ZERO (electric) Motorcycles - what a blast!

[OmegaRacer]

I think it's not the price but the ugly design that will keep anybody away from these.

Which ones are you referring to?

I think the ZERO bikes have a great design. Definitely better than some other boring plastic buckets out there.

De gustibus...

[ll2]

It is way too early for electric bikes.

And these prices?

Plus they are heavy and they look horrible imo.

Still time will come and maybe there will be no internal combustion engined bikes on the roads within 50 years.

[Nickymaster]

Interesting. I think we are are almost there in terms of technology. Amazing what the last 3 years have brought us.

Concerning price, they are expensive. Also in the US, not only in LOS. The luxury tax for combustion vehicles here in LOS will not apply so it should be VAT only that is added.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Nickymaster

[eeeya]

Id love to see a big electric harley.. with your typical harley gang rider on the back, with tats n patches..

or even a whole gang of them, silently riding into town.

[guzzi850m2]

Id love to see a big electric harley.. with your typical harley gang rider on the back, with tats n patches..

or even a whole gang of them, silently riding into town.

Well your wishes might soon be a reality.

HD launched this project bike mid 2014.

It looks good.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/24/5837642/riding-project-livewire-harley-davidson-first-electric-motorcycle

[eeeya]

Id love to see a big electric harley.. with your typical harley gang rider on the back, with tats n patches..

or even a whole gang of them, silently riding into town.

Well your wishes might soon be a reality.

HD launched this project bike mid 2014.

It looks good.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/24/5837642/riding-project-livewire-harley-davidson-first-electric-motorcycle

Wow, that bike looks interesting.

This one is more standard, but it definately rips along..

Note the lack of riding gear ..just cause he's on an electric pushie

[impulse]

The video above would have been a lot more credible had it not been shot on a winding mountain road. Like this one was:

Conceding that he does have a cool bike, it's not very practical. First, bicycles are controlled in the USA by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). Motorcycles are controlled by the Department of Transportation (DOT).

For a bicycle, some rudimentary safety equipment and testing is all you need- even less if it's a one-off as opposed to a production bicycle. For a motorcycle, it's the whole 9 yards, lights, brakes, registration, etc. etc.

Problem with the bike in the video is that, in order to qualify as a bicycle, it has to be governed at no more than 20 MPH if it's power assisted. Any faster, and it becomes a motorcycle for legal purposes. And, as a motorcycle- it's got to meet DOT safety standards and be registered and insured, and...and...

The first time he gets clocked on radar above 20 MPH by a knowledgeable cop, he's toast.

He also mentioned building the bikes for sale... But the DOT has astronomical fines for people selling products that will be used on the road, and are not legal. I found that out when I was considering importing LED lights for trailers. Unless they met very specific requirements, the fine could be something like $5,000 for every light that I may have sold. Squashed that idea...

Still, looks like a fun bike...

Edited January 14, 2015 by impulse

[seedy]

Interesting. I think we are are almost there in terms of technology. Amazing what the last 3 years have brought us.

Concerning price, they are expensive. Also in the US, not only in LOS. The luxury tax for combustion vehicles here in LOS will not apply so it should be VAT only that is added.

True. Another thread proposed an interesting idea ...

Be able to swap batteries in different towns - say 200km apart. Small fee for the exchange. Then you are good to go.

But the only way it will work now is if governments get behind them, subsidize the purchase or at least give tax breaks to lower the cost.

Great motorcycle powerplant - immense torque, power right now, no shifting, minimal maintenance.

If the price was right - or almost right - I would consider them. But now ...

[impulse]

Be able to swap batteries in different towns - say 200km apart. Small fee for the exchange. Then you are good to go.

But the only way it will work now is if governments get behind them, subsidize the purchase or at least give tax breaks to lower the cost.

I'm hoping Harley Davidson will blaze that trail. Some Harley dealerships around the USA are pretty much destination points for aficionados. Seems to be the same in several countries I've visited. It would be pretty easy for them to add a battery swap at each dealership and draw even more fans.

Just like cars, there wouldn't be nearly the same market if the only way to "fuel them up" was at home- regardless of how advanced the battery technology is. Sadly, I doubt many companies are willing to invest in the required infrastructure until standards are established. Can you imagine how gas stations would operate if the filler neck on every brand of car was different? (1 hour photo kiosks come to mind- digital photo technology came along and BAM, investment down the drain)

And I learned a hard lesson about electric scooters with sealed lead acid batteries. Hauling a 40-50 lb battery up 5 flights of stairs to charge it is no fun.

Back in China, I lived on the ground floor and just stuck a cord out my window. Here in BKK, I'm up higher and the complex doesn't provide plug-in points (can't blame them). So my LA ebike with 10 lb Li-Ion battery gets used all the time, and my e-scooter with 40 lb SLA sits in the parking lot. Rapid recharging or battery swap stations are going to be key to marketing the heavier batteries to upper floor dwellers- and that's a huge chunk of the potential market.

Edit: As much as I think Harley could pull it off, I suspect it will be a Tesla that comes along and makes it happen- just because of the way Tesla is run vs old line companies like HD. But I hope they prove me wrong.

Edited January 17, 2015 by impulse