didn't..though id never get one,im always up for watching vids of things and this i thought would be interesting to hear more about..but it was just music and them riding the bike..if a person didn't know it was electric then theyd just think it was another dirt/street bike vid. id never get one,esp the dirt bike..i love to ride in the mud and water and with one of these i doubt thatd be a good thing.lol.

[sanoke]

Originally Posted by craig s.

well,the link was definitely disappointing,,i thought they were gonna talk about the bike..but they didn't..though id never get one,im always up for watching vids of things and this i thought would be interesting to hear more about..but it was just music and them riding the bike..if a person didn't know it was electric then theyd just think it was another dirt/street bike vid. id never get one,esp the dirt bike..i love to ride in the mud and water and with one of these i doubt thatd be a good thing.lol.

The dealer told me I could have a test drive if I wanted. Think I might take him up on that. Since the web site doesn't do it, I'll give the real thing a try. I'll let you know what it's like.