Not bad, for an electric motorbike

[CaNsA]

https://i.imgur.com/2FAtMpt.jpg

[gavbriggs]

I'd ride that

EDIT:

After reading the spec it seems I wouldn't ride it that far! 58 mile range. It'd be fine for commuting to work as I only live 6 miles away.

So it's the same weight as the bandit 1200, about half the bhp and less than half the tank range. And at 20 k dollars it's not cheap.


The good thing is though it s comparable to a real bike in speed and battery life of 100kmiles. Most bikes wont last that long

[1cyl]

I recon you could fit a tail tidy and a smaller screen, do away with those silly looking lights. And then make 60miles to a charge.
____________________
Chase my Witch up, Catch my Snitch up.
The SMC | The Pit | Stable

[c_dug]

Interesting to see one on the road, I'm yet to see anything other than electric scooters and cars around London myself.

If the bikes were cheaper I would be very interested, it would save me a fortune in petrol costs which could offset the sale price a bit. I would still need a i.c.e bike for touring though.
____________________
I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Rogerborg]

[bugeye_bob]

what can these electric bikes be ridden on license wise ?

[stinkwheel]

Beware of just interpreting the performance of electric vehicles by horsepower/torque figures alone.

A petrol engine makes that horsepower and torque in a peak at a specific rev speed.

An electric motor makes it constantly. Twist that throttle (rheostat/potentiometer) and peak torque is delivered instantly and constantly until it revs out.

The one person I've talked to who has actually ridden a vaguely functional and performance-orientated electric bike said that it's claimed 50bhp was delivered in such an instantaneous and relentless fashion, it made his 1200 bandit look like a childs toy.

What I don't understand is why they don't put the most slippy, aerodynamic full fairing and front mudguard they can find on electric bikes. Air friction is the enemy in terms of range. They are invariably naked bikes with polygonal dashes/headlights which seems foolish in the extreme. Get a 'busa style fairing on there.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[G]

"Not bad" in what way?

In that the person that built it hasn't tried to make it look ridiculously outlandish to justify a silly price tag?

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

I presume it's flat and the owner is arranging recovery?
____________________
My Flickr

[MC]

Seen those Saietta bikes being test ridden round Regents Park, they look like they're from the future, the Empulse looks v.similar to my bike actually.

Apart from the cost, weight, impracticalities the number one thing that would put me off is the quietness of electric vehicles. It was bad enough on a 4-stroke 125 with people/cars not hearing you coming, can't imagine what its like on an electric bike.

They should have a loud speaker where you can select different engine sounds, dodge viper, Formula 1 (well maybe not this years ) etc.
____________________
Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[bamt]

It'll be really interesting to see what the next generation (or next but one) is like. These seem to be very nearly there as a usable vehicle - and far closer to the equivalent dinosaur-juice powered traditional machine than electric cars are to roughly equivalent priced family cars at the moment.

The range isn't quite good enough at the moment; give it a genuine, real world 100 mile+ range and it starts to become very interesting as a mid-distance commuting machine.

Of course, the big problem with these is that the manufacturer may not be around to deal with battery replacement (or even more mundane spares) 5 years down the line.

[G]

I don't think they make sense for longer commutes.
For shorter commutes, economics are on your side.
As the commute gets longer and you've got a higher initial outlay for batteries, it makes less and less sense.

To some degree, what makes the most sense is those using them for commutes under ten miles who can consider using cheap old lead acid batteries from trucks etc.

I still don't think it makes sense to get a bike which has the maina advantage of cheap fuel, but costs you a massive outlay to buy and will depreciate a fair bit.

[bamt]

That's where it's all a bit wonky at the moment.

Ignoring the tree-hugging aspects, something with a higher initial outlay but much lower per-mile cost for fuel suggests a high mileage usage (like diesel cars used to be). For minimal fuel consumption usage (few mile commuting) then the absolute fuel economy doesn't matter as much.

They claim equivalent gas mileage costs (yes, it's American!) of about 450 mpg IIRC - which would be quite interesting for me with a 90 mile daily round trip.

[CaNsA]

[G]

Of course, that doesn't tell the whole story.
Battery costs can be considerably more than the electricity.

Always amused by people that spend £25k on a new 'fuel efficient' car, but pay way more than that in depreciation - when you can probably get a just as nice but bit older car with a lot less depreciation but worse mpg for a smaller outlay.

[CaNsA]

agreed mate, and then there's the "how much pollution does the manufacturing process create" thing.

[bamt]

Got to agree - replacing just about any functioning older car with a new purely because "it'll save the planet" or "it'll cost less to run" is a fallacy.

It's one reason why I buy cars at a couple of years old, and run them until they are just about dead (my current car is 12 years old, bought at 2 - and even though it only averages 18mpg around town it would cost far more to replace it than I'd save).

However, the vast leaps we've seen in electric vehicles over the last few years means that in a generation or two's time they may be worth a look as something other than a statement of "see how green I am".

The performance alone of one of these bikes or a Tesla makes them more of a fun machine than a pasta-knitting tree-hugger's dream.

[Rogerborg]

Well, the cost will come down when demand makes neodymium and lithium less scarce, because that's how geology works.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[dolly3900]

[Andy_Pagin]

[dydey90]

I think I'd certainly look at getting one. Although I can't find a power specification, it must be around 35-40kW for a 110mph top speed, so could be A2 compliant.
There are charge points at work, so juice is free.

Their website quotes a price of £15k though, which isn't eligible for a government grant to soften. Even if the grant did extent to us uncouth automocyclists, a minimum warranty of 60,000 miles is needed.

Maybe I'll get a second hand one for £5k next year.
____________________
This post is probably not serious and shouldn't be taken literally.
Past: CBR125,ER6f NINJA 650, ZZR600 Current: VFR750

[G]

[karoshi]

It's a shame really, I'd totally ride one of them for my commuting. My commute is 12 miles each way across town, so just about perfect for the range limitations.

Problem is, the extra £14,500 purchase price over my current commuting bike would by a metric arseload of petrol..

110 miles / week @47mpg is 10.67L/week or £14.41/week, x46 weeks commuting in a year is £662 in petrol for this year

If you allow for a 15% yearly increase in fuel costs it'll take almost 11 years to break even
____________________
Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it. - Elwood P. Dowd

[G]

You should be able to get an electric push bike based one that will do all that for £1k.

If you're going to register it, stick to 1kw I think it is and it's fairly easy to road register it I believe with not TOO much faff.

You're also not dragging around all the extra weight of a big bike and can stick it in the back of a car, store it inside and so on. Also can very easily remove the batteries and charge while working.
On that, if you're happy doing that, can save a chunk on batteries too.

[stunthamster]

Have to admit, one of the reasons I looked at getting on two wheels was looking at the Zerobikes - cost wise I thought it would be a great saving on my commute. Trouble is, when I looked at the costs in detail the insane asking price didn't really work out, and with the length of my commute I'd spend a great deal of time panicking if I'd actually get there or not.

It's a bit of moot point since they no longer sell them in the UK, I prefer the look of them to the Empulse, but at 16K+ there's no way I'd buy one.