Electric motorcycles

[LoneWolfO6]

I know that @Crissa has one, anyone else? What do you have exactly (name, configuration options, general specs)? How do you use it? On road, off road, grocery getter, commuter....?

I can't say I'm in the market for one today, but I've looked longingly. I currently have a 2020 KTM 390 adventure that I really love. I do a little off-roading here and there, and will do some camping when the summer weather heat away. Mostly I use it just to ride around for errands, shopping, things like that. Casual riding when I feel like it. I have a large tail trunk so I can do a pretty decent sized grocery trip. And on/off road electric with similar abilities, size, and weight sounds like it would be fun and useful. I recently sold a CBR1100XX and I think I'm done with the heavier bikes, I'm really liking the ease of tossing around a light bike. It's only 42HP and I'm fine with that, I may have done all the time at 150MPH+ that I have in me.

Loaded for an overnight trip...

I ordered the MetaCycle to be delivered October 2021. Was really pumped to know it would go 80 if needed and had 4kw battery for quick trips to work or store. $5000.00 in six payments seemed kinda steep! Asked them why I couldn’t pay $200-$300 monthly like traditional MC payments? They said higher determines that? Well cancelled due they are made in China and shipped to the states. I know my iPhone is made in China and I haven’t had any problems. But China scooters and electric bikes are junk, can’t get parts and they just rot and collect cobwebs in repair shops. So I cancelled! Seems like they are trying to get them sold quick and consumer must pay them off before shipping. Looks like Sondors doesn’t trust their product?
China MC And Bike junkyard…

 

[SwampNut]

Weight of the ebikes is a big thing for me. One of the greatest things about my 390 is how light it is to throw around. I've owned bikes up to about 700 pounds, so I'm comfortable in any range, but always prefer light. I'm bored today, and have company to entertain. And there's an ebike dealer nearby. And Chase just made me an 18 months same as cash offer on a card, up to $18k. Hmmm.

But China scooters and electric bikes are junk

I owned a CSC Zongshen import for several years (RX3). It was not Honda quality, but it was a very good motorcycle and totally reliable. Rear suspension was mushy for a fat American (200), and it was heavier than it needed to be. But it was a good bike. It taught me that I liked the class of bike and I upgraded to the KTM. I sold it for $500 more than I paid, took only a week to sell.

 

[Newton]

i have a chinese copy of a Suzuki dr 200 (i think), its been abused to hell (was part of a motorycle traning school for years) and its still workin decent. although many things have been replaced.
but i can absolutely agree its much harder to find parts, a simple thing like the oil filter was some strange size that required buying and bringing back 3 filters to find the correct size.

 

[Sirfun]

I know this isn't the type of E-Bike you are talking about, but when I saw this video today, I felt the need to share.

 

[SwampNut]

Stopped by a Zero dealer. Yawn. I can't believe how far e-motorcycles are behind cars. At least this brand. No idea what other dealers might be around. And only their $23k bike has J-charging, the rest are household 120v? WTF! Totally dumb. Not a single one of them appeals to any riding that I would be doing other than errands.

 

[HaulingAss]

Weight of the ebikes is a big thing for me. One of the greatest things about my 390 is how light it is to throw around. I've owned bikes up to about 700 pounds, so I'm comfortable in any range, but always prefer light. I'm bored today, and have company to entertain. And there's an ebike dealer nearby. And Chase just made me an 18 months same as cash offer on a card, up to $18k. Hmmm.

Tossability (the ease at which a bike can "thrown around" on pavement) has more to do with chassis geometry and suspension than weight. Some 500-600 lb. bikes are more tossable than some 300-400 lb. bikes.

At 6'-04" and 205 lbs. I don't fit well on most lighter bikes. I wish motorcycle frames came in S, M and Large. Maybe X-Large too! An inch or two here and there makes all the difference in the world. I don't want to lower the pegs because then I mess with my maximum lean angles. I do have a DR650 that is marginal in the way it fits me and a Ducati Sport-Tourer that fits me like a glove. I can put 30 lbs. of luggage in the saddlebags and ride it like a sportbike in the twisties without working up any more of a sweat than I would on a much lighter bike. It's telepathic. My DR650 is much lighter feeling with it's spoked wheels, single cylinder engine and no water cooling but it's no quicker through typical backroad twisties. Maybe if I was a smaller, lighter rider with narrower shoulders I would feel differently but I think the bike should fit the rider.

Lightness in a motorbike is nice for ground handling but once I'm above 30 mph, I really don't feel the weight as long as the bike is setup to be responsive.

I could replace my DR650 with an E-motorcycle without much problem because I use it mostly locally, 10-90 miles per ride, but there is no way I could replace my Sport-tourer with the current state of e-motorcycles. Even if there were fast chargers literally everywhere I could not ride an hour and charge for 20 minutes. As it is, I'm filling up every 180-300 miles in the most podunk gas stations that exist about 1 out of every 3 tanks and if my electric range before charging was only 100 miles it would be 2 out of 3 times in podunk places. My typical gas stop is 5 minutes and I generally don't even use the facilities or buy anything else. I have a couple drinks out of my water bottle and hit the road. Then I pick a beautiful place for a rest break.

On the other hand, I prefer to travel by Tesla than ICE cars. I am looking forward to more fast chargers on rural routes because those are the most fun routes to travel on even if it takes 2-3 times as long.

 

[SwampNut]

Some 500-600 lb. bikes are more tossable than some 300-400 lb. bikes.

I've ridden well over 100 motorcycles, and...no, not really. Geometry and low center of gravity can make a heavy bike seem better, but only to an extent. I can always guess a bike's weight regardless. AND...my 390 has the geometry, reasonably low CoG, and low weight, so it's a tough bar to meet. Then you take it off road and weight truly is everything for getting up hills and over rocks. I've taken an R1100GS over some ridiculously hard terrain, and it's possible, but not as much fun.

As far as the charging needs, for me, the only bike that might work is the Zero DSR. And that's if I'm willing to ride the equivalent of a 1290 Adventure in size and weight. Which I'm just not. No way would I want that weight on the trails near me.

I'm 100% disappointed in electrics so far.

 

[Crissa]

Stopped by a Zero dealer. Yawn. I can't believe how far e-motorcycles are behind cars. At least this brand. No idea what other dealers might be around. And only their $23k bike has J-charging, the rest are household 120v? WTF! Totally dumb. Not a single one of them appeals to any riding that I would be doing other than errands.

You can get Level 2 charging as an option. You can have a dumb adapter like I have for about $100, or the Charge Tank which gets you 6kW charging for $2k. Replaces your tank storage.

The thing is, we're not kidding when we point out that the most expensive thing in the Cybertruck is the battery. That's true of bikes, too.

So of course they're going to be very simple affairs. They're basically all battery. A replacement battery for a Zero is about $6k.

Any charging and cooling has to go somewhere on the bike. It takes up weight and bulk that could be devoted to more battery. And that's why the X-platform and the S-platform don't come with cooling and Level 2 charging. There's literally no place to put extra charging on an FX without filling panniers.

It's not that bikes are behind. It's that batteries and chargers are expensive and bulky.

-Crissa

Remember, the vast majority of people buy bikes and then never tour with them. I've put more miles on m bike with only Level-1 charging that many bikes get in their lifetimes (7k)

 

[Revoltlution]

I'm an Alta owner too! Best dirt bike I've ever owned #magiccarpetride
Shout-out to the Alta Owners Forum for keeping us going!
Can't wait to charge it at the trailhead with my CyberTruck!!!

 

[OneLapper]

I'm an Alta owner too! Best dirt bike I've ever owned #magiccarpetride
Shout-out to the Alta Owners Forum for keeping us going!
Can't wait to charge it at the trailhead with my CyberTruck!!!

Damn, you bring up a HUGE selling point! We can charge our Altas from the Cybertruck, and at 240v, with no generator to haul around or get swiped at the trailhead!

BTW, to the person that mentioned the weight of the electric motorcycles...... the Alta is around 260, about 30 pounds more than your average motorcross bike. You would never know it when riding it. The CG is so much lower than a gasser, it carves corners like no other bike. You can feel it in the air.... but not on the ground.

 

[SwampNut]

I mentioned the weight of the bikes that could come close to doing what I want to do with them. I'm not in the market for a dirt bike. If I were, it would be electric all the way. I'm in the market for a do-everything bike that can run the city, two hours each way on the highway, and some trails too. There's no option for me that I can find. Well, there's one that's 500 pounds, and I specifically have sought to go the other way for the last four years.

And the prices are ludicrous.

 

[Crissa]

Not even the Zero DSR Black forest exceeds 500 pounds. And as pointed out, that's about the same weight as a similarly kitted gas bike of the same power. The electric doesn't care about being knocked over, its weight is down low, and has almost no gyroscopic force from the motor.

I'm not sure why you're harping on anything but range and price, because while weight and bulk is what's limiting what it can do, there's no magical batteries and chargers out there yet. And when there is, they'll be expensive at first.

-Crissa

 

[Revoltlution]

Zero FX is your best commuter/trail bike available... For now ?

 

[Revoltlution]

@OneLapper I'm pretty much getting the Cybertruck to support my Alta riding experience ?

 

[SwampNut]

Zero FX is your best commuter/trail bike available... For now ?

Yeah, that was the shocker, how limited it is for anything I'd do. Just zero (heh) fit. It's either big and heavy, or light and super short range.

I'm not sure why you're harping on anything but range and price

Because they are important to me? Also, I'm harping on weight too. And charge compatibility also.