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Hd livewire

Yeah the 40 minute thing is odd. I guess the charge rate is seriously limited.

My 2016 Chevy Spark EV would go from 0 to 80% in 20 minutes, and it has a bigger battery than the HD would..
 
mrzuzzo said:
Yeah the 40 minute thing is odd. I guess the charge rate is seriously limited.

My 2016 Chevy Spark EV would go from 0 to 80% in 20 minutes, and it has a bigger battery than the HD would..
Click to expand...
I know that Teslas have a larger air conditioning system than otherwise needed so that they can cool the battery when fast charging. The Spark might too. That would be harder to implement on a bike.
 
Junkie said:
I know that Teslas have a larger air conditioning system than otherwise needed so that they can cool the battery when fast charging. The Spark might too. That would be harder to implement on a bike.
Click to expand...

Yes, GM & Tesla batteries are both liquid cooled. That said, a motorcycle battery is pretty exposed so don't see why they couldn't increase charge rate even if it's air cooled.
 
Everyone keeps on going on about range and charging time. I own an electric motorcycle that has a "realistic" range of 60 miles and I normally don't ride that far. If I want to ride far and fill up quickly then I'll take another bike like my KLR650. You get familiar with places to charge real quick. Yeah it's like your on a leash. If you regularly ride 100+ miles a day then electric motorcycle is not for you.

I did a long trip with my bike one time and as long as you can find something to do topping up isn't that bad. But it's when you need that quick fillup because your trying to get home quickly is when it's agonizing. With level 3 charging it takes that away you can literally watch it charge it's so fast. Everyone is just spoiled at going to gas stations I'd rather never have to visit a gas station again just plug it in at the end of the day and have a full tank the next time.

If you want a bike with lots of range the big Zero bikes with the power tank is what your looking for.

I would rather have a bike that has around 150 miles of "realistic" range and the ability to fast charge.
 
mrzuzzo said:
Yes, GM & Tesla batteries are both liquid cooled. That said, a motorcycle battery is pretty exposed so don't see why they couldn't increase charge rate even if it's air cooled.
Click to expand...

Actually speaking of liquid cooled there was someone in Europe who installed faster charger on their Brammo Empulse and they rigged it so they had the bike's water cooling system would cool the charger down. I don't think there is any bike that has watercooled batteries.
 
HadesOmega said:
Everyone keeps on going on about range and charging time.
Click to expand...

It's an issue for most riders. And drivers as well. Until electric vehicles have not only the same range as gas powered vehicles but can also recharge as fast as gas powered vehicles, they will remain a niche market.
 
As an Alta owner I am annoyed.
...Yet pleased I own a better moto.
 
mrzuzzo said:
What's the range and fast charging capability like on that "better" Alta? :twofinger
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OTOH, maybe a Harley is a good application for an electric moto as weight is not such an issue. Could be a commute vehicle.

My Alta is kind a one shot application. Go out and ride for three hours, then park it and plug it in. The charger is not even on board...

So "better" is application specific. Better for me.

Edit: or race for an hour...
 
Butch said:
OTOH, maybe a Harley is a good application for an electric moto as weight is not such an issue. Could be a commute vehicle.

My Alta is kind a one shot application. Go out and ride for three hours, then park it and plug it in. The charger is not even on board...

So "better" is application specific. Better for me.

Edit: or race for an hour...
Click to expand...
do you have any battery heat problems? I remember someone brought theirs to the Sears Point kart track and it overheated
 
Harley-Davidson unveils $30,000 'twist-and-go' electric motorcycle that hits 120 miles per hour at CES Vegas.

It can go from 0 to 60mph in 3.5 seconds and comes with 'new signature Harley-Davidson sound'

HD patented the sound of an electric motor? :facepalm
 
Junkie said:
do you have any battery heat problems? I remember someone brought theirs to the Sears Point kart track and it overheated
Click to expand...

Not I, but I know dudes who race do. I’m just a casual trail rider.

BWTM!
Lightning Motorcycles are BAD ASS, and from right here in the center of the universe...
https://lightningmotorcycle.com

Like, over 200 mph.
 
ST Guy said:
It's an issue for most riders. And drivers as well. Until electric vehicles have not only the same range as gas powered vehicles but can also recharge as fast as gas powered vehicles, they will remain a niche market.
Click to expand...

Don't forget the "other" factor that has not (YET) come into play.
The availability and cost of gasoline.
Currently it's readily available and fairly affordable with the price going up continually.
Can or will that last?
Short term (my lifetime, and I'm old)... probably.
30-40 years from now (I "probably" won't make it there, but many of you will) I believe fossil fuel will eventually be a very limited product and priced out of the common market.
That'll take the ICE engine mass production with it.

I have a feeling that the drive for all the major vehicle manufacturers getting into the electric vehicle market is because there will be a day when gasoline is either not readily available, or is expensive beyond affordability to pleasure ride. Or even commute.
 
m0t0_ryder said:
Don't forget the "other" factor that has not (YET) come into play.
The availability and cost of gasoline.
Currently it's readily available and fairly affordable with the price going up continually.
Can or will that last?
Short term (my lifetime, and I'm old)... probably.
30-40 years from now (I "probably" won't make it there, but many of you will) I believe fossil fuel will eventually be a very limited product and priced out of the common market.
That'll take the ICE engine mass production with it.

I have a feeling that the drive for all the major vehicle manufacturers getting into the electric vehicle market is because there will be a day when gasoline is either not readily available, or is expensive beyond affordability to pleasure ride. Or even commute.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. But today, the equation of range / speed to recharge and price is not workable for most. Short runs, short commutes with easy charging? Sure. But only motorcycle? Unless you live in SF or somewhere similar, and never go beyond your immediate area, electric is tough to make work, or impossible, and pricing of electric bikes (really, motorcycles in general) mean the multi-bike "solution" is not workable for many Americans.

mrzuzzo said:
Maybe, maybe not...

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/08/bp-just-discovered-a-billion-barrels-of-oil-in-gulf-of-mexico.html
Click to expand...

Dude, that's like a few months worth in the US: "In 2017, the United States consumed a total of 7.28 billion barrels of petroleum products, an average of about 19.96 million barrels per day."

Good find, sure. Maybe there a bunch more such finds. But that one is not a game changer by any stretch of the imagination.
 
Killroy1999 said:
That sucks.

That means that they only have a ~1.3 Kw charger that 'connects' to a regular wall outlet or level 2 (~220 Volt). It could be the same onboard charger as the Zero - Caltech-, which sucks.

There are aftermarket 6.6 kW, 9.9 kW chargers that Zero's and the Live Wire can use. Relying on DC fast charge limits your options.
Click to expand...


Not to mention DC fast charge significantly reduces battery life. I mean we have a Leaf and a Volt and they both count the number of times you use DC Fast Charge with an un-resetable counter. Like an odometer.
 
That good thing about a big battery is that the larger the battery, the faster you can add range to the motorcycle.

Even though Zero can't currently DC fast charge, you can charge a Zero as fast with onboard accessory chargers (diginow).

Its common for Zero's 1.3 kW charger to be replace with ~10 kW. Limewire may have the same shitty 1.3 kW charger.

DC fast chargers are a little harder to find, but there are still a lot around, so its nice to have onboard chargers in that case. Charging at a RV park, a welding 14-50 plug or a dryer plug is a alternative to public charging stations. I've done it.

I have the a 6.6 kW charger. Its not that back. The faster the better.

Liquid thermal mangagment is handy for performance. A battery can be too cold or to hot to ride or charge. Same thing for a motor and controller. The Zero is designed with "sophisticated simplicity" so there is no active cooling. There are some heat sink fins on the motor and controller, but not the battery.
 
motoproponent said:
Not to mention DC fast charge significantly reduces battery life. I mean we have a Leaf and a Volt and they both count the number of times you use DC Fast Charge with an un-resetable counter. Like an odometer.
Click to expand...

I would not say significant. I think we know there is a impact, but I don't think there is data out there that suggests a problem.

The Leaf has crude thermal management, so I know that has been a issue "Charge Gate". Most DC Fast charge is not that fast at 50 kW and Tesla Supercharger is 120 kW currently - that's fast.

The Chevy Volt PHEV fast charges? Does it really need to? It carrying around a 'range extender' internal combustion engine and gasoline. - why tie up a fast charger?

For the normal car driver commuting, Level 2 or even Level 1 charging is fine because your range is much greater than your commute. Fast charging is only needed for the longer trip.
 
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