Electric Motorcycle

[TexasDave]

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September 16, 2014


On Tuesday, Terry Hershner made history as the first person to ride an electric motorcycle over 1000 miles in 24 hours, following his historic win about two weeks ago in the Vetter Fuel Economy challenge. Both events shatter preconceived notions of electric vehicle capabilities, by breaking into territory where only gasoline powered motorcycles have gone before.

On Monday, Hershner departed at 1:00 PM from the ChargePoint headquarters in Campbell, CA, with 66,581 miles reading on the odometer of his highly modified 2012 Zero S electric motorcycle. He rode south reaching the US-Mexico border, south of San Diego, at about Midnight. From there he immediately rode north again, returning to ChargePoints headquarters at about Noon (23 hours later) on Tuesday, with the odometer reading 67,628 miles.

Yes, that's a 2012 model electric motorcycle with almost 68,000 miles on the clock. Key data for the ride is 1046.7 miles, 22 hours 57 minutes, 126.883 kilowatt-hours of electricity to carry 950 pounds at speeds of 70-80 mph that distance, or 121 watt-hours per mile (including charger losses) at 75 mph average. Using the widely accepted conversion factor saying 34.02 kilowatt-hours equals 1 gallon of gasoline, Hershner consumed the energy equivalent of 3.7 gallons of gasoline to ride 1046.7 miles.

This ride had two purposes, one of which was to kick off National Drive Electric Week, a week-long series of events celebrating electric vehicles. There are NDEW events being held all across the U.S., so visit the NDEW website to find one near you.

The other purpose was to complete a 1000+ mile motorcycle ride within 24 hours, qualifing Terry Hershner for the SaddleSore 1000, a certification awarded by the Iron Butt Association. This was the real purpose of this ride, to prove to the Iron Butt Association (IBA) leadership that electric motorcycles can successfully complete ultra-long-distance motorcycle rides. IBA's members are hard-core motorcyclists who love taking long distance rides. The commonly accepted wisdom is that only gasoline powered vehicles can do this, because electric vehicles have to be confined to urban areas. Hershner has proved otherwise.

To achieve this Hershner made major modifications to his motorcycle. Stock the bike carried a 9 kilowatt-hour battery pack and had a 60ish mile range at highway speeds. Modified, it carried a 21 kilowatt-hour battery pack, and a charging system running at up to 24 kilowatts, and the bike was wrapped in an extremely aerodynamic fairing designed by famed motorcycle designer Craig Vetter. The combination results in over 200 miles riding range per charge, at highway speeds, and a sub-1-hour recharge time.

At the end of August, Hershner demonstrated the 200 miles of riding range while winning the Vetter Fuel Economy Challenge in Utah. That event, sponsored by Craig Vetter, seeks to encourage development of highly efficient motorcycles that are capable of real-world tasks like grocery store runs. Hershner was the first electric motorcycle rider to win a Vetter Fuel Economy event. The event covered over 170 miles of riding at speeds up to 80 miles per hour starting at the Nevada-Utah border, and ending in Tooele Utah. After the event he rode another 30+ miles into Salt Lake City to find a charging station, in total covering 207 miles at highway speeds in one charge.


By the time elctric bikes are feasible for long distance touring I will be too old to enjoy one.  Dave

[ribbert]

.......By the time elctric bikes are feasible for long distance touring I will be too old to enjoy one.  Dave

Dave, There's not much to enjoy in my opinion. There is no doubt they are the future and technological marvels but they offer very little of what I enjoy about riding, they satisfy only a few of the senses. I have in the past criticised modern bikes for much the same reason. These things take it to the next level, it's like riding a sewing machine.

I was at a show a few weeks back and there was a stand there with them. They were running a competition over the course of the show, with only one winner, for a test ride on one. While my Son was filling out entry forms, I was talking to the agent. Much to my amazement and after only about 10 mins of talking about motorbikes and riding, he offered me a ride on one. My Son was still filling out entry forms as I rode off.

It was a novelty for about 15 minutes then I thought, OK, done that, and took it back. It was sort of like a fairground ride that had broken free of the carousal and done a runner.
The bike had 3 modes to tame the instant torque,  the acceleration in the absence of any noise was very deceptive. This one was not a "big" bike and topped out at 120 kph but got there pretty quickly.

Some may find the sensation, or lack of it, enjoyable, but to an old school rider like me, it's all about angry noise, clutches and gearboxes.

Take all that away and you've seriously diminished the fun factor.   Remember the clutchless FJR's?  Reckon you would still find a few on showroom floors somewhere under a blanket of dust or being used a  loaner. I know my local shop had one literally for years, couldn't give it away.

Dave, I think you should be grateful you'll be too old to "enjoy" one.

Funnily enough, it felt exactly like I imagined it would feel.

Some people might like the sensation of gliding through the countryside with nothing but the wind and without all that racket from a petrol engine, feeling it adds to the experience, but not for me.

Not too far into the future, people will start out on these things and not know any different.

Noel

Usual disclaimer: The views expressed in the above post are..... blah, blah, blah... and do not claim to represent... blah, blah, blah. ..no animals or electric bikes were hurt in the making of this.... blah, blah.....

[Bill_Rockoff]

By the time elctric bikes are feasible for long distance touring I will be too old to enjoy one.  Dave

I dunno Dave, it goes about as far on a refuel as an FJ and it will evidently cover ground in nearly Mike-Ramos fashion, and the guy has already ridden it further than the average mileage accumulated by FJs on this board - it sounds to me like it's already feasible for touring.

I'll have to ride one to see how Id like one, but DC motors make torque at 0 rpm that is limited only by the current capability of the battery and wiring - theoretically infinite as long as the wires & battery are up to it.    I imagine it would pull off the line with effortless thrust that would shame even the torquiest FJ. No having to fool with a fuel air mixture to fool it into combusting at cold temps, no pinging a idle speed in hot weather, no loss of performance or carb setting suitability as you climb the mountain, and much less wasting of all that energy as noise and heat, it mostly  goes  into making you go. I like the idea. I like riding my FJ, but not because of all the noise made by all the loose rattly bits bouncing around against each other. And not because of the hot oil smell from it having to run pointlessly while I sit in traffic, running at 1,000 rpm and cooking itself to an early ruin just so i can go whenever traffic goes. (Really, it's like leaving your oven on all day so you can make breakfast, then a snack, then lunch, then supper.)

[Firehawk068]

200 miles on a charge is getting up there, to get closer to being a touring machine..Thats about as far as I go on the FJ on a tank of fuel.......................but there is always the wait time to recharge before you can continue...........It's not like you can just refill the fuel and head out on the road again..........
For those touring at a very relaxed pace, and if one did not mind sitting around for an hour every 200 miles, you could probably make it work if you planned your route very carefully...........(you would need a place to plug it in every 200 miles)
I would still have "Range Anxiety" with a 200 mile range................There is definately not a network of public charging stations throughout the country at 150-200 mile intervals...........And if you're touring the country like some do, you'll be out of juice in the worse possible places.........
You can find a gas station almost anywhere within 50-100 miles anywhere in the US.........
I certainly applaud Terry Herschner's accomplishments, and the technology has definately come a long way in a short amount of time, but it still has a long way to go to make anything more than a local commute feasable......

All this aside however, I'm with Noel...............

To me, riding a motorcycle, and the romance and draw of the experience, involves the sound and feel of the engine..............
I thoroughly enjoy the "Angry" sound the engine makes as I roll on the throttle, accelerating up through the gears heading for the next corner......................and blipping the throttle, matching the downshift revs as I brake for that corner...............and the next one, and the next one.........
Dammit! Why am I stuck at work, and not out riding? 
I also favor the WAY a motorcycle engine makes it's power..................The further up the rev range you go, the more thrust is makes (like entering the Kookaloo zone)..............Having all your thrust instantly at zero, and petering out the faster it goes (like all electric motors) does not appeal to me, or the way I like to ride..............But as they say "To each, His own".

On a side note:
I'm not sure if anyone else watched the coverage of the "Formula E" race coverage from China that aired last weekend.............I did.
It was boring as F**K!
Aside from the last lap/last corner crash, there was no action whatsoever.......................No passing........Just a single file parade of cars, with the only sounds being the gear whine from the transmissions, and some random tire squealing entering the corners..........
The race was 25 laps.....................The cars only covered 12-14 laps, at which time the driver enters the pit garage, then switches to a second car to finish the race distance.............
They have a long way to go to make this kind of racing interesting to me......................

Pikes Peak however, that's a different story.................The electrics there, racing against the mountain and the clock.........That interests me!

[FJ_Hooligan]

Some may find the sensation, or lack of it, enjoyable, but to an old school rider like me, it's all about angry noise, clutches and gearboxes.

Take all that away and you've seriously diminished the fun factor.   Remember the clutchless FJR's?  Reckon you would still find a few on showroom floors somewhere under a blanket of dust or being used a  loaner. I know my local shop had one literally for years, couldn't give it away.

Clutchless motorcycle.  Isn't that a scooter?  The FJR is definitely not aimed at the scooter crowd.  Yet they can produce something as practical and impressive as the FZ-09.

Seriously, you sometimes have to wonder what the heck the manufacturers are thinking (smoking?). 

Who are they talking to to come up with these ideas?  Or are they just trying to show off some high tech?

The tech and performance of electrical motorcycles can be impressive but it's still far from being practical.  The challenges are huge;  convenience (charging), range, and price.  It's going to take some serious breakthroughs to make it appeal to the average rider.

[Pat Conlon]

The tech and performance of electrical motorcycles can be impressive but it's still far from being practical.  The challenges are huge;  convenience (charging), range, and price.  It's going to take some serious breakthroughs to make it appeal to the average rider.

I can easily imagine that at the beginning of the 20th century, the equestrians said the same thing about the early motorcycles.

[Burns]

"if you build it they will come"  There were cars before there were gas stations.
Electric vehicle "service stations" could be "swap stations" were depleted standardized batteries are exchanged for charged ones in less time than it now takes to fill a gas tank.

The thrill of having 100% torque on tap at 1 RPM could replace that of the roar and the fury of the internal combustion engine for future generations.

Things change.  How many of you have a bike with a kick starter?

[Pat Conlon]

Ironic that my '84 was the first motorcycle I have ever owned that did not have a kick starter.

I remember I was kind of leery about the lack of that feature....for about 5 minutes before my test ride.

Electric/fuel cell development is the future. It is as plain as day in my view.

[FJ_Hooligan]

These same arguments have been made for the fuel cell powered vehicle.  The only thing holding it back is a distribution system for INCREDIBLY EXPLOSIVE Hydrogen.  Nothing that can't be overcome.

The early development of autos did not rely on quantum leaps of technology to make them practical.  They had the fortunate circumstance of developing in parallel with industrialization, an increasing population and a fuel distribution system that was already in place to supply communities with lamp oil (remember they used to burn off gasoline as a waste product).  

Where's the incentive for GE to build a bunch of electrical recharging stations no farther than 30 miles apart?  I like taking breaks, but having to wait hour(s) to refuel?  Yeah! The instant gratification seeking American public is going to be willing to do that.  

I also don't see "service stations" stocking up on $6000 to $10000 batteries to trade out.  Hell, half the time I can't get the snot nosed punk at the register to turn on the fuel pump.  And you know the swap labor isn't going to be free.

Then there's the whole issue of crash damage.  Do I really want to be surrounded with Lithium or any of the other exotic materials required in these batteries in a crash?  Not me!  Heck, my son has to charge his Li-Po battery for his RC in a fireproof bag.

I'm holding out for wind power...

[FJ_Hooligan]

Ironic that my '84 was the first motorcycle I have ever owned that did not have a kick starter.

I remember I was kind of leery about the lack of that feature....for about 5 minutes before my test ride.

My first was in '82.  Motorcycle batteries have gotten much better in the last few years, but I've been stranded by sudden catastrophic battery failure enough times in the last 30 years to still be somewhat wary of stopping for coffee out in the middle of nowhere for fear that it might happen.  One of the reasons I no longer trust DieEasy batteries anymore.

[FJ_Hooligan]

Call it a Flat Earth attitude, but when I was a child "they" promised that I would be travelling by personal rocket pack or flying car by now.

Maybe I'm a little cynical...   :-)

[ribbert]

I can easily imagine that at the beginning of the 20th century, the equestrians said the same thing about the early motorcycles.

I have an old motoring magazine that has a full page advertisement with a side by side comparison of a "motor lorry" vs a horse and cart. They are literally trying to sell the advantages of motorised transport for industry and prove it is more practical than horses. They compare cost, load carrying, time and distance covered charts etc.

It's hard to imagine the world didn't embrace this great invention on it's obvious merits but needed to be convinced, like Vegemite.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

That's very cool Noel, what year was the article?

I bet the argument for motorized (load carrying) lorries was a much easier sell, than convincing a horse owner to buy a single passenger motorized cycle.

Can you imagine the horrible road conditions those early bikers had to deal with?

Amazing if you think about where we would be with electric technology if we had put the same effort in to development of electrics, that we put into IC engines over the last 100 years.

We will get there. I am 61 years young and I will live to see electrics with 200+ mile range and quick charge (or hydrogen refuel) capability before I die.

It's all good and long, long over due,

[Zwartie]

Call it a Flat Earth attitude, but when I was a child "they" promised that I would be travelling by personal rocket pack or flying car by now.

I think "they" realized that most people have a hard enough time navigating a vehicle through two dimensions - adding a third would prove to be catastrophic.

Zwartie

[Burns]

I suspect that having dodged the "peak oil" bullet with fracking/oil shale, the petro-financial Powers That Be will be able to keep the transportation electo-genie in the bottle and maintain a fossil-fuel based world economy for several more decades.

If we're still around then my guess is that the Rockefellers et.al  will morph over to dominate the new technology and shift their economic power base when it is most advantageous for them to do so.  But we'll be burning gasoline a long time before that happens.

Now, about those ice caps....