An electric motorcycle

by kvprashant • 13 years ago

63 39 13 years ago

Quite expensive though and far away from being the Tesla for superbikes.

sirtel• 13 years ago

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.

locusm2• 13 years ago

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.

JoeAltmaier3• 13 years ago

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'.

duck2• 13 years ago

It says right on the page that the HUD would be a wireless piece that attaches to your helmet.

jlebrech• 13 years ago

good price, gas bikes usually start off at that price and end up a quarter of that price second hand within 3 years.

mswe• 13 years ago

The pricing is a joke http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/2013/suzuki/gsx_r/750/pric...

locusm2• 13 years ago

Yes but your comparing a VW Golf with a Tesla Model S

amadeus• 13 years ago

Wait what?

A high end Aprilia costs around 20k (this is an expensive superbike, see one from the Japanese manufactures for something half the price)

http://www.apriliausa.com/en-US/Model/101340/RSV4+Factory+AP...

This electric bike starting at 30k is very expensive relatively speaking.

buro92• 13 years ago

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).

untruuth2• 13 years ago

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.

If you want more... you get a tourer.

buro92• 13 years ago

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.

chubs• 13 years ago

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.

Shivetya• 13 years ago

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

svantana• 13 years ago

My thoughts exactly. Especially since one of the headlines is "More Power, Less Weight", one could expect to find that weight somewhere.

randlet2• 13 years ago

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].

[1] http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-reviews/first-drives/2014-mi...

[2] http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product%20Lines/Cycles/Products/...

randlet2• 13 years ago

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 :)

[1] http://rideapart.com/2013/08/rideapart-review-2014-mission-r...

jawr3• 13 years ago

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.

geoka9• 13 years ago

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.

mikestew2• 13 years ago

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.

mey• 13 years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnBvi8uXsq4 I makes some noise, at least at the higher speeds.

baudehlo• 13 years ago

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.

newsign• 13 years ago

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 ....

MattBearman2• 13 years ago

Yamaha make the EC-03 http://www.yamaha-motor.eu/uk/products/electric-vehicles/com...

No idea what it's like though

JoeAltmaier3• 13 years ago

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.

shortlived• 13 years ago

That's not a motorcycle, it's a moped...

kinofcain• 13 years ago

The RS version has been getting rave reviews. Despite the weight, the nature of the power delivery and lack of gears to fiddle with apparently make it devastatingly fast: http://rideapart.com/2013/08/rideapart-review-2014-mission-r...

gregpilling• 13 years ago

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/

samatman2• 13 years ago

I have a 3kW electric scooter, which can and does hit 45 mph / 75 kph on the flats.

I'm trying to picture having 40 times the torque, and just failing. What an incredible world.

duck2• 13 years ago

What type of scoot do you have?

samatman2• 13 years ago

An Xtreme Scooter XM-3150, which is identical to (many? most? all?) Zapinos.

Tloewald• 13 years ago

Live fast, die young, leave a nice planet.

pkulak• 13 years ago

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.

__--__• 13 years ago

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.

An electric motorcycle

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