Harley-Davidson unveils its first electric hog

[nikster]

Looks good and smart of HD to try something new. At first I was a bit shocked - it sounded like they were going to sell this thing soon. But now it appears its a concept, although one that looks close to production ready.

Ive read somewhere it sounds like a glider from Star Wars - so I can imagine it sounding good too. Its a matter of opinion anyway - HD sound does nothing for me, even though it is no doubt carefully crafted by HD engineers and lots of people love it. A Ducati, on the other hand....

I would have expected production electric scooters by now - has not happened, possibly because batteries are so expensive. That will change in a year or two though as Tesla is building a battery factory that will double world wide output - the goal is to get the cost down...

Edited June 21, 2014 by nikster

[dave_boo]

What needs to happen is that Israeli tech that converts aluminium to electricity to become widespread.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ATF]

What needs to happen is that Israeli tech that converts aluminium to electricity to become widespread.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I was watching the TV a few days ago and a scientist in the UK has come up with a way to store electricity in carbon. So the body of a car, plane or the frame of a bike or even the body of a cell phone can store electricity doing away completely with the need for conventional batteries.

[nikster]

^ I've been reading about revolutionary new ways to make batteries for many years now. None of them have shipped. The media likes to keep quiet about the fact that the step from research to mass production is huge. So I am taking the "call me when I can buy it in a store" approach with these...

[H1w4yR1da]

Where is any other companies - like Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, Ducati, BMW - electric bike?

Give it a rest.

Too busy making bikes like the R1, ZX-10r, CBR1000RR, Panigale & S1000RR. You know, bikes that people love to ride and just blow you away.

Suzuki GSX-R1000 L3 182 hp in-line 4 Superbike

[seedy]

Too busy making bikes like the R1, ZX-10r, CBR1000RR, Panigale & S1000RR. You know, bikes that people love to ride and just blow you away.

Suzuki GSX-R1000 L3 182 hp in-line 4 Superbike

If race track-style performance is all you care about.

Many other reasons - and styles - of riding.

Many other factors come into play for many people - comfort, looks (always subjective), sound (again).

Myself - I don't want to ride a bike that looks like it was designed by the Power Rangers, or Darth Vader on meth.

[VocalNeal]

imagine if all the scooters in SE Asia were electric. HCMC would be fantastic. bye bye air pollution!

Amazing to consider...maybe in 10 years.

Wonder if their power grid has the capacity?

I remember I read somewhere that the USA doesn't generate enough electricity to allow everyone to have an electric car!

[seedy]

I remember I read somewhere that the USA doesn't generate enough electricity to allow everyone to have an electric car!

The real deciding factor in my mind is where is this power coming from.

Hydro is clean, but uses up a lot of real estate suitable for agriculture..

Coal - very dirty and a major contributor to greenhouse gas in its present configuration.

Oil - finite supply they say.

Nuclear - the cleanest burning by far, but spent fuel is a major PITA.

Only way I can see is conservation - less people driving in total, and more mass transit - a LOT more.

But I put this in the 'Once Upon a Time' category. Won't happen in my lifetime.

And I am to blame myself - I want to ride and drive what I want, when I want, and as much as I want. And if I have the $$$ I can.

[H1w4yR1da]

Too busy making bikes like the R1, ZX-10r, CBR1000RR, Panigale & S1000RR. You know, bikes that people love to ride and just blow you away.

Suzuki GSX-R1000 L3 182 hp in-line 4 Superbike

If race track-style performance is all you care about.

Many other reasons - and styles - of riding.

Many other factors come into play for many people - comfort, looks (always subjective), sound (again).

Suzuki GSX-R1000 L3 182 hp in-line 4 Superbike

[canuckamuck]

Full electric is not the way to go. Hybrids make way more sense. self charging and full of torque. I am sure HD could conjure up some kind of offensive noise polluting power plant to spin a torqued up generator.

[AllanB]

When the oil runs out you will get what you want in terms of alternative power, until then everyone will keep coming up with all these stupid ideas, Hybrids and the like.

I must admit I didn't expect anything from HD, them being at the far end of the technological spectrum, still it's all good for a laugh, eh?

[BSJ]

I've ridden about a million kilometres over 46 years, a lot on highway, and that situation has never happened for me!

[canuckamuck]

When the oil runs out you will get what you want in terms of alternative power, until then everyone will keep coming up with all these stupid ideas, Hybrids and the like.

I must admit I didn't expect anything from HD, them being at the far end of the technological spectrum, still it's all good for a laugh, eh?

I don't think hybrids are stupid at all. Locomotives have been running diesel electrics for decades, and it works well.

I think Maclaren P1 is making something like 915 HP and yet its fuel efficiency is quite good 8.3 liters per 100 km despite being capable of 0 to 100 kph in 2.8 seconds or to 300 in a ridiculous 16.5 seconds

I think we are going to see some jaw dropping developments in hybrids in the next 10 years.

[dave_boo]

What needs to happen is that Israeli tech that converts aluminium to electricity to become widespread.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I was watching the TV a few days ago and a scientist in the UK has come up with a way to store electricity in carbon. So the body of a car, plane or the frame of a bike or even the body of a cell phone can store electricity doing away completely with the need for conventional batteries.

An evolution of Buell's design? I would be worried about what effect it had on the structure through recharge and discharge cycles.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[a99az]

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However doubt if the HD old guard will accept a bike that is fast can go around corners and doesn't make a lot of noise.

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Quite hum saves lives?

#1 complaint about the new electric Harley? "It sounds like a tattoo machine"?

Does it need on of these to get it started?

No but some of the old farts that drive Harley's might benefit from the jump start.

[dave_boo]

When the oil runs out you will get what you want in terms of alternative power, until then everyone will keep coming up with all these stupid ideas, Hybrids and the like.

I must admit I didn't expect anything from HD, them being at the far end of the technological spectrum, still it's all good for a laugh, eh?

I don't think hybrids are stupid at all. Locomotives have been running diesel electrics for decades, and it works well.

I think Maclaren P1 is making something like 915 HP and yet its fuel efficiency is quite good 8.3 liters per 100 km despite being capable of 0 to 100 kph in 2.8 seconds or to 300 in a ridiculous 16.5 seconds

I think we are going to see some jaw dropping developments in hybrids in the next 10 years.

Mazda would be in a good position I would think. Their next gen single rotor engine downscaled and running at a set RPM would probably be pretty efficient. An electric motor on each wheel (super easy stability control then) of an RX-9 could net them a GT-R killer.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[impulse]

I remember I read somewhere that the USA doesn't generate enough electricity to allow everyone to have an electric car!

The real deciding factor in my mind is where is this power coming from.

Hydro is clean, but uses up a lot of real estate suitable for agriculture..

Coal - very dirty and a major contributor to greenhouse gas in its present configuration.

Oil - finite supply they say.

Nuclear - the cleanest burning by far, but spent fuel is a major PITA.

Only way I can see is conservation - less people driving in total, and more mass transit - a LOT more.

But I put this in the 'Once Upon a Time' category. Won't happen in my lifetime.

And I am to blame myself - I want to ride and drive what I want, when I want, and as much as I want. And if I have the $$$ I can.

For a scooter at home, solar off the roof would be plenty for the way most guys ride their Harley's. The hard core guys won't be riding electrics anyway.

I could see them marketing a complete system including a solar panel, garage charging junction box, and perhaps a quickly replaceable spare battery so one can be charging while the scooter is out...

If they really wanted to leverage their distribution network, they could allow riders to exchange their batteries for a charged up battery at any Harley dealer, and use Smartphone aps to point them to the nearest dealer. I suspect you could ride coast to coast without ever being more than 100 km from a dealer. And if that isn't true, they could partner up with Denny's and it's a win-win- fresh battery and a cop of Joe around every corner.

Edited June 22, 2014 by impulse

[canuckamuck]

When the oil runs out you will get what you want in terms of alternative power, until then everyone will keep coming up with all these stupid ideas, Hybrids and the like.

I must admit I didn't expect anything from HD, them being at the far end of the technological spectrum, still it's all good for a laugh, eh?

I don't think hybrids are stupid at all. Locomotives have been running diesel electrics for decades, and it works well.

I think Maclaren P1 is making something like 915 HP and yet its fuel efficiency is quite good 8.3 liters per 100 km despite being capable of 0 to 100 kph in 2.8 seconds or to 300 in a ridiculous 16.5 seconds

I think we are going to see some jaw dropping developments in hybrids in the next 10 years.

Mazda would be in a good position I would think. Their next gen single rotor engine downscaled and running at a set RPM would probably be pretty efficient. An electric motor on each wheel (super easy stability control then) of an RX-9 could net them a GT-R killer.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

An electric motor on each wheel of a motorcycle would give you the first two wheel drive bike. What would that do for cornering and traction control eh? Would be great for off-roaders as well.

[AllanB]

When the oil runs out you will get what you want in terms of alternative power, until then everyone will keep coming up with all these stupid ideas, Hybrids and the like.

I must admit I didn't expect anything from HD, them being at the far end of the technological spectrum, still it's all good for a laugh, eh?

I don't think hybrids are stupid at all. Locomotives have been running diesel electrics for decades, and it works well.

I think Maclaren P1 is making something like 915 HP and yet its fuel efficiency is quite good 8.3 liters per 100 km despite being capable of 0 to 100 kph in 2.8 seconds or to 300 in a ridiculous 16.5 seconds

I think we are going to see some jaw dropping developments in hybrids in the next 10 years.

The locomotive you refer to is not a Hybrid it is a simple diesel electric, the same system as the VW XL1.

This XL1 does 300mpg, strip away all the high tech cloaking BS and it will still do 200mpg.

This technology has been around longer than me and is more likely to be the future, than a stupid 35mpg hybrid that creates more pollution to build than driving a US gas guzzler for 30 years. I had a big heavy Saab 9-5 estate TID that had better mpg than my mate Prius, so get real. The Saab had twice the interior space was way more comfortable, much much safer, cost half the amount to service and a new battery cost under £9,000.

Have you any idea how much that Mclaren costs, let alone the running costs and all those figures you quote may be in the same sentence, but they do not occur at the same time.

1. If you want a very fast car, do what the Yanks do, spend 10% of the cash and put a wacking great engine in a small car.

2. If you want an economical car, buy a diesel, if you want a super economical car, wait until the oil companies say you can have one.

3. If you want an electric Harley get some earplugs.

[AllanB]

When the oil runs out you will get what you want in terms of alternative power, until then everyone will keep coming up with all these stupid ideas, Hybrids and the like.

I must admit I didn't expect anything from HD, them being at the far end of the technological spectrum, still it's all good for a laugh, eh?

I don't think hybrids are stupid at all. Locomotives have been running diesel electrics for decades, and it works well.

I think Maclaren P1 is making something like 915 HP and yet its fuel efficiency is quite good 8.3 liters per 100 km despite being capable of 0 to 100 kph in 2.8 seconds or to 300 in a ridiculous 16.5 seconds

I think we are going to see some jaw dropping developments in hybrids in the next 10 years.

Mazda would be in a good position I would think. Their next gen single rotor engine downscaled and running at a set RPM would probably be pretty efficient. An electric motor on each wheel (super easy stability control then) of an RX-9 could net them a GT-R killer.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

An electric motor on each wheel of a motorcycle would give you the first two wheel drive bike. What would that do for cornering and traction control eh? Would be great for off-roaders as well.

One big problem with that...two words...."unsprung mass"

I wonder what the torque steer would be like.

[seedy]

For a scooter at home, solar off the roof would be plenty for the way most guys ride their Harley's. The hard core guys won't be riding electrics anyway.

I could see them marketing a complete system including a solar panel, garage charging junction box, and perhaps a quickly replaceable spare battery so one can be charging while the scooter is out...

If they really wanted to leverage their distribution network, they could allow riders to exchange their batteries for a charged up battery at any Harley dealer, and use Smartphone aps to point them to the nearest dealer. I suspect you could ride coast to coast without ever being more than 100 km from a dealer. And if that isn't true, they could partner up with Denny's and it's a win-win- fresh battery and a cop of Joe around every corner.

You bring up some very good points.

For around town - short trips - an electric scooter makes sense.

And the idea of a battery swap when travelling - something I never thought of, but is a great idea. Spread the cost of the batteries over many many people and the price will come down. If you could stop anywhere - coffee shop, gas station, brothel - and exchange your battery for a fresh one this would put a lot of peoples minds to rest worrying about the battery situation.

And electric motors are great at making torque, which is what makes things move. And it is instant too - no waiting.

[mtmtvishal]

harley is such a very nice bike...