Image from https://ridecake.com
I’ve discussed electric motorcycles multiple times in this blog, but I really haven’t thought about them that much lately. Then, I ran across a few articles about electric dirt bikes. I know that Zero Motorcycles have been making them for a while, but I haven’t heard or read about any others. Now, Yamaha created an electric trials bike concept and a company called Cake is developing an electric bike that is kind of a hybrid motocross / mountain bike. I think that the dirt is where electric motorcycles can shine in the near future.
My biggest concern with electric street motorcycles is the lack of range between charges. With the current technology, 100 miles is definitely pushing it. If you were on any lengthy ride, needing to stop every 80-100 miles to recharge (charging can take more than an hour) would get annoying. I think that riding range won't be as much an issue with a dirt bike. Spending 90 minutes riding hard in the dirt between charges is more than enough. With my kids getting into off road riding, I will be in the market for a dirt bike in the near future, so an electric one could be an option.
My fear would be getting stranded in the woods with an electric bike that ran out of charge. However, this has happened to me on dirt bikes I’ve owned in the past, so it can definitely happen with an internal combustion engine as well. I think with some planning ahead, someone could avoid getting stranded barring some sort of breakdown. In my opinion, off road should be the market electric motorcycle manufacturers target.
“I really do encourage other manufacturers to bring electric cars to market. It's a good thing, and they need to bring it to market and keep iterating and improving and make better and better electric cars, and that's what going to result in humanity achieving a sustainable transport future. I wish it was growing faster than it is.” - Elon Musk
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