[GlennF]

Those 70's XLH Sportsters were not breathtakingly fast by any means but "top speed of 80 km/h and attain acceleration of 0 to 51 km/h in 5-6 seconds" is slow even for an XLH 

[Nitrowing]

Those 70's XLH Sportsters were not breathtakingly fast by any means but "top speed of 80 km/h and attain acceleration of 0 to 51 km/h in 5-6 seconds" is slow even for an XLH 

Yet HD could have developed something handed to them on a plate and had the jump on an entire industry 
Meh, HD left a bad taste in my mouth after the Buell.

[axman88]

Yet HD could have developed something handed to them on a plate and had the jump on an entire industry.

Gustave Trouve beat Steve Fehr to the punch by about 100 years:   https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9512103/We-test-replica-Gustave-Trouves-1881-rechargeable-electric-vehicle.html

And Mike Corbin's "City Bike" had already been in production half a decade earlier.  https://thevintagent.com/2018/08/23/the-current-mike-corbin-e-bike-pioneer/   

[Arschloch]

Quite a progress since than, like on everything, and still not good enough...

[zimmemr]

Gustave Trouve beat Steve Fehr to the punch by about 100 years:   https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9512103/We-test-replica-Gustave-Trouves-1881-rechargeable-electric-vehicle.html

And Mike Corbin's "City Bike" had already been in production half a decade earlier.  https://thevintagent.com/2018/08/23/the-current-mike-corbin-e-bike-pioneer/

I had a ride on one of Corbin's first E-bikes. He tried to get our shop to sell them, and brought one by. It was unrefined with way to quick throttle response, but it was well made, no surprise there, and a blast to ride. My boss thought it was a dead end....

[AzCal Retred]

Like everything else mechanical, all progress is driven by materials science. Existing battery tech is fine for 100-150 mile casual jogs, there just isn't sufficient energy density there to equal petro fuel energy storage numbers. Both charging infrastructure and recharge times are lacking for distance travel. IMHO the better solution is to synthesize hydrocarbon fuels from reclaimed carbon and electrolyzed H2 rather that completely reinvent the transport infrastructure; that tech exists already. Hybrid vehicles to optimize energy recovery already exist and work very well indeed, two examples are gracing my driveway now.

[Richard230]

About 12 years ago, Brammo brought by one of their pre-production Enertia electric motorcycles for the weekend to the California BMW dealership in Mountain View, CA, in an attempt to sign them up as a Brammo dealer. The sales manager at the time told me that the bike didn't run well and eventually just died. So they told Brammo they were not interested in their product. After that experience they didn't want anything to do with electric motorcycles.

But in 2017 they did become an Energica dealer after the distributor of that brand told them that they wouldn't need to repair or service the bikes as the importer had a service facility just a few miles away. That made the deal jell as the shop didn't want to have to train any of their technicians to work on the complicated Italian electric motorcycles. The are still selling Energicas at their Livermore, CA, dealership.

The Enertias were later attempted to be sold by Best Buy, who helped to fund Brammo. Unfortunately, that didn't work out too well for Best Buy.

Later Brammo developed their freeway-capable Empulse model, which could hit 100 mph and had a 6-speed transmission. After a few years they sold the Empulse to Polaris, who folded the bike into their Victory brand. Two years later they dropped Victory and the Empulse electric motorcycle went down the tube, also. The latest news is that Polaris will be using Zero motors, batteries and power train technology in their off-road 4-wheel vehicles.

Attached are two photos of the Enertia and two photos of the Italian Energica bikes that I took at California BMW in 2017.

[Arschloch]

Like everything else mechanical, all progress is driven by materials science. Existing battery tech is fine for 100-150 mile casual jogs, there just isn't sufficient energy density there to equal petro fuel energy storage numbers. Both charging infrastructure and recharge times are lacking for distance travel. IMHO the better solution is to synthesize hydrocarbon fuels from reclaimed carbon and electrolyzed H2 rather that completely reinvent the transport infrastructure; that tech exists already. Hybrid vehicles to optimize energy recovery already exist and work very well indeed, two examples are gracing my driveway now.

The industry says that if you take electricity which is made from renewable sources a battery is still the best option you may have if you wish to use the grid as a power source.

Steam engines powered by renewable forest wood might make a comeback if you were to implement the H2 synthetic fuels solution to a large scale.

I've read recently that they run H2 busses in Wuppertal with great success, the birthplace of Friedrich Engels. 

I agree though since "battery" is the "best" option it "must" be fought to dead since "Wemily" could feel neglected.

[AzCal Retred]

@ #127:
" The industry says that if you take electricity which is made from renewable sources a battery is still the best option you may have if you wish to use the grid as a power source. " True enough if the idea is to sell batteries for storage. Batteries are poorly suited for Utility grade energy storage needs, but if you want to maximize Capital Money spending, they're great.

The idea is to create storable, high-energy-density transportable fuel. Efficiency is a bit of a misnomer here, as the O&M on PV is almost nothing & sunlight is "free". Off peak renewables are ideal source to use for storage, as even at 40% round trip efficiencies, the end product is much more valuable (& profitable) than just selling your renewable energy into an off-peak market. Liquid hydrocarbons are what our society is geared up for, and if you are making them with captured carbon they are by definition "renewable".

[Arschloch]

I agree that it would be a fine solution to the end customer, the tough part might be to come up with a process that can compete with the battery cost or better beat it, electricity cost itself is low.

Than there is a question if electric power is needed to produce co2 neutral fuel at all.

https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-11/kift-hfn112619.php

[Richard230]

Here is a company that is developing lithium metal batteries. The technology looks interesting, but also expensive and it will be awhile before we see it in consumer products like autos. The company is directing their batteries toward electric aircraft as they feel that market can support their high prices and will appreciate the power density of lithium metal batteries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ1etjdsZAg

[Arschloch]

The clip has the swedish northvolt representative in it, it screams - Vasa ship ahead, I want my tax money back.

When Swedish talk sustainability and zero co2 they mean ->

Sustainability-> sustainable free cash flowing in their pockets.
zero CO2 -> zero contribution to mankind or the market.

[Richard230]

In the latest electric motorcycle news, Energica has developed a new drive motor that will be installed on their bikes soon. Here is a link to the article and press release: https://electricmotorcycles.news/emce-the-new-electric-motor-of-energica-motor-company/

[NVDucati]

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere:
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/electric-motorcycle-concept-giant-hole-180000270.html

[Richard230]

Here is a link to an article regarding BMW's latest electric scooter, the CE 04. I wonder if that seat is as hard as it looks?  The automatically-applied parking brake that functions when the side stand is deployed is a good idea. The TFT instrument display screen is a nice touch. At 504 pounds, it certainly is no lightweight. And of course, being a BMW there will be extra-cost factory features, such as are on the "Premium" version that will set you back an additional $1,650 over the base price of $11,795 in the U.S.

https://www.motorcycle.com/mini-features/2022-bmw-ce-04-first-look.html