Okay, maybe I am blind, but where is the weight? Real world mileage is such a vague term and such a silly one when discussion "superbikes". Whats my track time? I really want to know, I am not going to ride it sedately, so whats my real world mileage when I can't keep from twisting the throttle so hard?
could I get from Atlanta to Deal's gap and back? Nope? Well I am not a fan of trailer queens.
Get me something that gets me to and from work like my K1300GT does and I might be interested. Frankly I see very little point in a superbike electric as they are natural opposites, electric implies efficiency but the riding behavior associated with superbikes is anything but
It's 540lbs which is way to heavy to be considered a superbike [1].
For reference -- unlike Mission who presumably are hiding the weight on purpose -- Suzuki lists their stock GSX1000R as 450lbs wet on its spec page[2].
As a counterpoint, an article[1] posted elsewhere in this thread makes it seem like the weight is not as big a deal as it seems due to how centralized it is. Interesting and I guess I will have to reserve judgement until I can ride one :)
I saw another electric motorcycle on Thursday that blew my mind as it was the first time I'd seen one in the flesh and on the street, the Saietta:
http://www.agilitymotors.com/
Loved the design of it, somewhere between Tron and Portal.
The only thing that gets me is the range... 120 miles. That seems to be similar to the Mission motorcycle too. Good for the city, but hard for long rides (and both the speed and performance encourage you to enjoy leaving the city).
Most performance bikes have a range around 120-150 miles. Triumph Daytona 675 for example is 125 miles. Enough for a long weekend ride, or a regular commute without too many refills a week.
Sure, but I could top-up that Triumph and extend my range pretty much anywhere as gas/petrol stations are everywhere.
With an electric bike, the options start to become limited and a greater range is desired.
I couldn't see a re-charge time on the Mission site, but the Saietta cites a 3.5-8 hour full re-charge time dependant on the power supply available.
Depending on temperature/weather a ride from London to Birmingham would be risky. Unless you'd planned in advance and left at first light so you could ride back at dusk, you'd probably have to stay overnight even though the ride would have only taken a couple of hours (max). That may be great if you want a day out somewhere, but less great if you want a day out riding.
And this is being marketed as a "superbike". But it couldn't participate in existing race events (even if rules permitted an electric bike), as the distance of a race at Silverstone is 263 miles. Both the Mission and Saietta could not complete even half the distance of a race event, and even if you step down to track day events the electric bikes wouldn't last the event (7 x 20 minute sessions @ 80% speed is beyond the range of the bikes... you'd hope to go faster than 80% speed anyway).
So what is the real current usage of a bike with such range and re-charge time? Commuting.
Suddenly that's one hell of an expensive commuting bike.
You're not wrong. From riding myself I remember many times when a ride went a bit further, or a bit wider than expected and one of the group would need to top up, so there would need to be a lot to make this viable and relaxing.
For commutes, it's fine. It's almost like it should be a sporty tourer, but then that's no fun on a press release.
I think given the Formula E plan of having 2x cars per race, racing is actually more applicable. Racing will challenge how these bikes are recharged/replaced quickly.
The most often overlooked issue with press-release-bikes, is that many motorcycle owners will show terror at the thought of having a no-brand bike. The cost of parts, servicing, or replacement if it gets crashed (it will) is so high, that it really is only a toy for the naive or rich (or both).
Good looking design, but a superbike that doesn't make any noise? That's a dangerous game. The noise it's part of it's presence and dare I say it, safety.
Maybe _some_ noise, yes. But god aren't most bikes noisy; I almost feel my ear drums burst whenever one passes by. I think there should be a noise limit, in addition to the speed one, at least in the cities.
Bikes don't come out of the factory noisy, there are EPA limits in the US. They become noisy when some dork sticks an aftermarket pipe on it. There are also noise limits everywhere that I am aware of, those laws are just rarely enforced. Why that is, I have no idea. Seems like easy ticket money on a sunny day.
As for the parent, if you're relying on your bike's noise to keep you out of trouble, you're an accident waiting to happen. Loud pipes don't save lives, paying attention and not riding like an ass does.
Coming up a blind bend in poor visibility on a bike that makes absolutely no noise and someone decides to do a u-turn from a parked position... I'm not suggesting that the noise of the bike is going to get you out of trouble every single time, nor is it an excuse to ride like an idiot. However you're clinging on to an engine attached to two wheels and I want all the presence I can get because I can only account for my driving and not the driving of others.
dbuder, you're hell banned, for reasons that aren't obvious to me. But you said, "Most people fit aftermarket pipes for more power, that doesn't make them dorks." If there were some objective way to answer the question, I'd bet a large sum of real money that people fit aftermarket pipes to make more noise or a noise more to their liking. Even I have an aftermarket pipe, complete with a Power Commander module to make sure that the pipe actually does increase power, dyno'ed to make sure. But you wanna know the primary reason I put a pipe on my VFR? Because I don't want to ride around on something that sounds like a sewing machine (which stock Hondas typically do). I'd like to think the pipe is not obnoxious, though my neighbors might disagree.
As a keen rider (S1000-RR) I would love this. I mostly commute on mine and in the hot Toronto summers the heat is what kills you. I'm pretty sure this thing would run way cooler.
Range on the cheapest model is comparable to my Suzuki SV650, would be great for commuting eg you can charge every night. Plugging in at night would be much better than having to waste 15 mins at the service station every 3 days.
Probably not going to ride it to the mountains and back on a long ride, though.
Still - very cool! Can't wait for battery tech to get better/cheaper.
I've been waiting for someone to step up and become the Tesla of motorcycles: ie, hell with the costs, we're just going to make the greatest bike possible. Very cool to see it.
That dash is both awesome and scary as hell. Stravassholes on bicycles are annoying; I can't imagine one on a motorcycle with 120 ft-lbs of torque.
What's funny is they came up with the design 3 years ago. Made a prototype, raced it, set a bunch of records then shelved it. At the time, a production version would have cost $60k and they didn't think that was viable. Now it's 30k and there are rumors about a 15k version in the next few years.
This sounds really cool. But, personally, is it possible to design a "neat appearance" and more "future"? It seems no difference to other motorbikes in market. As a Superbike, it must be distinctive.
Give me that dash on my Duc! - they also mention a HUD, scant on detail though.
Pricey but they are using some of the best brakes, forks and suspension the market has to offer, best of luck to these guys.
The definition for 'HUD' must have taken a left turn somewhere. A display you look down to see, taking your eyes off the road, isn't a 'HUD' its a 'display'.
Just wondering whether there is any REGULAR electric bike (100cc-200cc engine) - that would be an instant HIT in the developing countries like India and China ....
That's a terrible website. Sigh. I went there and I still don't know anything about it, except its marketed at women only. And I can't tell if they have any other electric bike - their links are broken.
If you like that one, then you should have a look at this one too. The Lightning electric bike won the Pikes Peak race this year, including the gas powered bikes . 218 mph top speed. http://www.lightningmotorcycle.com/
