Electric Harley Plugs In to NextFest
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 3.06
As we mentioned before, "TreeHugger" isn't the first thing that pops to mind when talking about Harley Davidson. Carl Vogel is aiming to change all that with his battery-powered hog (we covered his work before), and he took his prototype on the road last week, and made a splash with it at Wired's NextFest (see our coverage of the event here). AutoblogGreen reports that though he was "one of the smaller exhibits in size...he certainly got a lot of attention. At one point in the afternoon, attendees were 5 rows deep trying to get a look at the electric blue cruiser and sidecar." Rather than the traditional engine, the bike holds 560 pounds of lead-acid batteries that'll take the bike about 60 miles at a time. Add the sidecar that houses the battery-recharging biodiesel generator, and it's a formidable green machine. Though Vogel didn't fire up the bike at the show, he says it sounds similar to a golf cart, and " he enjoys being able to cruise just hearing the wind and ground beneath your feet." ::Vogelbilt via ::AutoblogGreen
What? No loud pipes deafening everything for blocks around? This guy better install some 120 decibel speakers simulating the lack of penis size that most Hog owners love.
So you think having loud pipes is about penis size huh? Wrong! It's about waking up the idiot in her Prius that either thinks she's more entitled to the road or just plain doesn't notice the motorcyclist she's about to maim.
I've been riding Harley Davidsons for 38 years and my pipes have saved my life countless times.
I love these feble attempts at poitically correct transportation. You take a 700 pound machine, Remove it's heart and add 560 pounds of batteries. You've added about 400 pounds to the total. Now you need to drag around another 3 or 400 pound sidecare so you can burn french fry oil and charge the batteries. The batteries are good for 50 or 60 charge cycles at best so you need to replace them every 3 to 4,000 miles. What are the financial and environmental impacts compaired to the stock machine with half the weight getting about 40 MPG burning gasoline? It seems like this man has proven the value of the internal combustion engine while trying to accomplish the oposite.
I dislike this attempt on many levels it reminds me of the transition from horse carrages to internal combustion engines. The carrage builders built horse carrages and adapted them for ic engines and did so poorly at first. This harley reminds me of that, quite simply a bad idea. An electric motorcycle needs more up to date technology or else it is a lame duck. Try lithium ion batteries and a composite frame designed for load balance of batteries motor and driver.
I agree if it is to be done, do it right. An electric motorcycle would be fast, and it shouldn't look like Frankenstein like the monstrosity above. And 60 miles? What's the point? I just went on a 200 mile ride, 60 does not cut it. And it seems the only lacking penis size is algibson.
Of course, riding a motorcycle is generally a freaky experience, so the weirder, the better. And from a performance perspective, a Harley isn't that fast anyway. Add the sythetic decibels and I think you're on to something. Vis-a-vis penis', the rumble of V-twins such as Harley's or Ducati's sure can numb the heck out of them.
Ernie is right. Since 80% of the people on the highway seem to think they needs to have half their attention diverted so they can blab on the cell phone, people on bikes need an edge. One edge is sound. After all, EVERYONE who kills a motorcyclist says "I didn't see him!" So you appeal to their other sense, hearing.
And I thing algibson is just upset because he'd like to Foley a biker, but they keep beating him up.
LOL @ Karl-Heinz. A Harley isn't that fast? Faster than most cars, like most motorcycles over 1000cc are. Besides the crap emmission thing, they get better MPG too.
A Harley isn't that fast? Faster than most cars
He wasn't comparing them to cars.
Besides the crap emmission thing, they get better MPG too.
Than other motorcycles? I doubt that.
LOUD PIPES DO NOT SAVE LIVES.
There is precisely no proof, no reason, no facts to believe that and I challenge the pro-loud pipe party to provide some actual FACTS and not ANECDOTES.
On the other hand The American Motorcyclist Association, The Hurt Report, and many riders and bikers themselves seemed to be of the opposite opinion. The AMA has gone so far as to make a policy statement on the issue which reads " The [AMA] believes that few other factors contribute more to misunderstanding and prejudice against the motorcycling community than excessively noisy motorcycles". They then go on to say, "Shifting blame and failing to adopt responsible policies on a voluntary basis can only result in greater prejudice and discrimination against motorcycling. The consequences of continuing to ignore this issue will likely result in excessively rigorous state and federal standards, ……[and] abusive enforcement of current laws and other solutions undesirable to riders and the motorcycle industry"
According to the Hurt report is was determined that 77% of motorcycle accident hazards come from in front of the rider, while only 3% approach from the rear. What's interesting here is that motorcycle pipes direct the vast majority of sound backwards where the least danger is, so for loud pipes to be truly effective safety measures they would need to be pointed forward where the greatest danger lies. That doesn't do much to support the proposition that loud pipes are a safely factor. The other serious problem I have with this supposition is that it is, at best, a secondary safety measure, not a primary or proactive measure. Assuming that the other driver will act with caution once you have identified your presence by the sound of your bike roaring up from behind is foolhardy at best. That's like assuming that if you were to wear a bright yellow safety vest, or full riding gear, you can relax because now you're protected! Lets face it, the best protection you have is that 3 pounds of grey matter between your ears, that and a constant awareness of your surrounding, and acting on the supposition that the rest of the motorists in the world are all idiots and its up to you and you alone to ensure your safety on the road. Relying on the other guy to act reasonably or safely just because you're making more noise than those around you is just asking for trouble!
Your own personal experience is an ANECDOTE and is NOT a fact.
Imagine the spattered sulfuric acid and lead pollution if this thing gets wrecked. Why not build a biodiesel bike instead and have it run on french fry grease? I have to congratulate him for trying, but someone needs to invent a better battery if electric bikes are going to be successful..
Electric motorcyles do have promise. The bike pictured above is merely an idea brought to life with parts "off the shelf", built a decade ago.
Today, we have Lithium Polymer batteries that hold more energy, weight is significantly less, and requires less space than Lead Acid batteries. We have high torque, light-weight motors and controllers/chargers to meet anyones transporation needs. The technology is here to make a 100mph+ motorcyle with a range of 200+ miles. The bike above isn't upraded as such.
Plus, you can fill up with solar/wind/etc power at your own home or business. Totally cutting out emissions and potentially big oil.