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I've seen electric motorcycles for a few years now. Not too many. Honestly, they don't sound that great, sort of like a loud R/C car. One friend got a zero r

by m463 3y ago

I've seen electric motorcycles for a few years now. Not too many. Honestly, they don't sound that great, sort of like a loud R/C car. One friend got a zero recently. He told me it goes 0-60 under 2 seconds, which I don't know if is is BS or not. But most of these motorcycles are "off-brand", even zero had not-great tires. Even Harley had a bike, but I don't think it sold well. Now that the major japanese/etc brands are paying attention to electric bikes, I think the market might expand. and I thought telsa was going to make a 4-wheeler.

jpgvm 3y ago
I love EVs but electric motorcycles are struggling because they are trying to replicate the luxury car model Tesla used which simply doesn't apply as well to motorcycles. Big and expensive motorcycles are more about the badge/history/"character" than they are about function. You have to move down the value chain to find opportunities for new entrants where function plays a bigger role in the purchasing decision. Not to mention bikes that appeal to and are affordable by riders that don't already have that badge affiliation. Unlike most people's relationship with their car a motorcycle is inherently a more emotional connection because the experience is much more visceral. Doubly so at the expensive end where you have big cruiser daddy's on their Harley's or middle aged men buying a Ducati or trying to be "adventurous" on their BMW GSA. These buyers all bought those bikes because of the emotion they evoke but also what other people think when they see that bike. IMO electric needs to conquer scooters first. Then ship a bike like the NC750X which is an astoundingly boring but perfect bike for commuting. These are the areas without all that inertia to overcome and where you can prove out the power plant and batteries with riders that will appreciate the functional benefit without belittling the sound and lack of character etc. I currently ride a CB500X if anything riders like me are the best bet for sales after the NC750X crowd. I have my bike configured as a mini-tourer with pannier bags, top box etc. I get great range of around 450kms per tank (around 280 miles) which for the long distance trips it's set-up for is adequate. Considering I got my bike used for less than $3k and maintenance on it is less than $200/yr it's a hard sell to move to electric from a financial perspective. For a brand new bike I don't think I could justify more than $10k USD for something that can do the same thing and unless it was made by Honda or Yamaha I would be making a huge sacrifice in terms of dealership network, reputation for reliability and resale value.
- defrost 3y ago
  > IMO electric needs to conquer scooters first. Or western countries such as the US and AU need to adopt more scooter use perhaps? Asian countries have heavy scooter use and electric scooters already have more than 10% of that market in countries such as Taiwain with numbers steadily climbing. https://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/11/gogoro-batteries-power-90-of-taiwans-electric-scooters/ https://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/11/gogoro-batteries-power-... Hot Battery swap for Scooters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpOQpwKeSnI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpOQpwKeSnI
  - jpgvm 3y ago
    Yeah I have seen some. NUI in particular was fairly present when I was living in Vietnam even 6-ish years ago. I have lived in Thailand since though and yet to see more than a handful of electric scooters here. In this market it would need to be Honda or Yamaha to take the first step.
deleted 3y ago
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somerandomqaguy 3y ago
Peak crank torque of the Zero DSR/X is 229 NM in the spec sheet, with a gear tooth ratio of 90/22 gives about, so 936Nm of torque. A 170/60-17 rear wheel is 0.318 meters radius, so 2943 Newtons of force where rubber meets the road trying to move 247kg of motorcycle. Acceleration is force divided by mass, so theoretical maximum the DSR/X can accelerate at 11.91 m/s^2, or 2.25 seconds 0 to 60. That's assuming absolutely no power losses, that it sustains peak torque throughout the entire run, that the rider has 0 kilograms of mass, and that there's no risk of a wheelie. I dunno, but I'd lean towards either BSing or hasn't actually taken a measurement with accurate equipment.

by m463 3y ago

jpgvm 3y ago

I love EVs but electric motorcycles are struggling because they are trying to replicate the luxury car model Tesla used which simply doesn't apply as well to motorcycles. Big and expensive motorcycles are more about the badge/history/"character" than they are about function. You have to move down the value chain to find opportunities for new entrants where function plays a bigger role in the purchasing decision. Not to mention bikes that appeal to and are affordable by riders that don't already have that badge affiliation. Unlike most people's relationship with their car a motorcycle is inherently a more emotional connection because the experience is much more visceral. Doubly so at the expensive end where you have big cruiser daddy's on their Harley's or middle aged men buying a Ducati or trying to be "adventurous" on their BMW GSA. These buyers all bought those bikes because of the emotion they evoke but also what other people think when they see that bike. IMO electric needs to conquer scooters first. Then ship a bike like the NC750X which is an astoundingly boring but perfect bike for commuting. These are the areas without all that inertia to overcome and where you can prove out the power plant and batteries with riders that will appreciate the functional benefit without belittling the sound and lack of character etc. I currently ride a CB500X if anything riders like me are the best bet for sales after the NC750X crowd. I have my bike configured as a mini-tourer with pannier bags, top box etc. I get great range of around 450kms per tank (around 280 miles) which for the long distance trips it's set-up for is adequate. Considering I got my bike used for less than $3k and maintenance on it is less than $200/yr it's a hard sell to move to electric from a financial perspective. For a brand new bike I don't think I could justify more than $10k USD for something that can do the same thing and unless it was made by Honda or Yamaha I would be making a huge sacrifice in terms of dealership network, reputation for reliability and resale value.

defrost 3y ago
> IMO electric needs to conquer scooters first. Or western countries such as the US and AU need to adopt more scooter use perhaps? Asian countries have heavy scooter use and electric scooters already have more than 10% of that market in countries such as Taiwain with numbers steadily climbing. https://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/11/gogoro-batteries-power-90-of-taiwans-electric-scooters/ https://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/11/gogoro-batteries-power-... Hot Battery swap for Scooters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpOQpwKeSnI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpOQpwKeSnI
- jpgvm 3y ago
  Yeah I have seen some. NUI in particular was fairly present when I was living in Vietnam even 6-ish years ago. I have lived in Thailand since though and yet to see more than a handful of electric scooters here. In this market it would need to be Honda or Yamaha to take the first step.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

somerandomqaguy 3y ago

Peak crank torque of the Zero DSR/X is 229 NM in the spec sheet, with a gear tooth ratio of 90/22 gives about, so 936Nm of torque. A 170/60-17 rear wheel is 0.318 meters radius, so 2943 Newtons of force where rubber meets the road trying to move 247kg of motorcycle. Acceleration is force divided by mass, so theoretical maximum the DSR/X can accelerate at 11.91 m/s^2, or 2.25 seconds 0 to 60. That's assuming absolutely no power losses, that it sustains peak torque throughout the entire run, that the rider has 0 kilograms of mass, and that there's no risk of a wheelie. I dunno, but I'd lean towards either BSing or hasn't actually taken a measurement with accurate equipment.