I don’t think it’s that simple. An EV motorcycle with a top speed of 120 and a range of, say, 250 miles would be as heavy and expensive as a compact car. The weight and expense of an EV, regardless of how many wheels it has, is all tied up in the batteries. Motorcycles work as a concept because they strip out all the weight and space of the chassis and gas engines have amazingly good range to weight ratios. EVs are awesome and I’d love to buy a motorcycle like this some day for city riding but they don’t scale well for range.
As someone who owns six motorcycles and is currently eyeing a 7th believe me, I know what makes them work as a ‘concept’ and range to weight is a very odd metric. Generally it is power to weight for motorcycles in Western countries, or even just power.
I would happily trade 50kg on an electric motorcycle to double the range, which seems a reasonable guestimate as the total weight is a claimed 177kg.
It’s almost a certainty I will buy an electric motorcycle at some stage but without the range they’re useless to me, without the top speed they’re dangerous in certain situations, and not appealing to enthusiasts.
No I dont think you could double the range for 50kg, not even close. So, the can am pulse has a 9kwh battery, which weighs at least 50kg, but you can’t just slap two of those battery packs on there and double the range because the weight of the bike just went up 30%. Also, you have to find space for another huge battery pack which will almost certainly increase drag… Finally you are probably going to have to build the frame stronger which is another vicious circle. I’d bet you only get 60-70% extra range by doubling the size if the battery pack. Double it a second time and you might only get an additional 50% or less.
Yeahhhh that isn’t a real bike though. I got excited but the more I look into it the more it looks like just vaporware. Assuming 4kg per kWh that’s 80kg in the battery alone. No way can you make a whole motorcycle with a top speed of 200mph for 140kg minus the battery.
They do have some prototypes but scaling to production for these sort of startups is always the killer.
No way can you make a whole motorcycle with a top speed of 200mph for 140kg
Why not? My ZX6R with a sprocket change will hit 200mph and it weighs 190kg including fuel. Take out the fuel, engine, sprockets, chain and it would be about 140-145kg. Add battery and hub motor.
I think you are being loosey-goosey with your numbers. Nobody online seems to be able to get a stock zx6r above 160 mph. Sorry, I’ll believe it when I see it… if making a high-performance 200-mile-range motorcycle was as simple as adding a bigger battery somebody would have done it by now. The demand is there. But I think the sacrifices to performance and added cost would make that kind of bike-if not physically impossible-at least impractical to build.
The first motorcycle to break 300kph was a Triumph powered Streamliner in 1956 ridden by John Allen with a 650cc parallel twin running on methanol.
A standard 650cc parallel twin from Triumph at the time produced around 34 hp, with race cams, pistons, air intake and exhaust and running methanol that could go as high as maybe 65hp at the crank. Maybe.
A streamliner is more aerodynamic than a ZX6R however the ZX6R puts out 113-116 hp at the wheel… without RAM air. Change the sprockets and it’ll do 300kph, which to be fair isn’t 200mph but freedom units were never my strong suit.
I don’t think it’s that simple. An EV motorcycle with a top speed of 120 and a range of, say, 250 miles would be as heavy and expensive as a compact car. The weight and expense of an EV, regardless of how many wheels it has, is all tied up in the batteries. Motorcycles work as a concept because they strip out all the weight and space of the chassis and gas engines have amazingly good range to weight ratios. EVs are awesome and I’d love to buy a motorcycle like this some day for city riding but they don’t scale well for range.
As someone who owns six motorcycles and is currently eyeing a 7th believe me, I know what makes them work as a ‘concept’ and range to weight is a very odd metric. Generally it is power to weight for motorcycles in Western countries, or even just power.
I would happily trade 50kg on an electric motorcycle to double the range, which seems a reasonable guestimate as the total weight is a claimed 177kg.
It’s almost a certainty I will buy an electric motorcycle at some stage but without the range they’re useless to me, without the top speed they’re dangerous in certain situations, and not appealing to enthusiasts.
No I dont think you could double the range for 50kg, not even close. So, the can am pulse has a 9kwh battery, which weighs at least 50kg, but you can’t just slap two of those battery packs on there and double the range because the weight of the bike just went up 30%. Also, you have to find space for another huge battery pack which will almost certainly increase drag… Finally you are probably going to have to build the frame stronger which is another vicious circle. I’d bet you only get 60-70% extra range by doubling the size if the battery pack. Double it a second time and you might only get an additional 50% or less.
The Damon Hypersport Premier has a 20 kWh battery and a claimed weight of 217kg so my educated guess doesn’t seem far off.
Yeahhhh that isn’t a real bike though. I got excited but the more I look into it the more it looks like just vaporware. Assuming 4kg per kWh that’s 80kg in the battery alone. No way can you make a whole motorcycle with a top speed of 200mph for 140kg minus the battery.
They do have some prototypes but scaling to production for these sort of startups is always the killer.
Why not? My ZX6R with a sprocket change will hit 200mph and it weighs 190kg including fuel. Take out the fuel, engine, sprockets, chain and it would be about 140-145kg. Add battery and hub motor.
Seems pretty simple really.
I think you are being loosey-goosey with your numbers. Nobody online seems to be able to get a stock zx6r above 160 mph. Sorry, I’ll believe it when I see it… if making a high-performance 200-mile-range motorcycle was as simple as adding a bigger battery somebody would have done it by now. The demand is there. But I think the sacrifices to performance and added cost would make that kind of bike-if not physically impossible-at least impractical to build.
The first motorcycle to break 300kph was a Triumph powered Streamliner in 1956 ridden by John Allen with a 650cc parallel twin running on methanol.
A standard 650cc parallel twin from Triumph at the time produced around 34 hp, with race cams, pistons, air intake and exhaust and running methanol that could go as high as maybe 65hp at the crank. Maybe.
A streamliner is more aerodynamic than a ZX6R however the ZX6R puts out 113-116 hp at the wheel… without RAM air. Change the sprockets and it’ll do 300kph, which to be fair isn’t 200mph but freedom units were never my strong suit.