Electric Harley
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin 
on 09.16.06
When you think Harley, do you think TreeHugger? Well, think again. If a hog can still be called a Harley without the trademark engine roar, then Harley has joined the parade of design innovations which allow the modern TreeHugger to love his (or her) toys and the environment too. The thanks are due to Carl Vogel. Following a long tradition of hog choppers, Mr. Vogel has replaced the gas engine with ten car batteries. With 5 speeds and 78 horsepower, the bike can do 70 - 75 mph according to its inventor. A glimpse at the Vogelbilt website might disappoint those hoping the first electric Harley is a prototype, coming soon to a dealer near you, because Vogelbilt's main focus is biodiesel. But Carl Vogel has told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he wants to start producing electric motorcycles by 2007. The MJS site also offers a link to video from the Discovery Channel for those interested to see the bike in action. Or worth a look if you want to see a man with cheese on his head riding a motorcycle! The bike can also be set up with a side car generator (fueled by biodiesel, what else?) which can recharge the batteries underway.
Via ::Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Not that it's much consolation, but Harleys can get fuel economy in the high 40 mpg range. That certainly fits into the range our fleet needs to hit.
What needs to be improved is emissions, though.
I suspect this is a touch more reliable than a Harley too. Harleys are not known to be well made machines and eleminating the motor would be a huge help.
The fuel-economy of motorcycles (in this case, HDs) may seem impressive, but considering their size/mass they fall well short of their potential. Most motorbikes are typical of the macho 'auto culture' "thing" of power/size. They should be averaging 60-70 MPG. And with few exceptions, there are no catalytic converters or other emission controls.
They will soon have to meet much tougher emission standards though.
Aerodynamic and not a lot of horsepower is the future! NSU made a two weeled cigarr that made 200km/h on 9.8hp!