Let's talk about the elephant in the room: Ebikes! they are coming. Wheither we want it or not... what will you do?

[fotoguzzi]

$5,000usd

https://sondorsx.com/pages/metacycle

 

[docc]

I'll admit, I want anything 2-stroke in my troubled life to be electric: chainsaws, wee-deaters and the like. All of my grounds maintenance machines, even. More especially: my neighbors' noisy clashing ICE lawn and garden bangers, blowers, and trimmers.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[MartyNZ]

On 10/2/2021 at 1:19 AM, Chuck said:

It will happen faster than most realize.

Yup. 

In 1900 most urban traffic in New York was horse drawn. By 1913 most traffic was ICE cars.

Bicycles, trams, steam/ICE/electric cars were disruptive technologies of the time that put horse traffic off the road in a decade.

Now hydrogen fuel cells, awesome batteries, and variable frequency induction motors are today's disruptive tech.

Within 10 years my diesel truck could be worthless. (no plans to sell my bike though)  

[Tom in Virginia]

Love mine, not a motorbike, but have ridden off road thru out Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, as well as Georgia, SC, Florida and Virginia.  Have right at 2000 miles on it in 5 years of ownership.  3rd set of tires.  capable, 20-40 mile range, hopped it up so it max's out at 27mph.  One crash, in my driveway, lol.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bqrnMBM6XJr49PmCA

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hftihtdRZKdy5BbB6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9PDscktGEJGEdxEi6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HkCddtPvDcbkhX4J6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ottfXH2UZ9X2189h8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LgjHd3atobJ4qSDK8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sJxzqo1ZzhbzquMv5

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cBxvaNoiq6PwdZPk6

[Chuck]

At the Ohio rally maybe 3-4 years ago, a dealer brought a Zero demo bike. Sporty version, SR, I think. I thought, " Oh, WTH, I'll give it a go, but I just know I won't like it." Cockpit checkout wasn't much. It was set on eco. Motored off quietly, turned onto the road, set it on sport and hammered the throttle. "Horry Carp!" Over 100 ft. lbs. of torque instantly available in a Lario sized bike with modern suspension and brakes.. not to be denied, I loved it. Brought it back after a half hour of hooning around with a really big grin on my face. If it had the range to ride home, I'd have bought it on the spot.

Battery tech will only get better. Soon.

[LowRyter]

Elon has set up charging stations all over the country.  Strategically.  Especially on the interstates.  Plug in, get a Big Mac, go to the restroom and good for 200+ miles.  At one time the service was free but not sure of that.

But if I were camping, I might get a cord that will fit a 30 amp RV site overnight.  Jus' spit balling a suggestion.

I'd like to get an electric while I'm still competent to drive.  

[80CX100]

Most of the major Trials Bike manufacturers are now putting out a few electric models.

I can see the benefits on many fronts for that style bike and other types of short distance or circuit style dirt bikes, gobs of instant torque, no more finicky highly tuned ICE engines that need frequent maintenance, and one of the main benefits, the lack of loud exhaust noise.

The tech is still evolving, a lot of the older used electric dirt bikes (couple of years old) I've seen for sale have had their batterie$ replaced, once that weak link is perfected, I think they'll sell a ton of them. 

[pete roper]

Whether or not electric is the endgame or simply a stop-gap or stepping stone to another technology it doesn't matter. The important thing is we stop burning and at the same time profligately wasting fossil fuels that are screwing up the ecology of the planet.

The mewling about electric vehicles being soulless I find quite funny as over the last two decades ICE vehicles have become ever more anodyne and characterless and 'Smoothness, quietness and ease of driving' are things that are seen as great advances to be lauded so surely for most people a silent electric vehicle would seem to be their ultimate wet dream!

Add in the fact, as someone else noted, that the younger generation seems to have no real interest in riding or driving then self driving cars will be seen by many, if not all, as a boon! Hell. You can't even say it's only the 'Younger Generation' given the number of people not many years younger than me who I see yacking it up on the phone or dribbling shit into their social media feeds while they are supposed to be controlling a vehicle!

I see no reason at all why an electric bike should be boring. Different? Certainly! But they don't have to be boring. Anyway, to me it's irrelevant as there will be petrol available for my needs for the rest of my life and in all honesty, despite the fact I don't have and am unlikely to have any grandchildren of my own I'd like to think I am not so nihilistic as to say 'F*ck the planet and everybody on it. I've got, (Or had.) mine!'

 

[Lucky Phil]

53 minutes ago, pete roper said:

Whether or not electric is the endgame or simply a stop-gap or stepping stone to another technology it doesn't matter. The important thing is we stop burning and at the same time profligately wasting fossil fuels that are screwing up the ecology of the planet.

The mewling about electric vehicles being soulless I find quite funny as over the last two decades ICE vehicles have become ever more anodyne and characterless and 'Smoothness, quietness and ease of driving' are things that are seen as great advances to be lauded so surely for most people a silent electric vehicle would seem to be their ultimate wet dream!

Add in the fact, as someone else noted, that the younger generation seems to have no real interest in riding or driving then self driving cars will be seen by many, if not all, as a boon! Hell. You can't even say it's only the 'Younger Generation' given the number of people not many years younger than me who I see yacking it up on the phone or dribbling shit into their social media feeds while they are supposed to be controlling a vehicle!

I see no reason at all why an electric bike should be boring. Different? Certainly! But they don't have to be boring. Anyway, to me it's irrelevant as there will be petrol available for my needs for the rest of my life and in all honesty, despite the fact I don't have and am unlikely to have any grandchildren of my own I'd like to think I am not so nihilistic as to say 'F*ck the planet and everybody on it. I've got, (Or had.) mine!'

 

Isn't that why we all ride a Guzzi, because it's somewhat removed from the soulless modern refined motorcycles that other manufacturers sell? As for how an electric bike performs and the instant torque etc, etc, well if I was focused on performance I wouldn't be riding a Guzzi or a Royal Enfield or any of my more pedestrian twins. I'm amazed at all the support for EV's on a Guzzi site really, on a Honda CX500 forum or a Honda Cub site I'd understand but on a Guzzi forum? One of the only things a Guzzi offers is "character" and not much else. Lets face it, performance, err, no, faultless reliability, err, no, ease of ownership, err, no.

I don't know about the rest of you but when I stop on a long trip to fuel up the last thing I want to do is hang around for 45 min hooked up to a power supply at some bloody horrible road side diner/McDonalds with a room full of screaming kids or teenagers on their mobiles walking around aimlessly tripping over people and being a royal PITA. I'm fuel up and gone asap.

So the future direction seems to be the motorcycle/car degenerating into something akin to a white good. Terrific at what they do but lets face it not exactly interesting. Add to that the fact that the perceived or even real performance of the EV which is about all they have going for them apart from quietness will be neutered by stricter and more draconian authoritarian control and even that benefit is gone.

If I want to get from point A to point B (over a relatively short distance) and I want a utilitarian mode of transport I don't want to think or particularly care about, AKA my "daily driver" then sign me up for an EV. If I want something I enjoy owning, riding and connect with then forget it.

I dont know enough about the supposed environmental benefits of going EV but I can guarantee it won't be anywhere near the popular doctrine being bandied about in the media. It never is.

Ciao     

[Chuck]

10 hours ago, LowRyter said:

Elon has set up charging stations all over the country.  Strategically.  Especially on the interstates.  Plug in, get a Big Mac, go to the restroom and good for 200+ miles.  At one time the service was free but not sure of that.

But if I were camping, I might get a cord that will fit a 30 amp RV site overnight.  Jus' spit balling a suggestion.

I'd like to get an electric while I'm still competent to drive.  

The charging stations are now Tesla's advertising. Saying someone "sent you" when you buy one gets them and you 1000 miles of free supercharging.

Teslas have a "camp mode." Runs the heating/air conditioning, power outlets, etc. It'll put a crackling fire on the display if you want. Two normal sized people can sleep in a model Y. An adapter to plug into a RV site is $35.

Dorcia says her "business plan" would be to set up solar powered battery banks as charging stations combined with restaurant/lounges.