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Is there a reason for most motorcycles not to be electric by now? Few people take them on the road, they seem to be used mostly in cities, so there's not a big

Is there a reason for most motorcycles not to be electric by now? Few people take them on the road, they seem to be used mostly in cities, so there's not a big problem with range. They are small, so you would have less of a problem setting up the charging infrastructure in your house.

upofadown 7y ago
For the city you might as well just do an e-bike or something a lot like an e-bike. So that leaves things like this for the highway. Motorcycles are not very aerodynamic so they tend to take a lot of battery when run fast. So you are probably better off with a small electric car.
- IgorPartola 7y ago
  Except you do not really ride bikes because they are efficient or convenient. They are way less convenient than cars almost every time. Exception: lane filtering in CA in traffic. Bikes are just the most fun you can have with your pants on.
  - kiliantics 7y ago
    most motorcycle fuel economy is much better than it is for most cars
orange3xchicken 7y ago
They are definitely coming. I would totally love to get one. I think one issue is that they are typically a lot more expensive than traditional motorcycles. Additionally, there are not too many used electric bikes that have significantly depreciated in value. For example, I purchased my current bike at ~2k from craigslist. I just looked up the prices for some used Zeros on CL and they vary around 10-20k. In the US, for the most part, motorcycles are still typically viewed as being toys. Looking forward to see how well the Lightning Strike does.
- Gibbon1 7y ago
  When I tried penciling out electric motorcycles it seemed like you run into scaling problems. Compare Model 3 at 4000lbs with a 60kwh battery. Vs a Zero SR at 485lbs and a 14.4kwh battery. The Zero weighs 1/8th as much but the battery is 1/4. The SR has 1/2 range to boot. Not trying to piss on electric motorcycle by any means. It's just difficult to make an electric motorcycle match a gasoline one spec for spec, especially at the same price point.
BubRoss 7y ago
As far as I can tell, a huge part is that they are incredibly overpriced. No one is going to pay $14k for an electric cycle when a brand new gas cycle costs $8k. People put together their own scooters from batteries, a controller and an electric motor on YouTube all the time, but companies are trying to get people to give up the same amount that could buy them a Ducati.
- cerberusss 7y ago
  A friend of mine drives a zero. The very low cost per mile makes it cost effective.
  - dharmab 7y ago
    Only if you compare it to a similar brand new bike and ride it over 15,000 miles. Most motorcycle owners never exceed 10k on a single bike. https://youtu.be/-U8JK7lUqA8?t=319 https://youtu.be/-U8JK7lUqA8?t=319
  - Zenbit_UX 7y ago
    Gas costs are negligible on a motorcycle, I pay at most $20 a month for premium (91 or better) gasoline... The economics of an electric bike just aren't there yet while they remain above $10k for the base models. As much as I'd love to own an electric bike,vlike a zero, they're still in a premium early adopter phase that I can't justify yet. A good comparison would be the model s vs 3. Speaking of, it's a shame Tesla won't make an electric motorcycle.
imglorp 7y ago
Electrics are still milking the premium market, is the problem. In the West, a brand new Ninja 400 fuel injected sport bike is $US 5000, new. Through economies of scale, and their getting the bugs out and widening tolerances over its 30 years history, they're now the AK-47 of bikes: cheap and dependable. You can spend $20k on a bike, but you don't need to. Similar Honda and Suzuki models. Harley and BMW can't and won't touch this part of the market. The Zero starts at $US 11k but you need to spend more like 18k to get something as useful as the current gas bikes.
- jacobush 7y ago
  Wow, I didn't know about the Kawasaki Ninja 400. That's a really impressive bike at a fantastic price. That would have been like 2000 dollars in 1987. Completely unheard of. Motorcycles have come a long way.
  - dharmab 7y ago
    It has never been a better time to be a rider, you can get some seriously amazing bikes for the money. Unfortunately it is a very bad time to try to make money in the motorcycle industry right now. Older riders are aging out and interested young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt.
    - Zenbit_UX 7y ago
      > young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt. I find comments like these interesting because it shows a fundamentally different perspective on motorcycling. It sounds like you view it as a hobby or pastime, and an expensive one at that, likely because you see it as something to purchase after already owning a car. I see it as a highly efficient and cheap form of personal transportation, especially for urban areas. In my city (Montreal) motorcycles park for free and almost anywhere they wish, essentially lawlessly. I don't own a car and use a motorcycle to avoid public transportation yet not impact the environment nearly as much as a full size car. The economics of it are amazing too, I spend about $15-20 on gasoline a month while commuting daily, spend almost no time in traffic and nothing on parking. Maybe $600 a year on insurance and $300 on plates. The initial costs were higher due to getting gear but that still doesn't compare to car ownership.
dharmab 7y ago
Fortnine has an excellent video last year that summarizes the problems electric bikes currently have: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U8JK7lUqA8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U8JK7lUqA8 The big two reasons: - Electric range and recharge rate is abysmal compared to gas bikes - The excellent used motorcycle market makes the savings on gas and maintenance noncompetitive. We never had Cash for Clunkers for motorcycles, so you can buy an amazing lightly used gas motorcycle for $2500 or so.

upofadown 7y ago

For the city you might as well just do an e-bike or something a lot like an e-bike. So that leaves things like this for the highway. Motorcycles are not very aerodynamic so they tend to take a lot of battery when run fast. So you are probably better off with a small electric car.

IgorPartola 7y ago
Except you do not really ride bikes because they are efficient or convenient. They are way less convenient than cars almost every time. Exception: lane filtering in CA in traffic. Bikes are just the most fun you can have with your pants on.
- kiliantics 7y ago
  most motorcycle fuel economy is much better than it is for most cars

orange3xchicken 7y ago

They are definitely coming. I would totally love to get one. I think one issue is that they are typically a lot more expensive than traditional motorcycles. Additionally, there are not too many used electric bikes that have significantly depreciated in value. For example, I purchased my current bike at ~2k from craigslist. I just looked up the prices for some used Zeros on CL and they vary around 10-20k. In the US, for the most part, motorcycles are still typically viewed as being toys. Looking forward to see how well the Lightning Strike does.

Gibbon1 7y ago
When I tried penciling out electric motorcycles it seemed like you run into scaling problems. Compare Model 3 at 4000lbs with a 60kwh battery. Vs a Zero SR at 485lbs and a 14.4kwh battery. The Zero weighs 1/8th as much but the battery is 1/4. The SR has 1/2 range to boot. Not trying to piss on electric motorcycle by any means. It's just difficult to make an electric motorcycle match a gasoline one spec for spec, especially at the same price point.

BubRoss 7y ago

As far as I can tell, a huge part is that they are incredibly overpriced. No one is going to pay $14k for an electric cycle when a brand new gas cycle costs $8k. People put together their own scooters from batteries, a controller and an electric motor on YouTube all the time, but companies are trying to get people to give up the same amount that could buy them a Ducati.

cerberusss 7y ago
A friend of mine drives a zero. The very low cost per mile makes it cost effective.
- dharmab 7y ago
  Only if you compare it to a similar brand new bike and ride it over 15,000 miles. Most motorcycle owners never exceed 10k on a single bike. https://youtu.be/-U8JK7lUqA8?t=319 https://youtu.be/-U8JK7lUqA8?t=319
- Zenbit_UX 7y ago
  Gas costs are negligible on a motorcycle, I pay at most $20 a month for premium (91 or better) gasoline... The economics of an electric bike just aren't there yet while they remain above $10k for the base models. As much as I'd love to own an electric bike,vlike a zero, they're still in a premium early adopter phase that I can't justify yet. A good comparison would be the model s vs 3. Speaking of, it's a shame Tesla won't make an electric motorcycle.

imglorp 7y ago

Electrics are still milking the premium market, is the problem. In the West, a brand new Ninja 400 fuel injected sport bike is $US 5000, new. Through economies of scale, and their getting the bugs out and widening tolerances over its 30 years history, they're now the AK-47 of bikes: cheap and dependable. You can spend $20k on a bike, but you don't need to. Similar Honda and Suzuki models. Harley and BMW can't and won't touch this part of the market. The Zero starts at $US 11k but you need to spend more like 18k to get something as useful as the current gas bikes.

jacobush 7y ago
Wow, I didn't know about the Kawasaki Ninja 400. That's a really impressive bike at a fantastic price. That would have been like 2000 dollars in 1987. Completely unheard of. Motorcycles have come a long way.
- dharmab 7y ago
  It has never been a better time to be a rider, you can get some seriously amazing bikes for the money. Unfortunately it is a very bad time to try to make money in the motorcycle industry right now. Older riders are aging out and interested young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt.
  - Zenbit_UX 7y ago
    > young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt. I find comments like these interesting because it shows a fundamentally different perspective on motorcycling. It sounds like you view it as a hobby or pastime, and an expensive one at that, likely because you see it as something to purchase after already owning a car. I see it as a highly efficient and cheap form of personal transportation, especially for urban areas. In my city (Montreal) motorcycles park for free and almost anywhere they wish, essentially lawlessly. I don't own a car and use a motorcycle to avoid public transportation yet not impact the environment nearly as much as a full size car. The economics of it are amazing too, I spend about $15-20 on gasoline a month while commuting daily, spend almost no time in traffic and nothing on parking. Maybe $600 a year on insurance and $300 on plates. The initial costs were higher due to getting gear but that still doesn't compare to car ownership.

dharmab 7y ago

Fortnine has an excellent video last year that summarizes the problems electric bikes currently have: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U8JK7lUqA8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U8JK7lUqA8 The big two reasons: - Electric range and recharge rate is abysmal compared to gas bikes - The excellent used motorcycle market makes the savings on gas and maintenance noncompetitive. We never had Cash for Clunkers for motorcycles, so you can buy an amazing lightly used gas motorcycle for $2500 or so.