Should your next bike be electric? What are the ups, downs and pitfalls?
Electric motorcycles. Ten years ago they were the preserve of a curious little start-up in California plus some home-brewed specials. Now, they lap the TT course at 121mph, have their own race series and e-scooters sell by the million in China. According to the MCIA, sales nearly doubled in the UK last year. Harley-Davidson has just launched its first (see pages 44-48 for our launch report), while BMW and Ducati are both working on one. I’d be very surprised if any of the other big name brands weren’t thinking very hard about doing the same.
So why are they taking off now, and why should we buy one? The real surprise is that it’s taken so long. There have been sporadic attempts at electric two-wheelers in the past, but they’ve only been practical since a new breed of lithium-ion and nickel-cadmium batteries appeared in the mid-1990s. Lighter and more power-dense than the old leadacids, these powered a new generation of cordless tools, but scaled up were ideal for bigger jobs, like powering a two-wheeler.
WHY NOW?
The trouble is, we all love the visceral feel of a petrol engine, don’t we? The sound, the vibes, the whole feel of a machine. Our attachment to motorcycles is based on emotion, and let’s face it, ours is the petrolhead generation which has known nothing else. The perception – mistaken or not – has been that a battery-powered bike just won’t have same appeal. However, motorcycling is also a collection of individualists, some of whom began experimenting with battery power in the mid-2000s.
The first obvious sign was the Isle of Man’s TTXGP (now renamed TT Zero). The electric TT garnered lots of interest, and the bikes evolved from purely college and private projects to include well-funded manufacturer teams such as TeamMugen – Michael Rutter now holds that 121mph lap record on one of their bikes.
Denne historien er fra September 2019-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
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Denne historien er fra September 2019-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
Without panniers he was adventuring nowhere - so at least Bertie's got something sorted now
BMW R 12 nineT
Chad gets a track day surprise when BMW's R 12 nineT turns out to be surprisingly fun on track
Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
After testing the Voge's abilities on a long ride, it was time to take it to the Cotswolds and see how it would manage on the rougher stuff
Portuguese Perambulations
Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored
Highway to Heaven
Three friends take on the challenge of riding the length of Canada, from Vancouver in the southwest to Inuvik in the north. The road is long, the conditions merciless, and wildfires are tearing through the country. To top it all off, the final leg of the journey is the ultimate test of gravel riding skills, nerves, and courage - it's the legendary Dempster Highway...
Battlaxes at the ready!
We tend to take tyres for granted, never really looking at them in any detail, or at how they work, just hoping that they keep us shiny side up at all times. Even in the wet
Ducati Riding Experience
When I rode the Ducati DesertX to France last year, I did have a bit of an explore on some easy fire roads and gentle green lanes in the wilds of the Médoc area, but was left with the feeling that, had I the experience, the DesertX would have been capable of taking me along some more extreme trails to some even more exciting places. If only there was a way of finding out just how well the Italian adventure bike could cope with some more extreme terrain...
Four pot flyer
Many said that sports bikes, and particularly bikes in the traditional Supersports class that was populated by 600cc inline fours, were dead. Maybe they spoke too soon?...
Eastern adventurer
With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry
First Time Lucky?
It's ironic that the first all-new MV Agusta model to hit the marketplace right after Italy's No.1 trophy brand was acquired by Austrian giant Pierer Mobility, owner of off-road titans KTM, should be the company's first dual-purpose model of the modern era, powered by MV's all-new 931cc three-cylinder engine that's destined to form the basis of a whole series of new models in coming months and years.
