Honda WN7

[Cormanus]

Cars are able to EV because the horrible weight of the batteries is not a deterrent and they have the whole underside of the vehicle for battery storage. We are not as lucky with motorcycles. Both weight and battery size are huge deterrents for range and charging times.

Quite right. I was hoping the Japanese manufacturers would pursue the idea of an interchangeable battery, although any maximum distance less than about 200 kilometres is problematic in this country.

and FYI I'd love to have an EV motorcycle, I just won't pay twice as much for half the range and 5 times the time to "fill up"

I have test ridden one, a Zero S way back in 2015. A decade ago. They really haven't made much progress on them since then.

I'd have one too.

I usually need a 1/2 hour in the restroom every 100 miles.   Might be a good option for seniors. 

I can need all of that and then some if it's raining. Then there's coffee.

I still think we should wait and see. The success of electric cars means and (in this country anyway) house battery sales, means there's plenty of work being done on battery chemistry. It seems to me possible (although perhaps not probable) that there could be an unexpected development in the energy density of batteries.

[the Ferret]

what are house batteries?

[Cormanus]

Batteries that store surplus energy generated by domestic solar panels. The idea is that the panels power the house during the day and then the energy stored in the battery powers it at night. They're increasingly popular in Australia.

It's also possible to use some EVs' batteries to run a house as they are much bigger than typical house batteries.

[the Ferret]

Interesting. Never heard of those although I have heard of solar panels of house roofs, so I suppose the energy from the solar panel is stored in "house batteries".

[Cormanus]

That's the idea. We have solar panels on our roof that generate more than enough power to run our house. We don't have a battery, so we sell the surplus to our energy provider.

[suhawk305]

That's the idea. We have solar panels on our roof that generate more than enough power to run our house. We don't have a battery, so we sell the surplus to our energy provider.

Good, get your CB out and take a picture of it with your solar panels for the monthly challenge!

[Cormanus]

See https://cb1100forum.net/forum/showthread...#pid270666

[Cormanus]

But then I had a thought ... https://cb1100forum.net/forum/showthread...#pid270982

[Gone in 60]

Here's another take on the electric motorcycle. On a few occasions when I've gone on a long urban hike through L.A. after my shift at the Petersen, I've found myself at the Century City Mall for dinner at their food court. This is a very fancy, upscale outdoor shopping area, and a sales kiosk has been there for about a year now, marketing the upcoming Verge electric motorcycle - https://www.vergemotorcycles.com/

They're claiming a 217 mile range, but at a cost of $35k to purchase. Not something I'd consider, but it is very unique. This Saturday after the museum, I stopped at The Bike Shed, my usual place to drop in on the way home to grab a coffee and perk up for the lane-split through the east side of Downtown L.A. till the freeway opens up to more lanes.

Verge Motorcycles now has a spot in the Bike Shed's store area, with a few demo bikes and a very knowledgeable representative. He and I chatted for a bit about the state of electric motorcycles, particularly the buzz over the WN7. He downplayed it a bit, as you can imagine, as his purpose is to market Verge. 217 miles ain't too shabby, but that is a lot of money to get it!

[the Ferret]

well if that 217 is like most EV claims, it's if you ride around in the city at 25-35 mph. Get out on the open road and it sucks it down to between 1/2 and 2/3 of that.