| Author | Message | ||
     Mikef5000 |
The original thread appears to have been archived (and the fact that threads can't be pulled back out from the archive with a new post is beyond me) but this may be of interest to those involved: 0,7439077.story,http://www.latimes.com/business/re alestate/la-fi-motorcycles-brammo-20120509,0,74390 77.story designed to be the first motorcycle to perform like a traditional sport bike, can go at least 100 mph and as far as 121 miles per charge in city riding. | ||
| Jaimec |
$16,000 for the base model, another $3,000 for the upgraded "R" model. Too rich for my blood. I'll stick to my scooter. I can go over 150 miles at 70-75 mph, and refueling takes less than a minute. Electric bikes have a long way to go before they can beat that convenience. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Ow. That's pricey. I wonder if the Engage will be able to hit the sub $10k mark? | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
The (alleged) first Zero available to the public is up for auction. VIN #3 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Other-Makes-ZERO-MX D-Street-Legal-Electric-Dirt-Bike-battery-lasts-30 -000-miles-HOT-ENGINE-/230786985654?pt=US_motorcyc les&hash=item35bbf9eeb6 | ||
| Nik |
It's too bad they waited to redesign it because consumer focus groups wanted a 6-speed transmission. When first revealed as a direct drive with federal and state tax breaks it would've been about the same cost as an sv650. Now that the federal tax credits have expired it's Multistrada money. | ||
| Jaimec |
If I only wanted to travel 121 miles a day, why do I need one of these things? I can ride 121 miles in a day on a BICYCLE, and spend a lot less money in the long run (and do my heart and body good in the process). | ||
| Syonyk |
Yeah, but the Brammo can do 121 miles a lot faster than you can on a bicycle... Think of it as a commuter bike, not a touring bike. I was seriously interested back in 2010/2011 when they were announced. I was doing ~40 miles a day round trip commute, half highway, half surface streets. And, my weekend rides, if they weren't long touring, were usually to the backside of the mountain for coffee & if the road was clean, a quick trek to the top and back. 80 miles round trip or so. I wanted one. I was waiting to read reviews of actual production bikes, but I was seriously, seriously considering one as a commuter. It would have dropped my gasoline usage to nearly zero, and saved me money on maintenance (the 1125R is a great bike, but not exactly cheap to run). Then... nothing. No news, no communication, just... nothingness. At this point, I've lost interest. I also live a lot closer to work. But nearly $20k for an electric bike is no good. That's either halfway to an 1190RS, or all the way to a perfectly good Cessna 152. Plus, Zero is making some stuff that's pretty close now. The Empulse was about 2 years ahead of it's time when it was announced. And then was delayed 2 years. | ||
| Jaimec |
Like I said: "The Duke Nukem of Motorcycling." Lots of hype, lots of promise, lots of WAITING... and when the thing finally shipped, it was met with "WTF??" | ||
| Scottorious |
I think electric motorcycles sound awesome. When(and they will) figure out how to effectively store electricity in a compact way and charge it faster, electric motorcycles will rock | ||
| Syonyk |
I think electric motorcycles sound awesome. m'kay... "whirrrrrrrr" doesn't really do it for me.  | ||
| Jaimec |
Scottorious: I think a more practical solution would be a standardized battery pack. When you run one down, pull into a "Battery station," swap out your discharged battery for a fully charged one, pay a "service charge" of some kind or other, and go on to the next time a battery swap is required. That would make electric bikes as practical as a gasoline engine, since a "power refresh" would be as quick and easy as refueling an ICE is now. | ||
| Jaimec |
Syonyk: How about if they sounded like this? | ||
| Syonyk |
That's genius! | ||
| Scottorious |
Yes quick swap packs could work. I do think that battery technology will improve. and that possibly the power source wont even be a battery but a supercapacitor. charge times of 10 seconds could be possible. with a bit over 3 times the power to weight ratio. With a cycle life of over a million cycles. If that technology increases and I think it will you might have performance on par with gas engines. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Renault/Nissan have already developed a swap pack system for cars. If I recall correctly it takes about 2 minutes. | ||
| Nik |
Yeah, but the Brammo can do 121 miles a lot faster than you can on a bicycle... That 121 miles is at a 19mph average, so not really. | ||
| Jaimec |
Damn! I should've patented the idea!! http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2012/05/tired-of-sp ending-all-that-time-filling-your-ice-fuel-tank-bu y-an-electric-scooter-and-be-on-your-way-in-10-sec onds/ |
