Электромотоциклы - все еще игрушки или пора брать?
Like any person who has an outlet in the garage, I also wondered if I could buy something to put in there. It started out simple - I bought an electric scooter, an electric bycicle and an electric toothbrush, and ended up buying an electric scooter. Of course, a few years ago I was looking at electric cars, but with them it quickly became clear that this idea would pay off only if the electric car was used a lot. With my small car mileage, this is a stupid purchase. Starting somewhere from 60,000 € - yes, you can watch a premium electric car, but, for example, for 40,000 any electric car is a cut below the comfort of gasoline models in the same price group.
With electric motorcycles, a similar story first occurred. The first electric motorcycle I took for a long test was a 2020 Energica Esseesse 9+ with Horizon touring package. While the camera is spinning, try to guess how much it costs. Ready? About 25,000 € - like any top-end adventure motorcycle in a complete package with a bunch of accessories. To most, the Energica brand means nothing.
But in general, in electric motorcycles, until recently, 2 premium brands could be distinguished - the Italian Energica and the American Zero. There are quite a few luxury electric motorcycles, but at least these two brands were well known. And if Zero can be called a top with a stretch - in the sense that Zero also has cheap simple models with mediocre stuffing and this is rather a pre-premium, then all Energica motorcycles are loaded with very, very expensive components. For understanding, since 2019 there are MotoE races as an addition to MotoGP, where they race electric superbikes. For the first 3 years, Energica was the exclusive manufacturer of electric bikes in this discipline, from 2023 the exclusive right passes to Ducati.
For the first few years, Energica produced only electric superbikes, which rhymes with the Lightning brand, then a naked bike with sports ergonomics appeared, and only after 5 years did the EsseEsse9 model with a straight fit appear. I have the EsseEsse9+ model on the test. Plus in the name implies a version with a large 21.5 kWh battery, which in urban mode gives the motorcycle a range of 420 km. At the time of release, there was not a single electric motorcycle with comparable autonomy, and even now there are a couple of such long-range motorcycles.
Well, since this is the first electric motorcycle that can be used for tourism purposes, they made the Horizon package for it. This whole collective tuning on a motorcycle with windscreen, Givi cases with a separate key, Barkbusters hand guards, etc. - this is not a homemade by owner. The pults are the same - these are standard Italian motorcycle buttons, which can be seen on Aprilia, MV Agusta, and some Zeros. Here they look foreign, and the ergonomics are so-so. Most annoying thing is cruise control on the right pult. To the on button, it is also the speed setting, physically the finger does not reach, while the button still needs to be held down for a second or two to activate.
If recuperation is on, you can’t let go of the throttle even for a second on the road - recuperation is triggered with a strong deceleration, so you have to reach for the right button with your left hand. You are probably wondering if it is already possible to travel on electric motorcycles. Well, from the point of view of a motorcycle that still has one of the longest ranges, I will tell you.
By the way, the new big adventure motorcycle Energica Experia is based on the EsseEsse9+ motor with the same battery, so everything is identical. The main thing you need to know about electric bikes is that range changes catastrophically depending on speed. How, for example, with a 1000 cc internal combustion engine? A motorcycle in the city eats 6 l/100 km, on a quiet highway 5 l, on the highway the same 6 l, and if you go with all the money - well, let it be 8 l. The spread is not so big. Here is the official range stated for the Energica Experia with a huge 22.5 kWh battery by e-bike standards. Oops. Okay - on my Honda Shadow, the tank was enough
for 200 km with a penny, which did not stop me from going to India. But even with these figures, not everything is so simple. I spent a lot of time on Energica in all sorts of tests, and this is what happened. In a European city,
it really travels 400 km, which is stunning compared to other electric motorcycles and scooters - in the city you just forget about charging, like a good touring bike. And here the point is that this model is suitable not only for owners of a garage with a socket, but also for those living in apartments - once a week it is not difficult to go to the charging station. Somewhere at 100-110 km/h, Energica travels 200 km with a penny - also not bad for an electric bike. Do you know how much
the same motorcycle travels at a speed of 140 km/h? Only 100 km. I translate from kilowatts into human language - once every half an hour on the highway you have to stop by for a charging station. And this applies to all electric motorcycles. When you see these magic numbers on the sites, there is still a note somewhere that such a range can be achieved at a speed of 25 km/h in ECO motor mode. I am not exaggerating now.
If there is WMTC standard data, it's a little easier, but you need to know a few nuances. The problem is that you see one WMTC number on the technical sheet, but different motorcycles pass different standards depending on the maximum speed - not real, just declared by the manufacturer. There is a whole range of classes and, for example, motorcycles and scooters with a maximum speed of 115 to 130 km/h pass the WMTC series of tests with an overall average speed of about 45 km/h. And motorcycles with a maximum speed above 130 km/h pass the same tests + their main test, and they have an average speed of about 65 km/h, while small motorcycles have an average speed of 25 km/h. If you figured this out, there is another nuance.
If, for example, you know the WMTC consumption for your motorcycle that was built a few years ago, you cannot compare the figure with the WMTC consumption data for a new motorcycle, because the WMTC tests themselves change quite often. And the speed charts themselves, and the classes of motorcycles - for example, before the most powerful motorcycles were with a maximum speed of 120 km/h, and according to the new rules from 130 km/h, and so on. Most electric vehicles have a rather limited top speed and it's not entirely correct to compare WMTC consumption, for example, an Energica with a top speed of 180 km/h, with a BMW CE 04, which has a top speed of 120 km/h. While I was editing this video, something must have changed in the standard. The WLTP standard, which measures cars, is even funnier. At some point, the Indians said - wait, what do we care about your tests if we drive at other speeds? As a result, there are different WLTP fuel consumption tests for different countries.
With motorcycles, India also asked, as a result, an additional category WMTC was made for weak bikes. What are we talking about? About chargers. Thank God, Energica has really fast charging, which is rare for electric motorcycles.
For motorcycles of a lower class without fast charging, the battery fills up in 5 hours. When you charge at home, it really doesn’t matter if it charges overnight or during the working day. But traveling is more difficult. For example, in the BMW CE 04, even the fast expensive optional charging is much slower than that of Energica, from 0 to 80% it charges more than an hour with a battery capacity that is almost 3 times less than that of Energica.
At the same time, BMW fast charging costs almost 1000 € - you will think 100 times whether such an option is needed. Energica charges a large battery from 0 to 80% in about half an hour. It is clear that I did not discharge at 0, usually about 20% remains, up to 80% stably charges in 25 minutes.
I understand how it sounds - OK, but what's the problem with dropping in to charge for 25 minutes? Drink coffee or have a snack. I'll start from afar. Usually indicate the charging time up to 80%. Because the last 20% of charging is in slow safe mode, these last 20% of both BMW and Energica will charge for another 30-40 minutes. On a real trip, you will be charged up to 80% and leave. And you will start looking for charging not at 0%, but somewhere around 30%.
30 here, 20 there - exactly half the battery you can't use on the trip, so the entire range is reduced by another 2. In real life, it turns out 50-60 km between charges on the highway with a stop for half an hour - the irony is that you are physically spend more time charging than on the highway. It's still talking about the electric motorcycle with the longest range. I don't drink that much coffee. The irony is that Energica, due to its insane weight and good dynamics, like an honest 1000cc, is stable and pleasant at high speed, akin to tourers, but you cannot use this speed. Take off once from the traffic light "Look how I can" - and that's it.
Riding around 80-90 km/h is another story, then it lasts for a long time, but it’s not clear why such power is needed, and there are still a lot of tricks with charging. The very first question is what to do if you still didn’t reach the charge and stood on the road? Where to pour a kilowatt? With an internal combustion engine, you can at least hitchhike to a gas station and return back with a bottle of gasoline, or suck off someone else's gas tank. With the electric - that's all: either a tow truck, or somewhere to find a generator. Electric bikes are also heavier than gasoline analogues, and you won’t push this monster on your hands until charging either. Accordingly, at 30% of the charge,
panic already begins. I have ridden Energica in the Netherlands and Germany. For context, Holland is the third country in the world in terms of the share of electric vehicles, Germany is the fourth, only Norway and Sweden are higher in the ranking. In general, the charging infrastructure in these countries is much better than in the rest of the world.
Chargers all fit, but not all. There are no problems with this, in Google Maps, electric chargers display a supported connector. But there is a nuance that I did not know before. In Spain,
electric transport is not so widely developed, so if there are chargers, they are immediately large with plugs, I have never met without plugs. In Holland, in towns, compact cheap chargers are stuffed in most large parking lots that have no wires, only a socket. With a plug in the Netherlands 1 station to 20 with a socket or something. By car, the wire lies in the trunk and you don’t even think about it. On motorcycles - problem. This is a high-voltage wire
for fast charging - accordingly, the wire itself is thick with two huge plugs, and takes up about a third of a large top case or half of a medium one, while the wire is heavy. And from the weak sockets that are on campsites and in some hotels, you need a different cable, which also takes up a lot of space. Find out if there is a plug or only an outlet on the charger - but in no way, just look through StreetView. You can’t poke into the nearest charger on the map and go without problems if you don’t have a cable with you.
Plus, due to the fact that most charging stations are rather slow, and popular low-cost electric cars themselves are rather slow to charge, the usual scenario for car drivers is this: the car is put on charge, and people go somewhere to eat or go shopping. As a result, even at big charging stations there are situations when there are no free sockets and there are no owners either - everyone goes somewhere. This is a very strange sight - at ordinary gas stations there is always some kind of fuss, people go back and forth. And with charging stations it seems the same, there are cars, but complete silence and no one around.
And you just stand and wait, because it’s not difficult to get to the next charge on a car, and on a motorcycle you may not have enough charge. And on cars, not everything is so simple - I myself saw when all 4 plugs are occupied on fast charging and behind the people in cars are waiting for their turn. Moreover, electric vehicles are the tip of the iceberg, there are also owners of plug-in hybrids - these are the ones that load the infrastructure the most. When buying a full-fledged electric car, a person relies on the fact that he will charge the car in his garage, just charges at night, and he has enough for a couple of days, he can afford not to attach a plug during the day.
Plug-in hybrids can be bought by people who do not have their own garage, and the batteries are enough for 50 kilometers, so the owners generally always occupy outlets near cafes and shops. At the same time, hybrids, most often, have slow sockets, so during lunch in a cafe, they cannot charge the entire battery. If on the internal combustion engine you are not tied to the place where you will have lunch, then on the electric you are specifically tied to places where there are charges, while free. And there are not so many of them so far - even McDonalds does not always have electric chargers and they are quite often busy. Simple math - for example, the nearest McDonalds from me has 80 parking spaces, 2 of them with chargers. With low occupancy, these charges work well during the day, but at rush hour the probability of finding a free charge is close to zero.
At the same time, it is not profitable for the electric company to make many charging stations that will simply stand idle most of the time. The very arrangement of additional charges costs impressive money, this is not to fill the field with asphalt and draw stripes of paint. It will not work like in a supermarket to make dozens of cash desks, and depending on the load, add and remove cashiers.
A very important nuance is that when you travel with an electric motorcycle, you don’t have lunch when you want and where you want, but you adapt to the time when you need to charge the battery and to the place where you can recharge. Or so, I came to the only exercise more or less along the way, with a detour of 20 kilometers, so there is a field around, I can’t even drink coffee. You sit on the curb for half an hour and look in the phone. In the morning I arrived at another charging station with plugs at car dealers area, and it was closed there on the weekend. And that's all. In short, on the electric bikes so far, rather unhurried gastro-tourism than the real one. I do not advise you to pass the Iron Butt standard
on an electric motorcycle. And since we are talking about charging - large electric motorcycles have an auto connector, and weak ones often have a regular C14 connector for 220 V - they are not intended for charging at stations. And one more funny thing - now any passing fool can press the Stop button on the charging terminal while you are having lunch, and an hour is down the drain.
You also need to understand that a large range with good electric motor power comparable to 1000 cc internal combustion engine, not low-power bikes, means that you need to have a large heavy battery, and liquid cooling. Therefore, electric motorcycles for travel, if nothing drastically changes, will be heavy as hell. For example, take EsseEsse9+. It looks like a small naked,
and is perceived as light, but exactly until the moment you need to turn on it. Here is the full-length problem of motorcycles with a very low center of gravity - it stupidly does not turn, as it should in terms of perception and class, you have already tilted it, and this big boy only wants to go forward. A motorcycle with an internal combustion engine of the same size flies into any turn effortlessly, more maneuverable.
There's a lot of weight here. 260 kg without accessories, and the cheaper version without plus weighs 282 kg. And it is very difficult to perceive, because I look at the bike and I see clearly something less than 200 kg. To stop this elephant, there are Brembo brakes with 330 mm discs. What else the manufacturers are cunning about is the silence of the motors. Firstly, all more or less powerful electric motorcycles and electric scooters that I have tried hum during acceleration and deceleration. Sometimes moderately, sometimes unpleasantly.
Energica is completely bad - while riding, there is always a high, loud whistle, as if someone is shouting in your ear. Normal ICE is more pleasant to listen to in most cases. At the same time, I hear this cry, but for others I am invisible. In this sense, I'm much more impressed by small bikes that can be silent. There are models that are completely inaudible in a half-open helmet while riding. Secondly, almost all electric motorcycles are naked or sports bikes, in which the wind already starts annoying at 40 km/h. The level of wind noise on a naked bike still dwarfs the noise of the motor, and all this promotion as a quiet vehicle and reviews is not entirely true unless someone stepped on your ear.
As a result, I experienced the greatest driving pleasure from the Chinese Super Soco CPx electric scooter with windscreen - the motor is not audible at all. Although the windscreen does not fully protect against the wind with my height, it removes the whistle of the wind, it is pleasant to ride at any city speed. Well, the windscreen here can easily be pushed higher, and I like this ergonomics more than typical maxiscooters. Also, unlike any €5,000 electric bike, there's plenty of room for two people with a load.
At the same time, you can buy a version for 2 batteries with a decent range for the city. And, more interestingly, there are quick-release batteries, so theoretically you can use the scooter in some situations when there is no outlet nearby. You will not carry batteries home, because each weighs 18.5 kg, and you also have food in your hands. But this solves the problem if you get up somewhere with an empty battery.
You just pull out the battery, go to the cafe, plug in the charger, and voila. Or, if you don’t have a charger with you, which is hidden under the seat, at least take the bus home. Or, if you arrived at a visit with a running out battery, you can recharge it.
Regarding Energica or Zero, here, of course, the power is back to back with a maximum speed of 90 km/h. And, you know, from the point of view of European urban transport, this is even good - it does not provoke and comfortably travels around the city at legal speeds with a passenger. It's just a technique for a certain rhythm. In my area, everyone rides around the city without gear in open helmets. If you see a dude in black gear in the summer, it means that is traveler or loaded with burgers, Burger King couriers are the only ones who are +35 C in a branded gear. The speeds are different - in European medium-sized cities there are block buildings with narrow streets - there are no such long sections where you can accelerate, and the speed limit is fundamentally different.
Those who rented transport at the resort perfectly represent this rhythm. Yes, even without a resort, you can say Vespa, and a certain atmosphere arises in everyone's heads. It’s just that now the electric scooter has even more of this very feel of summer. By the way, Vespa also has an electric version. The most thrill of an electric motorcycle for me personally is when you ride late at night in the city along small paths, there is no one, and you silently roll with a woman or alone, chat, or just listen to the sea, standing in silence at a traffic light. These are emotions that are closer to riding a bike than riding a motorcycle. And yes, most inexpensive electric scooters are purely urban transport with a maximum speed of 70-90 km/h.
They drive normally in the city, and are sufficient for ordinary European roads, where the limit is very rarely higher than 80 km/h without any +20. Therefore, I don’t suffer at all in terms of power in Europe, even 125cc, and they have nothing to do on the highway. I’ll tell you a secret that I like to ride small-capacity bikes in Spain in the city.
You ride the allowed 40-50 km/h, and it feels like a good speed, you don’t want to do more. When on some 1000 cc - he really cannot keep the speed evenly, a slight movement of the throttle and an excess - you do not ride, but control the speed. Closely such bikes in the city, for my taste.
There is still a nuance - in European countries with category B, you can ride scooters or motorcycles up to 11 kW or 15 HP up to 125 cc. Motorcycles in southern European cities are mostly low-powered, and few people are eager to do exam for a separate category A2, then wait a few years and exam more for A. And whoever examined just buys a separate large motorcycle for traveling, the scooter remains for commuting, because it is more convenient both in terms of weight, dimensions, and fuel consumption, and does not provoke. For the same reason, the BMW CE 04
is also sold in a version under the category A1 or B. Since I started talking about the CE 04, I will share my opinion. He looks really unusual even live. You can't tell from the photos, but it has unusual proportions. Quite low - probably a little lower than regular maxiscooters, or so it seems due to the flat bench, while being longer than maxiscooters and most motorcycles. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the longest scooter in the world.
The CE 04 has an important advantage over other electric scooters - a full-fledged compartment under the seat, which includes any helmet and every little thing. One of the largest spaces near electric bikes, which I saw, however, 2 full-fledged helmets still won't fit. I can’t say that the motor is quiet - it hums, but it’s somehow pleasant, unlike Energica and Zero. I'm not sure that the ergonomics will appeal to fans of maxiscooters - for the sake of style they sacrificed the driver's back - and this is the coolest thing maxiscooters have.
There is an optional seat with a driver's back, but it removes the unusual strict lines, and emphasizes that the passenger is cramped even by the standards of small- capacity maxi-scooters. With this style, you can neither make a backrest for a passenger, nor stick a top case. BMW missed the point of developing a stylish rear case that doubles as a passenger backrest on maxi scooters. Now they offer only their standard scary top box from GS, while it eats up half of the passenger seat - it’s not very clear from the photos, but there really is no place for a passenger with a branded top case. Shad and other manufacturers
offer boxes with a normal fit, but all of these versatile cases look as flawed as possible. Moreover, it's not just about where to put the sausage - there are girls who simply refuse to ride two-wheelers without a backrest because of a sense of danger, but there is no beautiful solution to the problem. In general, it’s strange - helmets and equipment in the CE 04 design were released, but there was no top case. Windscreen, too, for the sake of style, was made a futuristic stump. Against the background of BMW petrol scooters or top-end maxi-scooters, it works quite conditionally. There is a high windscreen option, but it does not look so stylish anymore.
To be honest, Super Soco is more than 2 times cheaper, and in the version with one battery it is literally 3 times cheaper, but I liked it more. Wind protection is comparable, the dynamics are enough for a European city with quarters, the range is somewhere in one league, due to a weak motor, it is more compact, and weighs exactly 2 times less. More like a gadget than a scooter.
The CE 04 also has a problem in terms of urban use - it is a very long vehicle. The length of the bike is just like the Honda Crosstourer, so I can explain firsthand what the problem is, which I realized when I moved to Spain. The fact is that neither the Crosstourer, nor the CE 04, nor the Gold Wing stand perpendicular to a large number of urban parking spaces.
On an ordinary city street, it is quite often impossible to park between cars or in a dedicated motorcycle parking lot - it’s just that the wheel crawls out into the traffic lane by 10 centimeters, and really interferes. Sometimes you have to park 200 meters farther, where it is possible to stand diagonally. A trifle, but can drive you crazy. From the point of view of coolness - for such a price I don’t know such a cool interesting device - all the more, pseudo-caferacers are tired, but here something really fresh in design. And, apparently, BMW very clearly
calculated their audience, for how much people are willing to buy bike for the city. The previous BMW electric scooter, as I understand it, cost a little more and looked like an ordinary maxiscooter. If I went to work every day, it would not be a pity to pay 12,000 € for CE 04. Zeros start somewhere around €16,000 but better come with €20,000, Energica, Livewire and Lightning bikes start at over €20,000. Even the Chinese Alrendo TS Bravo costs 11,000 €.
Of course, there are people who are ready to spend so much money on a toy, but in Europe I see a different picture. Many Europeans can spend more than 20,000 € on a touring large motorcycle, so GS, RT, Multistrada, etc. are willing to buy. However, for the city, the same people buy a compact cheap motorcycle or scooter. Personally, my psychological threshold for a city toy is somewhere around €7,000, but there are probably quite a few people willing to spend €12,000, especially in the Scandinavian countries, where the cost of petrol still comes into play.
Also, in most European countries there are programs to support electric transport, the real price after all payments will not be 12,000 €, but 10-11. And it is very important that Super Soco will lose half of its price in a couple of years, i.e. the point in it is only if you buy and roll it all the way - say, 7 years, until the batteries noticeably degrade. Then we fall into the trap
of cheap electric transport. When you buy a premium motorcycle, the batteries are not so expensive relative to the cost of the model. And 2 new batteries on the Super Soco cost more than half of a new electric scooter.
And the BMW will obviously lose value more slowly, like a regular motorcycle. For example, now 4-5-year-old C Evolutions cost 7-8,000 €. No one will definitely need Super Soco in 10 years, and BMW will still be cool. On the other hand, for 7000 € you can buy a Spanish electric maxi scooter Nerva Exe. Already with a claim to a fast heavy machine, unlike the Chinese for 5000 €.
It's certainly slower, but not in a dramatic way, both have the feel of just comfortable acceleration - about the difference between 650cc and 800cc bikes. That on BMW I unscrewed the throttle all the way, that on Nerva, without the feeling that the wheel would start to slip. Up to 120 km/h that the one that the other accelerates pleasantly and rests on the limiter. Nerva is simpler, but from the point of view of a high-quality maxiscooter for every day, I don’t see a fundamental difference in comfort - more precisely, not by 5000 €, and I even liked Nerva’s wind protection with fit. Yes, BMW has a number of good features - keyless start and the same screen as RT - accordingly, there is navigation with a map, and not miserable arrows, Nerva cannot boast of anything against the background of this magnificence.
The NMC 811 batteries themselves, which are also used in the new BMW iX electric car, are really top-end. This is a fresh generation of lithium-ion batteries, which have been released for just a couple of years, with good capacity per unit of volume and weight, which, in theory, is important for a scooter. And on the other hand, motorcycles are more expensive, such as Zero and Energica, batteries are 2-3 times larger in capacity, purely in terms of capacity, BMW is still closer to scooters for 8000 - it is not possible to move away from the Nerva segment. Here, by the way, is an interesting battle of ideologies. Nerva uses LFP batteries. An LFP from the same manufacturer is being used by Tesla on the brand new Model Y being assembled in Germany. The LFP has a third lower capacity
for weight and volume compared to the batteries used by BMW, but the LFP ideology rests on three whales. The service life is higher - degradation is slower. Disposal of such batteries is more environmentally friendly than NMC. The third whale - LFP batteries are considered safer - in the sense that they are thermally stable, and the risk of fire is much lower if the batteries are physically damaged, for example, during an accident or overcharging. You don’t have to go far, just a month ago, a recall campaign began for BMW iX electric vehicles, which use the same batteries as the CE 04.
The point is that the battery could cause a short circuit with a risk of fire, and no one even beat it - just a production's fail, Samsung screwed up. The NHTSA warning begins: "Affected vehicles are not to be driven or charged and to be parked away from any buildings until been fixed." Both Nerva and BMW give a 5-year warranty on batteries. And if you really get to the bottom of the details - there is something. For example, such a small detail that the BMW brake levers do not have adjustments. You don't expect that on a €12-14,000 scooter. I have always said that
the easiest way to determine the level of components on a motorcycle or bicycle is to look at the brakes. Here we have J.Juan brakes, which are clearly associated with Chinese motorcycles, not premium ones. Let's not play our classic game this time - I'm pointing where BMW is doing the cutting, and you write in the comments that I just can't afford this scooter. I'm not saying that everything is terrible, in the complex it works with dignity on the principle of reasonable sufficiency, adjusted for a purely urban bike. And Nerva's stuffing is no better - I'm talking about where I started the video - it's not quite the same level of components that you expect from gasoline motorcycles for the same money - this applies to all electric scooters, not just BMWs. I won't say that CE 04
is overestimated, the price for the finished product itself is adequate - exactly between low-speed and fast bikes. If we take only premium bikes, CE 04 is clearly cheaper than electric competitors without significant jambs. If a heart beats from such a design, you can take it, I have nothing against it. Claimed acceleration from BMW 2.6 seconds. But up to 50 km/h. Everyone is used to the fact that dynamic
motorcycles accelerate to 100 km/h in 3 seconds, BMW, according to the measurements of journalists, accelerates to 100 km/h in 9 seconds. It sounds so-so, but for a maxiscooter, this is a decent dynamics. Yes, there are faster scooters, even a 20-year-old Tmax is faster, but I was comfortable accelerating. Surprisingly, I defend BMW.
It is worth mentioning that I rode on the stock version, where only weak and Road modes are available. In Road mode, it feels like the power transfer to the wheel is somehow electronically compressed and smoothed out. On electric motors of similar power in sport mode, a little more explosion from the start - there is no such thing here, I almost always started with ful throttle. As usual with BMW, you need to buy a separate package of options with Dynamic mode - I specifically searched, they write that there really is a feeling of a jerk at the start, not only the sensitivity of the throttle changes. Yes, it's air money. Thank you for not having a subscription yet, but the package itself costs only 450 €, and there is also cornering ABS with adaptive light, so for sure most will take it. And I advise you to take with Dynamic,
because Road, unfortunately, does not give a spark - this can be disappointing. BMW has a rather controversial decision - the level of recuperation is for some reason tied to the motor mode. Strong recovery is tied only to a weak Eco-mode - ride it yourself. In other modes of braking
from recuperation, you almost don’t feel it, but you notice that if you had just coasted to a traffic light, you would have stopped a little further. Energica stops itself in such a way that you almost never actually use the brake, and the brake system practically does not require maintenance, and it is convenient to tie it to the most powerful motor mode. BMW is not so, but not to say that it is a minus. Recuperation is not a particularly important element for an electric motorcycle. The range increases a little, but there is an extra buzz, and you won’t let go of the throttle. Saving on the same pads
with the total cost of bike is nonsense. On the other hand, you get used to the recuperation, that this is the brakes - this is more about a lifestyle than about saving. If you own both an electric car and an electric motorcycle with recuperation, that’s it.
I remember the first impression of a gasoline motorcycle after a long Energica test: "Ahh, the brakes fails! Hmm, I need to brake manualy?". Another unusual feature of BMW is the liquid cooling of the motor, such weak electric motors usually have air cooling, which allows you to forget not only about changing oil and spark plugs, but also about antifreeze. Here, most likely, they really wanted a cowled appearance, or they designed the motor as a prototype of a more powerful one, where liquid cooling would already be needed.
Electric motorcycles require less maintenance. You can forget about the filters, oil and antifreeze for most models. Most of the models, except for the strange Chinese, are equipped with a belt or motor-wheel. All this plays a cruel joke with electric motorcycles - the owners stop maintain them. I have met several used electric bikes - and they are all in a rather deplorable state for their age, because they were not serviced at all.
Recently took an 8-year-old Zero for a week. I could take a fresh one, there are quite a lot of them in Spain, but it was interesting to try the old one with all the jambs of the first models. Only 8 years old, and the bike is in a terrible state. The entire suspension is a spring without oil, and after a speed bump, the motorcycle swings back and forth 5-6 times. The brakes are bad, they seem to have 3 steps in work, but the owner says that this is more of a model problem. These spots on the yellow
are not dirt, but the plastic has deteriorated so much. But I can’t tell you what is wrong with the motor and the battery. The owner changed the motor for the Zero recall campaign. There was a problem with the risk of a wedge, and they changed the motors for free, so the engine on this machine is only 4 years old. Plus, the battery was changed 3 years ago -
I don’t remember why. For 3 years, of course, the battery has not yet degraded. By the way, both the old and the new Zero are buzzing. There is a nuance here. With electric motorcycles, such a story - when you ride with an gasoline engine, and change to any electric bike - wow, how quiet and cool.
A week later, you notice how comfortable it is with really quiet electric motors, and how squealing ones begin to strain. It’s hard when you get used to the electric bike, not just test ride, change to an gasoline engine - some kind of endless vibrations, noise, and dips at some speeds and delays in switching are also wildly annoying. On the electric bike, you quickly get used to the only smooth gear without a clutch, and even with DCT shifts are perceived as a rudiment. And also warming up - in the sense
that the first couple of kilometers on a cold internal combustion engine is jerky - especially infuriates when you just need to go 2 km to the store. When compared with small-capacity gasoline vehicles, and this is one category, you definitely don’t want to ride on an internal combustion engine. There are no bottoms, dynamics too, the engine yells and strains during acceleration. Another interesting effect that I experienced after the first long test of an electric motorcycle, switching back to the ICE - the feeling of normality changes and, it turns out, all gasoline engines vibrate. I mean, everything but the BMW opposites.
The main vibrations in the internal combustion engine due to the movement of the pistons in different directions with constant acceleration and deceleration. The heavier the pistons, the stronger the inertia, and the stronger the vibration. The piston flies up by inertia, and some force obliges it to move in the opposite direction, then the piston flies down by inertia, someone pulls it up again - this creates primary vibrations. Second order vibrations are due to the connecting rod.
Again, due to the fact that it does not have a constant rotation, but there are quick accelerations and decelerations. It all adds up to rolling power. No matter what tricks the engineers use, any ICE with pistons on light motorcycles vibrates - less or more. Electric motors are simply induction rotation of the rotor around its axis, so there should be no vibrations at all in the norm. If there are vibrations, then something is broken. Actually, the diagnostics
of electric motors is carried out outside by analyzing vibrations, and the internal combustion engines are all shaking normally. Everyone understands this, but they do not accept it. When you ride a motorcycle with an internal combustion engine, the brain tries to remove the vibrations so as not to pay attention to them, so if there is nothing beyond, it seems that your motorcycle does not have vibrations. It's such a psychological trick. And only after you sit on your motorcycle after a model that vibrates less - then you will feel it. After a long test of an electric
motorcycle, everything vibrates. The brain gets used to the fact that there are no vibrations - this is when they really do not exist - it is simply impossible to distinguish a traveling electric motor from a switched off one, holding the handlebar. After Energica, I returned home on the NC750X - I remember the very first sensations - it hits the kidneys with pistons and threshes my hands into minced meat even at idle, although in reality the NC has a rather soft motor. On the highway, the feeling quickly disappeared, because with the electric bike, road bumps, wind beating, etc. are added anyway. The maximum difference is noticeable in traffic jams. The effect disappears somewhere in a day, if the internal combustion engine seemed soft before, you quickly get used to it. Now, when I periodically
ride both ICE and electric, I completely stopped feeling this transition, changing from one to another, but the transition between silence and noise is still impressive. Why did I get an electric scooter? Now there are quite a lot of normal electric scooters for 5000 - I mean, such that you can ride both a passenger and a load. Motorcycles up to 10,000 € are, firstly, China-China. In Spain they are sold under the brands Ebroh, Zitmuv, Urbet, etc. In Russia, this is sold under the brand name Simargl Elektro. No, maybe there are some good ones, but those that I watched and tried were terrible in quality.
It seems quiet, but from time to time some Chinese sounds - sometimes metallic, then plastic crackles somewhere. The stuffing is all unpretentious, the brakes, as a rule, are not enough, the ergonomics of the buttons and other things are strange. All the jokes with the fact that there is a gas tank larva, and there are just wires sticking out or an empty real tank. Or when you can put a second battery, but it doesn’t work in parallel, you have to manually poke the cable.
I can understand about Europe - like, saving on fuel if you use it every day, especially if the season is all year round, and electric bikes are simply bound to become a popular means of transportation. And the second problem is they are all some kind of copy of 300cc motorcycles, such as Kawasaki Ninja, even if the assembly is more or less good. Yes, power are about 5 kW is sufficient for the city, but in terms of ergonomics on such motorcycles it is inconvenient for an adult, and there is absolutely nothing for a passenger to catch. I tried a lot of this, really all motorcycles are cheaper than 15,000 €, at least in Spain - some kind for kids, and inexpensive scooters are quite comfortable. Perhaps it is worth summing up some results? I am aware that several factors must converge to own an electric bike.
Firstly, you need to live either in your own house, or have a parking lot with the ability to supply electricity. Secondly, the electric bike is the second or third motorcycle, but hardly the only one, otherwise it is difficult to argue with the argument "It would be better if you bought a GS for this money." But when you already have a GS, and even a car, then everything is in order.
Well, there must be some idea for what it is all needed. I found for myself - I like to ride in silence and the feeling of walking. Therefore, I personally like weak, but silent models. With local features - European speeds, plus I do not live in a metropolis, but in a resort town, and, basically, I ride along narrow slow streets. I rode electric motorcycles in large cities, where there are 3 lanes in each direction - there is no special feeling, there is still the noise of a big city, you ride an internal combustion engine or an electric bike - it’s not such a difference, I wouldn’t buy there yet.
Don't feel like depressing the clutch and shifting gears? Any scooter or Honda with DCT is significantly cheaper. Some kind of crazy acceleration? If we are talking about motorcycles simpler, cheaper than 20,000 €, although really fast sports electric bikes easily exceed 40,000 €, you can always buy a more dynamic, smoking motorcycle for the same money. Especially if you ride at high speeds - electric motorcycles are very often blown away after 130 km/h. For example, the old VFR1200F is both an automatic transmission and power. For 8000 can be found in excellent condition. Separately, electric bikes do not give anything like that, but they are already working in the complex.
And it will only get better. I'm looking forward to the electric Triumph, electric novelties from Ducati and Livewire. And then the middle segment will catch up. The only problem is what to do with travel.
You can go the way of increasing the charge speed, and not the way it is now. Or use standard quick-release batteries, on the principle of gas cylinders. Accordingly, you don’t have to wait for a charge, and for long distances you can attach additional batteries instead of cans, but there will be a problem with scammers, because one ordinary battery now costs 1500-2000 €. There will be a heavy class of adventure motorcycles, although so far there is no point in the same Experia, and the batteries are too expensive. Enduro will be too. And now there are viable off-road electric motorcycles with low weight and a range of 50 km. But a full-fledged medium-
sized adventure motorcycle on an electrician of 200 kg with a range on the highway of at least 300 km is an impossible thing with current technologies. It is still not clear what to do with the character of the bikes. Even if you don’t fantasize that some Bosch will simply produce a series of motors, and manufacturers will use them, as happens with suspensions or brakes: Brembo or Nissin - that’s the whole choice. I didn’t take it out of my finger - now Europeans and Indians completely produce various electric scooters based on Bosch electric motors. I speak more globally. As it is with ordinary motorcycles with internal combustion engines - here you have 2, 3 or 4 cylinders with their own chips, here you have low-revs, smooth or high-revs engines. It all vibrates differently,
sounds differently with different exhausts, steers differently with a different center of gravity, etc. This is what we are losing. Already now, if you compare electric motorcycles of the same power, they will ride and feel very similar. Slight difference in sound, that's all. Due to the low center of gravity, they also cause quite similar tumbler sensations when riding. In 15 years, you will probably want to sit on the boxer, spin it up to 5000 rpm, so that it gets right up to the spine, ride 130 meters, cry, what grandfathers rode, and then transfer to a comfortable electric motorcycle.
But for now, you can not choose, but just enjoy life. Subscribe to the channel and stay tuned. Got the pun?
2022-09-04 11:19
