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New Electric Superbike?


blue-yamaR6s

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Saw the electric class race at Indy's MotoGP this year. An abbreviated race due to battery life expectations, think it was 7 laps? Eric Bostrom placed 2nd in the race, not bad for a pioneer class machine and props to the builders for the breakthrough in performance electric bikes. BUT, it was weird seeing them come down the frontstraight and only hearing tire noise. They were pretty much flatout at turn 1's entry. A few didnt finish, crashed, mech'd, or batts died early, and there was a mix of fully faired bikes and nakeds - definitely an odd class to see compared to screaming engines and smoking tires of 2 and GP

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range still sucks

The video boasts this thing gets about 230 miles city use per charge. The shit part would be waiting an hour for it to recharge, or at minimum a 10 minute quick charge. I'm more curious about purchase price, long term maintenance costs, and battery life cycle

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Rule out the electrics for a while. I was so excited to see them run at Indy MotoGP. Loved the nerdy technology. Talked with one of the racers for a while getting my queations answered. Race bike is about $30K plus spares and that gets you a bike that is 10-15 seconds slower than a comparable gas burner.

Found the racing to be very boring. I was surprised how much the sound matters to me. I would think it is fun to ride and listen to the rubber on the road.

Road bike will have same limitations as current cars. Limited range, high cost, slow recharge time. Look forward to progression of the tech.

Edited by turnone
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I like shifting....

That said, an electric motorcycle for commuting would be cool. No fuel for my trip to work and home, instant torque...

Same sentiment here. I imagine I'll own one someday, but the prices will have to come WAY down.

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For that kind of cash, I'd rather buy a 'lectric car and keep my motorcycle on petroleum. At least an electric car would be useful. If you want cheap, shiftless bike transportation...buy a scooter.

 

now that's an idea, an electric scooter, sit on a big ol' battery, and have a little 'lectric motor direct mounted to the rear wheel... good for zipping around town or back and forth to work.. low maintenance..

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BMW's looks very interesting. Still pretty expensive when you can get a Dino-powered equivalent for half the cost, but I could totally see the point living in Mountain View zipping to work at Google.

http://youtu.be/Xv3hgFTFe1o

Edited by smccrory
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My take on the electric race bikes is no different than F1's relevance to car development.  No one would drive an F1 car to work, but that is where (and why)  the technology is developed. 

 

F1 cars were using hybrid drivetrains effectively before the Prius was introduced. 

 

While the bike shown is built to push the limits, I have to believe that they could build one that is slower, cheaper, and has a better range.   The figures quoted were 160hp and 140 highway miles.  If they de-tuned (or rather, electronically limited) it to 60hp, could they get more like 200 miles on a single charge?  For commuting purposes, 60hp is plenty.

 

And that highlights a potential advantage to an electric drivetrain: complete programmability of the power curve.  You could easily have multiple power-delivery settings.  One for economy (i.e. it artificially limits your ability to accelerate), and one for "full power."  Would any of us choose to engage the economy mode until we were below half charge and concerned about making it home?   ...probably not.  But there are people who would use it - just not many of us.

 

The race bikes make electric motorcycles sexy and exciting, but commuter models will be what makes them commercially viable.  The BMW scooter is a good example of what a practical electric vehicle looks like.  I'd buy stock in whichever company looks like it's going to sell the most electric bikes, not the company who has the fastest one...

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  • 1 month later...

I still like shifting too. They would have to have a built in mp3 player that would mimic the engine roar and be in sync with throttle position for me to be comfortable on it.  Also, I think its a bit safer to have some noise coming down the road so people hear you coming. I think riding something that quiet makes it a bit more dangerous.  It's interesting and cool to say the least but I like to feel and hear the engine, feel the gears shifting. They would make awesome drag bikes maybe!

Edited by jd724
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