| Author | Message | ||
     Electraglider_1997 |
http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/27/autos/electric_mot orcycle_harley_mini_BMW.fortune/index.htm?source=y ahoo_quote | ||
| Buewulf |
Kind of funny... indirectly comparing a Harley to a Ferrari. I get the point, though. I don't have much faith that electric vehicles can replace internal combustion anytime soon. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I'm sure the same thing was said about replacing horses. It will take a while but have you noticed how many Prius cars you see everyday now, lots of them. The all electric Nissan Leaf will soon be seen on the roads and I prophesize that within 10 years, electric cars will be a quite normal thing. It will be great to not have to change oil or worry about tailpipe emissions. The CEO of Zero Motorcycles says that battery power density is increasing 20% every year. Sounds similar to the computing world's Moore's Law. | ||
| Nvr2old |
I see this bike parked at Purdue. He swings the panels up to recharge while he's in class. I've seen him riding it once, it seems to go pretty good. http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= 20109300328 | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Pretty neat bike he made for himself. I got my masters at Purdue. But I'm an Iowa Hawkeye living in Nebraska Cornhusker land. | ||
| Griffmeister |
The current issue (Nov.) of Motorcyclist has previews of four electric superbikes. That's right, superbikes with power up to 135 HP and 250 LB-FT of torque. There's also a comparison between the Brammo Enertia and the Zero S. Lots of potential here, if only something could be done about the limitations of batteries. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Griff, A lot of smart people are working on battery power density and in time electric vehicles will be the norm. Internal combustion engines have not improved all that much in the last 50 years, at least not in regards to mpg. Most mpg advances have happened because of lighter cars and better aerodynamics. | ||
| Jsg4dfan |
I love the internal combustion engine more than is natural, but electric motors are better in many respects. HUGE torque from zero rpm, lighter, quieter, and far more efficient. As soon as battery technology catches up to gasoline as an energy source (or even gets close, really), you'll start throwing rocks at your gas burner. They'll never sound good, though. | ||
| Buewulf |
I'm sure the same thing was said about replacing horses. It took a while to replace horses. It took both the technology and the infrastructure to do it, and it didn't happen until the auto offered clear advantages over the horse. Other than emissions (assuming you have access to "clean" electricity), an electric doesn't currently offer any real benefits over IC. And they have a long way to go. I'm not saying it won't happen. I just don't think it will be as soon as the visionaries in the industry like to believe. And it is quite possible that some advancements are made with IC that continue to render battery power comparably expensive and impractical for longer than predicted. Or another technology may mature sooner, though I think electric is still the most promising for ground transportation. A Prius is a practical alternative because it runs on gas. However, a dinky gas or diesel engine in a vehicle with the aeros of the Prius without the weight of the electric drivetrain would probably come pretty close with respect to fuel economy for much less $. A Leaf or Zero is practical (though currently expensive) if you have a short commute and plenty of time in between trips for charging. On the open road, I need both range and a quick charge time. I can't sit around and wait for an 8-hour, or even 30-minute, battery charge. 5 minutes is all the time I care to spend waiting. If I run out of juice in the woods, a push out and a tow will probably be my only options as a 250 lb battery pack won't fit in my 1-liter fuel tube. There are some niches that electric vehicles will perform well in during the near-term, and I think they will be more effective in replacing automobiles than motorcycles due to the packaging and aerodynamic advantages of autos. But ultimately, I think IC will be around for a long time to come. |
