FabSwingers.com
 

FabSwingers.com > Forums > Bikers > Electric Motorbikes

Electric Motorbikes

Jump to: Newest in thread

 

By (user no longer on site) OP     over a year ago

Has anyone had any experience on a electric motorbike, we have an electric car on order so will have a charging point on the house - would make sense for me to get an electric motorbike if they are any good, range etc.

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *ikerswingCouple  over a year ago

mcr

Ive ridden electric moto cross before and they have awesome torque off road .no experience of the new breed of on road bikes though.id be dubious on road drivers dont see us at the best of times not being able to hear us either would make me nervous as we run loud pipes allways

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *icksfocusMan  over a year ago

Pontefract


"Has anyone had any experience on a electric motorbike, we have an electric car on order so will have a charging point on the house - would make sense for me to get an electric motorbike if they are any good, range etc.

"

Go to not your average bikes in ossett West Yorkshire. They have electric motorbikes in

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *all_Toned_89Couple  over a year ago

Warwickshire

Depending on the use.

Electric MX/EN are mint! Torquy and quite and you can go in any field you want..

Ridden Zero motorcycle and IoM prototype as part of a team way back and they were good but too heavy for what they are.. And charging time take forever.

You also have the 125 equivalent which are decent as you can charge them quickly and they are fun to ride

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *layfullsamMan  over a year ago

Solihull

Noooooo motorbikes should make a noise that makes the hairs on your arms tingle

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By (user no longer on site)  over a year ago

Love the sound of my Harley and hate the thought of 'stealth' bikes, bloody dangerous. At the moment car drivers may say they never saw me but they can't say they never heard me.

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By (user no longer on site) OP     over a year ago

Thanks for all the responses, I'll look into the places mentioned and I hadnt considered the potential issues of the silent running- lots to think about so the response are much appreciated

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *layfullsamMan  over a year ago

Solihull


"Thanks for all the responses, I'll look into the places mentioned and I hadnt considered the potential issues of the silent running- lots to think about so the response are much appreciated "

Watched them at the tt and they were quick but seemed soul less, I love to here them approaching from distance dropping through the gears to corner and then accelerating away again.

Enjoy whatever you get and keep it shiny side up

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By (user no longer on site)  over a year ago


"Noooooo motorbikes should make a noise that makes the hairs on your arms tingle "

Totally...

Wouldn't it be a safety issue too?

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *layfullsamMan  over a year ago

Solihull


"Noooooo motorbikes should make a noise that makes the hairs on your arms tingle

Totally...

Wouldn't it be a safety issue too?"

To go with the standard car drivers "sorry I didn't see you" we'd have "sorry I didn't hear you"

Mind you I still get people pull out on me with a loud exhaust and daytime running lights

We're doomed I tell you

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *kbull2000Man  over a year ago

Carluke

Hired one whilst abroad. Definitely not for me.

The torque is massive and instantaneous bit the whole experience is different. There's no feel from the engine, no noise.

Like, when you set the bike just right and you can feel from the vibration the power delivery as you start to lean the bike into a corner and start winding up the throttle and counter-steer. That's all gone; that whole experience when you control the bike by feel and sound is completely missing.

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *udith55TV/TS  over a year ago

Birmingham

I had a test ride on a basic Zero and it was uncannily like a 70mph pushbike. I didn't buy it because of the price, for commuting the range would have been OK. No good for a serious day out.

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By (user no longer on site)  over a year ago

I'd love one and an electric car too fits in with my commute just fine 20 miles a day and a free charger at my workplace, also its quiet as at the mo I have to push my bike up a hill out of my road before I start it in the morning, the neighbours hate my bike at 5.30am.

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By (user no longer on site)  over a year ago

Not tried them as the range and charging time would make a decent run pointless just now .. I think they will be ok as city runs outs though

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *lem-H-FandangoMan  over a year ago

salisbury


"Thanks for all the responses, I'll look into the places mentioned and I hadnt considered the potential issues of the silent running- lots to think about so the response are much appreciated

Watched them at the tt and they were quick but seemed soul less, I love to here them approaching from distance dropping through the gears to corner and then accelerating away again.

Enjoy whatever you get and keep it shiny side up "

"Soul less" i think would be the issue for me.

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *1GITALrayMan  over a year ago

Plymouth

Over the years I've owned a couple of Triumph's (Bonneville T100 and Tiger 800) and a couple of BMW's (F650GS (Single) and F650GS (Twin), but have recently purchased a Zero S. I love it. It attracts attention everywhere I go. Other bikers seem genuinely interested in it. I always get asked the same few questions so here goes: Max speed 95mph, weight 185Kg, Range approx 100 miles, Power 60Hp, time to recharge: 1 hour to 80%. More range would be good, but I figured that if I keep waiting for improvements I will be missing out. So I figured "what the hell" and pulled the trigger on this one. I have heard a lot of bikers say that they will never give up on internal combustion and they will have to be dragged kicking and screaming on to an electric bike, but once you ride one you will love it. No gears, instant power, stopping at lights is great as you just roll to a halt not caring about changing down or pulling in the clutch (you just sit there in silence), no oily bits to worry about. I like getting it back into my garage after a ride, checking out the rides stats on the iPhone app, then plugging it in to refuel. The bikes are silent at speeds under 10mph, but when you get going there is a motor whine which reminds me of the bikes in Tron. They are certainly not completely silent. Car drivers are cocooned in their steel cages with their music playing and don't hear normal bikes anyway... just assume that everyone else is out to kill you and you will be fine

They are not for everyone though. I fully understood the limitations before buying it, but as a gadget freak I really wanted it. I did a longish ride the other week of 170 miles and recharged once. It needs a different mindset and you have to plan your routes accordingly. But every week there are more and more chargers opening up.

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By (user no longer on site)  over a year ago

I wrote this after riding a Zero last year.

I'm old school. I've spent my working career, 43 years, trying to improve the performance of the internal combustion engine, both 2 and 4 stroke. Trying to make them stronger, more reliable, more powerful, more fuel efficient, or all of the above. Not all of them always possible, at least not all at the same time.

Well, today, I stepped into the future, or more accurately, rode into the future. A local motorcycle dealer had a display of electric bikes made by Zero Motorcycles and test rides were on offer. Why would I want to get involved? After all, that electric bike is going to be doing me out of work. I'll surely be relegated to changing tyres, pads and fork seals. Apart from the odd wiring problem.

I didn't take too much convincing though and took up the offer of a ride on the new model, 140 ft/lbs of torque and 220kg of weight. Several performance modes but I was given Sport mode, max everything but minimum regeneration or "engine" braking.

Manoeuvring around and pulling away from the dealership car park revealed that the bike rolled from a standstill easily, smoothly and jerk free, more smoothly and jerk free than many injected bikes I've ridden. And out on the road the power kept coming, linearly, with more throttle opening angle was more acceleration, just a seamless push. Impressive, very impressive.

What you have to get your head around though is not using the clutch to engage drive to pull away or to changing gear. There is no clutch lever. And you also have to get used to not shifting gear with your left foot. There is no shift lever. I suppose it's like riding a twist'n'go scooter and that's how you have to approach it.

The 220kg? So are many sport tourers. Once rolling it didn't feel that heavy, it steered, turned, rode the bumps, stopped and was comfortable. With the electric motor front pulley on the pivot point of the swing arm the chassis attitude didn't unduly or radically change, on and off throttle.

The looks? Well this particular model wasn't too futuristic, often for me a problem. Designers please don't change the propulsion method AND the looks at the same time. And also if the looks do change don't make it too Tron, too Falcorustyco. One change at a time please.

The dashboard was clear, informative and the switch gear just like a normal bike, including a kill switch. But with the addition of a mode shift button just above the turn signal switch. I investigated and tried Rain as well as Sport, there was a real difference. And modes can even be programmed by the rider, tailored to your own needs.

And it's quiet! Only a small amount of motor whine which didn't seem to get louder whatever the throttle opening or bike speed. And for me that's the main problem. It's quiet! Too quiet! It's too ..... well, clinical, digital.

For me part of the thrill of riding a motorcycle is the engine and exhaust noise, the induction roar, rattling carburettor slides, a primary gear and gearbox whine that rises and falls with engine revs or a gear change. Those little mechanical rattles and clicks from tappets or camshafts or injectors. Even the ticking from, in particular, an air-cooled engine cooling down at the end of a ride. Vibrations too. They matter.

Maybe here is the answer. Hang a fake exhaust on it that's really a loudspeaker. And let me download to my iPod from the internet a 'map' of engine noises. And let this bike and my iPod talk to each other and select and play the sound map according to either the selected performance mode, my style of riding or maybe let me choose my own noise map depending on how I feel. And gearchange noise can be part of that, computed from the road speed and throttle opening.

That way I can be riding a 6 cylinder Honda, a 3 cylinder two stroke Kawasaki, a square four RG500 Suzuki, road or race, maybe an RD400 or a TZ250. Or even a ZX10R, or a Monster or a Panigale, a Manx Norton or an MV-3. Maybe my own Triumph 1050 Speed Triple. Or maybe all of them on the same journey. That may help make electric motorcycles more acceptable to us traditional motorcyclists.

Or maybe not. For how do we replicate that oil smell, the fuel vapour, warm grease, that hot engine smell? And soul. Motorcycles have soul. They live. This one for all it's perfection was .... well, too perfect, too digital, I didn't feel it had a soul. Sure it moved me, rapidly, but it didn't MOVE me, we didn't connect, it didn't stir my soul. It's maybe why music enthusiasts are turning back to vinyl. For that more complete sound and all those little imperfections. For life. For soul.

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *ust RachelTV/TS  over a year ago

Eastbourne


"Noooooo motorbikes should make a noise that makes the hairs on your arms tingle "

Like a screaming two stroke, I suppose you could have a bluetooth speaker on the back of the bike

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *layfullsamMan  over a year ago

Solihull


"Noooooo motorbikes should make a noise that makes the hairs on your arms tingle

Like a screaming two stroke, I suppose you could have a bluetooth speaker on the back of the bike "

Should be compulsory, there are enough mr magoo drivers using the sorry I didn't see you.

Imagine when they have a sorry I didn't hear you to add to their excuses !

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *oldswarriorMan  over a year ago

Falkirk

Loud exhausts save lives.

But I love the idea of a fully electric bike. The technology just isn't quite there yet.

On the other hand we are seeing IC engines being pushed to the limits with litre class bikes easily exceeding 200bhp and the 600 class easily making 150bhp.

Detune these engines for torque and fuel efficiency and you knock the electric bike back even further.

Even if you can get an electric bike to do 150 miles on one charge it will still take several hours to fully recharge as opposed to the 5 mins to fill up with fuel.

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *ncutgemMan  over a year ago

Bath ish

Your pick up line can't be DO you fancy sometjing hot and thribbing between your leggs

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

 

By *iscreet-is-paramountMan  over a year ago

everywhere and somewhere

Lekki bikes arnt for me. They have their place, commuting etc. But I ride because I have an engineering background. I like how they work etc. So I need to have uncatalised burnt hydrocarbons in my nostrils.

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

  

By *icksfocusMan  over a year ago

Pontefract


"Lekki bikes arnt for me. They have their place, commuting etc. But I ride because I have an engineering background. I like how they work etc. So I need to have uncatalised burnt hydrocarbons in my nostrils."

So electric bikes have no engineering?

Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote or View forums list

» Add a new message to this topic

0.0312

0