What is Digg?87 Comments
- FuryOfThor, on 06/25/2008, -2/+19Love it.
- jonr, on 06/26/2008, -1/+18Wow... lot's of negativity here already. For ~$2000 this guy has a way to commute to work without worrying about gas. And it is a cool DIY project. This guy deserves a medal.
The Brammo is pretty cool, but it costs over $11.000. Electronic motorcycles/scooters are the urban transporters of the nearest future, the days of the personal car (1 person per car) are over. Families will probably still own a large car, but will probably make more use of public transports.
I have my eye on a $4000 scooter, even though I think it is still too expensive (gas scooters costs around $1700 here) and I could hardly use it during the winter.
(The gas costs around $12/gallon here ) - dougvfr750, on 06/25/2008, -2/+16Awesome idea. I'd like to see the range be in the 80-100 mile distance though. Probably could be done with Lithium Ion or NiMh batteries, but of course it would cost more.
- metapop, on 06/25/2008, -2/+14...i'm speechless. this is incredible. i must make one immediately.
- stonebear, on 06/25/2008, -2/+10I like an electric bicycle @ 1/3 the price, and gets you up on the sidewalk, when needed, without freaking out The Man too much. EZ conversion kits on the net await your Googling. I think it's necessary to append a fat kid advisory to this though.
- shanealeslie, on 06/26/2008, -0/+7The DIY principle is nice to see - but he's reinventing the wheel there. About 4 months ago I picked up an electric assist bike for $800 - it goes ~30 Kph with a 40 K range. It has pedals to supplement the battery, and because it has pedals it requires no license or insurance, and I can ride it in the bike lane or in the regular lane depending on how busy the traffic is. You can get more info about a bike like mine at http://blueavenue.ca/WebSunrisePage.html. And there are a lot of different models - including a cargo trike that converts it cargo bin into a passenger bench.
The cost of transit here in Toronto is about $110/month - so by the end of the summer it will have paid for itself, and next year I commute to work for free! - MacEnvy, on 06/26/2008, -0/+6Yeah, and then I'm all sweaty and gross dealing with clients for the rest of the day. Great.
- SVOboy, on 06/25/2008, -2/+8Electric bikes are definitely great, the only limitation is the low speeds keep you from being "part of traffic" on a lot of roads.
- mwomorris, on 06/25/2008, -2/+7Check out the videos at the bottom. The creator says it costs less to charge than it does to run a light bulb.
- SVOboy, on 06/26/2008, -1/+6Scooters actually have less available battery room because you stick your legs where the normal engine/battery space would be.
- lester1024, on 06/26/2008, -1/+6I know it would be cool to have electric, It's awesome. For 1500 bucks you could have a brand new gas powered, street legal Chinese bike that gets 70mpg and goes 80mph.
- minigig, on 06/26/2008, -0/+5most motorcycles of that size get closer to 80mpg
- chkdg8, on 06/26/2008, -4/+9The guy is going to work for free and that's all that counts at the end of the day. Plus, his non-exhaust isn't killing anybody and that's the best part of the story.
- apeweek, on 06/26/2008, -2/+6What good is gas without a motorcycle?
You forgot the price of the gas-powered motorcycle, maintenance and insurance.
Electric motors need no maintenance. - Stormwern, on 06/26/2008, -0/+4The energy content of a gallon of gas is 131 MJ, the mc runs 300 miles on that amount in electricity.
- MacEnvy, on 06/26/2008, -0/+4And the new models look HOT too. I used to have an 05 model, and I got 70+ mpg.
- Shaggy63, on 06/26/2008, -3/+7How many ***** times are you going to say that. Once is enough.
- boobsbr, on 06/26/2008, -0/+4not for free, he must recharge the batteries.
his bike is not emitting CO, which is great, but generating electricity can generate CO too, like from coal or gas plants and from the decomposition of organic material in damn for hydroelectric.
i hope that in the near future we can generate electricity from clean sources like wind and solar power (nuclear power generates nuclear waste, and nowadays what we can do to dispose of it is put it inside a block of lead, inside a barrel full of concrete and store it underground). - inactive, on 06/26/2008, -4/+8Kawasaki Ninja 250 - $3500 out the door. Insurance on a 250cc motorcycle is dirt cheap even for full coverage. Maintenance costs are less that this pile of *****. Oil and filter every 3500 miles and a good once over every 8000 miles...
It's a no brainer if you want a bike. - Stormwern, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Because regular motorcycles are free? The one he stripped to make this one was scrapped.
- Shaggy63, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4***** make one yourself.
- LordSkywalker, on 06/26/2008, -2/+5Awesome. The Brammo Enertia does get about 45 miles per charge, but like he said, it costs a lot more. I also saw a video with the manager of Brammo saying they may switch from a chain to a belt to cut down on noise. I'd love to see how a bike like this would do on NIMH or Li-ION batteries.
- spawnfree, on 06/26/2008, -2/+5i think the oil industry read about it too and yelled
"to the market-domination-mobile".
which, in a delicious irony, is an electric powered vehicle. - Stereotype77, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4Pretty neat, just do it again on a cooler bike....
- boobsbr, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3let's do the math:
55 Ah each battery x 4 = 220 Ah
12 V
E = P . t and P = V . i, thus E = V . i . t
E = 12 . 220
E = 2640 Wh or 2.64 kWh
you can round it up a bit to include the losses to convert from AC to DC, lets say 5% of loss because we don't know how he charges it (transformer and bridge or switching). then we have 2.77 kWh.
a typical lightbulb is about 60 W, so 60 W . 12 h = 720 Wh = 0.72 kWh.
it looks like running a light bulb for 12 hours is cheaper than charging the motorcycle.
multiply 2.77 by the price of the kWh in your city, divide by the mileage of this bike and we get the $/distance ratio. compare to your car's, maybe it really is cheaper than gasoline. - boobsbr, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3not for free, you still have to recharge.
- bono4u, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2i am not so sure about that, say they need less that might be right
- noahhoward, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2For me in america, nipping around town is more than 15.
- rabidbob, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Practical for what? For nipping around town it's practical. For me for commuting it wouldn't be practical. The cost of ownership of the bike means that for running around town trips it's a great way of saving money, time and pollution.
- linagee, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Motorcycles are typically unsafe because they are all zooming at high speeds (65mph+, 90mph is typically in california from what I see.) Going this fast on a motorcycle also makes you get terrible gas mileage.
- linagee, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2People are pissy about their oil addiction.
- PrintScrn12, on 06/26/2008, -1/+3Remember when comparing to the alternatives you don't just compare gas. You have to remember you have to buy a vehicle, lose it's depreciation, service it and insure it, which goes both ways. The average motorcycle also has to be bought, serviced and insured not to mention the safety gear (which is included in the $2000).
Then again a regular motorbike isn't really an suitable alternative, as the guy isn't just looking for a cheap bike. He did this as a hobby project, a pleasure a regular bike might not fulfil. - mwomorris, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2... not was I was implying.
Run a lightbulb for say twelve hours = charge this thing. - inactive, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2As compared to the bike in the article? It's one of the best entry level bikes out there, though it's not one of the bikes in my stable. You probably run a Hyabusa that you go very fast on.......in a straight line.......(rolling eyes.).
- metapop, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2i guess you're right, let's go ransack their servers with pitchforks and torches and make sure these videos are seen by no one ever again.
don't crucify the guy for attempting to put the real cost per mile in terms that people will understand. - dcode, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Loud pipes have nothing to do with being more safe, that is a myth. The sound is directed backwards, so by the time I would hear a motorcycle, it is already past me. See http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/ ...
- Ravatar, on 06/26/2008, -1/+3Average motorcycle gets about double that BTW. Unless you're referring to harleys.
Edit: wow beat by seconds - MacEnvy, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Of course it's electric. After all, the first rule of the drug dealer is don't get hooked on your own merchandise.
- vanguardanon, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Ok, so this particular bike isn't the right fit for most people. At $2,000 it's more like a hobby and he'll probably be replacing those 4 batteries, at $160 each, a lot more often than you will in a regular car. That's not the exciting part.
The exciting part is the culture that's forming around bypassing the oil companies. At $1.00 a gallon we were all content to listen to the nonsense Exxon told us about pursuing alternative energy sources. Now everybody from the random hobbyist to well funded startups are looking into something that uses less gas or no gas. As I drove to work today I learned about people looking into the bacteria that lives in nuclear waste as if they may somehow decontaminate it for us. Wouldn't that be great? If nuclear power (or wind, solar, etc.) could be made clean and cars ran on electricity? - linagee, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Mine uses around 600W (measured using a kilowatt) and takes around 6 hours to completely charge from near zero. (A little more than 3 kilowatt hours. What does that cost in dollars? $0.60 or so to "fill up"?)
- linagee, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Those types of batteries cost more with very little increase in energy storage density.
- drazen77, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Oh sure.
You people need to think about all the angles when it comes to energy production.
The problem is that you still have distribution problems with electricity, as well as efficient retention of it. Electricity transmitted over copper lines loses ALOT of its potential energy by the time it gets to where its going. Luckily there are some advancements in superconducting materials that may allow better power transmission. Previously the only way to achieve zero transmission loss was through supercooled superconducting tubes. But full scale replacement of current power transmission infrastructure is a long way off.
Batteries are nasty, to produce and dispose of. Lots of nasty chemicals are used.
Biofuels require farmland (large tracts of arable land), irrigation (groundwater supplies can be tight), and has pesticide/fertilizer run off. That is what you trade off for replacing petroleum.
Nuclear gives you the best bang for your buck in terms of "clean" energy. It's the most efficient ratio of energy to lifespan.
Solar energy is great but its hugely inefficient when put up next to hydrocarbon energy production. Also, to create the solar cells is a very nasty process involving lots of nasty chemicals.
Wind turbines are always going to be "nice to have" to offset some of the traditional power generation sources... but its not ever going to be full time energy production.
Tidal harnessing requires vast expanses of underwater areas, are hugely expensive to build and maintain, and has its own host of problems dealing with underwater ecologies.
Sorry, Hydrocarbons are king when it comes to energy efficiency and will remain that way for the foreseeable future.
I absolutely agree we should continue development of alternative energy and use it wherever possible... but lets not chop our ankles off in the process.
Need more oil and need more refining capacity, domestically (U.S.) while alternative energy is phased in. - mrjhmm, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1Most motorcycle deaths are alcohol related. It is pretty hard riding a motorcycle with even a slight buzz. Reaction times are a lot longer.
- RMartinBikes, on 02/23/2009, -0/+1Hi,
We are an Electric Vehicles distributor firm and have been actively providing electric bikes and scooters to people from the last 5 years. Our clients appreciate the fact that how investing in such transportation one time saves them the need to go to a gasoline station or how they are actively cooperating in the global 'Go Green Movement'.
I must say, to those who like fast speed vehicles, that given the rate at which technology is evolving, you never know when such electric bikes/cars get introduced in the markets that will have tremendous speed levels and small batteries.
N
(On behalf of R Martin Bikes.)
http://rmartinbikes.blogspot.com - linagee, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1What is the average distance to an electric outlet in a city? 100 feet? If we were all a bit more social or had a way to meter our electricity out and share it, electric bikes like this would work great.
- drgruney, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Just get a long extension cord.
- catbeller, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1How about the carbon-graphite foam lead acid batteries by Firefly?
http://www.fireflyenergy.com/index.php?option=com_ ...
Almost half the weight of conventional sealed lead acid, the usual corrosion problem solved, and a higher energy density and quicker recharge time. And little of the production problems of nickle-metal hydride or the lithium technologies.
They are being sold as Oasis brand batteries, and are being tested for sleeper cabs this year. Love to see these in use for motorcycle projects and even electric cars.
Aside that is somewhat on subject: while we investigate, and maybe re-regulate, the oil market flim-flams currently gouging us, we might want to look into the mirror gouging going on in the lead, nickel, and zinc markets. Yes, supply is shrinking, but the prices are tripling overnight - that's not market, that's gaming. - inactive, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I get your point, and the Springer is a beautiful bike. I own a Sportster, VTX1300, and an FZ6. I ride the FZ6 90% of the time...
- ATLien74, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1My Harley gets around 50-60mpg. Even with gas over 4 dollars, it's only about 13-14 bucks to fill it up....and I use Premium. I can go about 130 miles on a tank before I have to hit the reserve.
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