The Future of Motorcycles as we know it. | GTAMotorcycle.com

The Future of Motorcycles as we know it.

Evol

Evol

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How do you all feel about the new full electric motorcycles coming out?

Harley Davidson seems to have jumped the bandwagon on this one as well with their project LiveWire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyJr8BoklC0

And Mission R with their lineup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WypZvsIj8-k

I for one embrace the full electric motorcycles. No clutch, No transmission gears, No oil, No mess, and No emissions. I'm all for the minimalist and futuristic design, less parts to worry about less maintenance, less worry of things going wrong.

Can't wait to test out the prototypes when they drop them in Canada for 2015. And if any of you have invested in any battery companies, I'd be smiling all the way to the bank right about now. It's about time the big oil companies got taken down.
 
I don't know much about e-bikes but the riders of those things will see the advantages of electric improvements far sooner than the rest of the flock.

I can go 3 hours + on my bike at highway speeds and "Recharge" the gas tank in five minutes just about anywhere. Not going to happen with electrics for a while.

As far as the V-twin loud pipe types go I can't picture what they would trade their pirate costumes in for if they go silent. Maybe the Richard Simmons look?
 
Yep, until battery exchange facilities exist everywhere, an electric bike would be completely useless for me.

I don't commute on my bikes, and I don't use them for city travel. Both are for pleasure only and as such I go much more than 300 or 400km away.

So what would it take for me to switch to electric: either fast recharge stations that are everywhere and could recharge my bike in 5 minutes, or standard switchable batteries that are located everywhere -- and small enough that I could strap a spare one to the back of my bike for times I am in a remote location with no services.
 
I love the idea of electric vehicles (especially sail boats) but, like my brethren, have concerns about the ongoing inconveniences. That will change. Hoping for a brighter future.
 
nobbie48 said:
I don't know much about e-bikes but the riders of those things will see the advantages of electric improvements far sooner than the rest of the flock.

I can go 3 hours + on my bike at highway speeds and "Recharge" the gas tank in five minutes just about anywhere. Not going to happen with electrics for a while.

As far as the V-twin loud pipe types go I can't picture what they would trade their pirate costumes in for if they go silent. Maybe the Richard Simmons look?
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Diesel said:
Yep, until battery exchange facilities exist everywhere, an electric bike would be completely useless for me.

I don't commute on my bikes, and I don't use them for city travel. Both are for pleasure only and as such I go much more than 300 or 400km away.

So what would it take for me to switch to electric: either fast recharge stations that are everywhere and could recharge my bike in 5 minutes, or standard switchable batteries that are located everywhere -- and small enough that I could strap a spare one to the back of my bike for times I am in a remote location with no services.
Click to expand...

Oh, I agree with you both. There are still limitations, as the technology is currently new, but like the smartphone movement, it comes in (and starts off expensive), and it improves every year with next gen technology and becomes more affordable in the long term. I can see the stations being set up as not only with electric motorcycles, we have Tesla motors with their full electric cars entering mass production for the average consumer by 2017, when they come out with their latest product a $45,000 car. And we're also expected to colonize Mars by 2025, we'll probably be living like the Jetsons by the next decade (Optimistically). Pessimistically, we'd probably destroy each other before we even get there.

As for those guys trading in their pirate costumes for something that runs silent? Maybe they might switch to a ninja assassin outfit? Or a hitman look.
 
electric sail boats?

I can see an electric motor for maneuvering in port but isn't the whole idea of a sailboat to use wind power? For sailboats it's easy, solar cells on the boat can recharge the batteries for the small limited use that they need for moving the boat around and power the electronics on board as well.

In the future many land vehicles will be electric, how ever it would be interesting to see a sort of "induction power track" to power vehicles for longer distances on a "toll" road, where you pay for the electricity used to travel the road. That way you could get some serious range out of your vehicle, going between cities you would use the induction track and when you go off the "track" (going off the main road, switching lanes) you would switch to battery power. Main streets in larger towns and cities could have the track too. This will eliminate the range problem that EV have right now. It would be tricky to do on a motorcycle, might need some outriggers, but then you wouldn't be riding in a tire track as you would need to be in the center of the lane.
 
On a cruising sailboat you need just enough battery juice to get out of the harbour. All the time spent sailing on the lake, the batteries could be recharged by a submersed impeller driven charger. Sailboats don't use much engine power anyways. I wonder if they could make a keel shaped battery? I don't see any safety hazards there.:rolleyes:
 
Electric sailboat motors have been around for decades, for small boats the Torqueedo brand electric out board is pretty slick but for cruising sailboats the reality is its still an experiment. The most common configuration is a diesel generator that put up power to run a bigger more efficient electric motor. Truthfully most cruising sailboats on inland lakes like the great lakes will spend 50% of there time under power, the wind does not always blow from a favourable direction and sometimes you just need to get where you are going. They also consume a fair amount of battery power , instruments and chartplotters/GPS eat power as does autohelm. You can run the diesel and recharge , or augment with solar. Towing a "fish" that produces a charge from forward motion slows the boat about .3/.5 knts, which doesn't seem like much till you need realize TO to Kingston is a 24hr trip, adding 3 hrs to the trip isn't always fun. Some can run wind tu rbines at the stern, but they are really noisy and dangerous in a big seaway. Offshore you use more power because autohelm (which will run 95% of the time works harder in bigger waves and wind) will be on a lot. And refrigeration eats battery power. The electric propulsion motor will come, but it will be REALLY expensive and take a while to be really effective.
 
Which one's the stern again?
 
CruisnGrrl said:
electric sail boats?

I can see an electric motor for maneuvering in port but isn't the whole idea of a sailboat to use wind power? For sailboats it's easy, solar cells on the boat can recharge the batteries for the small limited use that they need for moving the boat around and power the electronics on board as well.

In the future many land vehicles will be electric, how ever it would be interesting to see a sort of "induction power track" to power vehicles for longer distances on a "toll" road, where you pay for the electricity used to travel the road. That way you could get some serious range out of your vehicle, going between cities you would use the induction track and when you go off the "track" (going off the main road, switching lanes) you would switch to battery power. Main streets in larger towns and cities could have the track too. This will eliminate the range problem that EV have right now. It would be tricky to do on a motorcycle, might need some outriggers, but then you wouldn't be riding in a tire track as you would need to be in the center of the lane.
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Good comments, Cruisngrrl for minister of energy!
 
Evol said:
I for one embrace the full electric motorcycles. No clutch, No transmission gears, No oil, No mess, and No emissions. I'm all for the minimalist and futuristic design, less parts to worry about less maintenance, less worry of things going wrong.

Can't wait to test out the prototypes when they drop them in Canada for 2015. And if any of you have invested in any battery companies, I'd be smiling all the way to the bank right about now. It's about time the big oil companies got taken down.
Click to expand...

Watch the Isle of Mann TT Zero. It shows just what an electric bike can do. The tech is coming along nicely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlxZs2-gICc
 
Bucket and chuck it?
 
I always take a leak on the leeward side with one arm around a shroud. Baller.
 
inreb said:
Which one's the stern again?
Click to expand...

howardstern__111110230331.jpg
 
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