Seems they have come a long ways. More power, way more range, good looking. Getting real close to being a reasonable alternative for many. Cool stuff. View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUO3L26vueI&list=UUq6po5L72trk1aa1PKfzp6g&index=1&feature=plcp
They are a lot different to ride than an internal combustion engine powered bike. I would love one for slow technical riding in loose terrain. They are a little strange at high speed.
Wow they do look way better and more like gas powered units. Wonder how the pricing is? I also wonder how much current draw it would take to re-charge the thing. Could it be done with a small gererator?
huh, the styling is definitely getting better! here's the S with a few simple mods, looks great. reminds me of my Buell. the swingarm is very Aprilia. for electric dirt styling, i still like the looks of the BRD best. https://www.faster-faster.com/ just need to tweak the 'motor' placement but the rest of the bike looks fantastic.
cool that you got to try one! they do look pretty squirrely in that Zero vid too. like not planted. so curious how these motors feel in tight terrain.
Yep the technology is moving fast. I've suggested in the past that probably around 2015 should be the tipping point year where the tech has gotten good enough that it starts to draw a bigger & bigger number of purchasers over from IC bikes & it becomes self sustaining at that point. Once they have about 2.5 -3hrs of real world useable range offroad will probably do it. Looks like they'll make great city bikes & shorter race MX bikes right now.
At low speed, they are great. It's almost impossible to get squirrely in sand at low speed. At high speed, the reason that they look squirrely is because you can't back off on the throttle. The powerband just doesn't work that way. Once you get on the throttle, you better stay on the throttle, especially over jumps. It's sort of hard to explain, but you just don't get the response back if you shut off. So you can't modulate the throttle and power over rough ground.
Kelly I use a boat for river crossings . I would think the water would be a bad thing unless they have things sealed or you DYI. Humm on the throttle thing I would think they could add resistance and make the twist a little long to cover that but I guess it's the instant and continuous tq that could be a problem.
The new models have "re-generative deceleration" and maybe this makes it feel more standard on off throttle?
As long as they have 16/19 inch wheels I consider them play only bikes. The street bike would make a nice commuter but I bought my 630 for half the price. It is great to see the tech getting closer to giving us a real electric bike that works!
