What are the electric options?

[fullscreenaging]

7 minutes ago, fastbob said:

Sounds good . You will pay a Farrier , a Vet , a Cartwright and a Wheelwright to name but a few . You will also need to pay for vetinary insurance , grazing and  livery and if we all follow your lead , we will need  an army of people to scrape up all the shit from the roads . 

Plus you can recycle a horse. 

[Six30]

1 hour ago, fastbob said:

Sounds good . You will pay a Farrier , a Vet , a Cartwright and a Wheelwright to name but a few . You will also need to pay for vetinary insurance , grazing and  livery and if we all follow your lead , we will need  an army of people to scrape up all the shit from the roads . 

Trading the Harley in for something electric then are we , do do your bit for the planet ?

[fastbob]

1 hour ago, Six30 said:

Trading the Harley in for something electric then are we , do do your bit for the planet ?

Absolutely not , I think this electric vehicle thing is the biggest con going . This thing will run out of resources quicker than the oil . 

[ttxela]

I have a bit of experience with electric bikes, albeit mine was a Super Soco TS so more of a 50cc equivalent really (although it was an older model so could be derestricted with a mysterious combination of headlight on and off whilst twisting the throttle and would then reach the heady speed of 45mph!). I bought it as a way of commuting to work as cheaply as possible and it was absolutely great for that. My commute is about 15 miles and the battery would be between 30% and 55% capacity when I arrived meaning I'd have to charge it up again at work for the return journey. No worries as it easily removes from the bike. The charger was noisy though so had to be used in the workshop rather than at my desk. It really was pretty much free once I'd bought the bike. After all work paid for at least half my commuting, 0 tax and very little insurance, no maintenance to speak of beyond brakes & tyres.

 

The downside was limited range, even a minor deviation from my regular commute such as to pick up some shopping in town or visit a mate ran the risk of running flat. Acceleration was woeful, the one part of my commute where I had to turn onto a busy road I had to wait for such a large gap that I'm sure folk wondered what I was up to - the styling of the bike indicated to the casual uninformed observer that it was some sort of futuristic superbike, I had several comments when it was parked along the lines of 'that must be fast'.

 

When looking to trade up I did buy the 125cc petrol bike I have now, Super Soco do a 125cc equivalent but the range isn't that much better (60 miles quoted but users report 40-45miles usable range) and it was getting on for £5k. At the weekend I visited my parents in Ipswich, a 140mile round trip, would have been tricky/impossible on the electric equivalent.

 

I do think they'll improve rapidly though and I wouldn't write off getting another in future.

[Essem]

3 hours ago, fastbob said:

Absolutely not , I think this electric vehicle thing is the biggest con going . This thing will run out of resources quicker than the oil

Whether electric is a viable solution remains to be seen, but we have to do something to stop cooking the planet. 

[Pie man]

Slightly but there has been an interesting announcement in the boiler manufacturing industry. The Big 4 boiler manufacturers committing that hydrogen ready boilers will cost no more and 1 hour labour to convert and could use existing pipework, appears it would certainly be far more affordable than GSHP or ASHP.

  

[Steve_M]

43 minutes ago, Pie man said:

Slightly but there has been an interesting announcement in the boiler manufacturing industry. The Big 4 boiler manufacturers committing that hydrogen ready boilers will cost no more and 1 hour labour to convert and could use existing pipework, appears it would certainly be far more affordable than GSHP or ASHP.

  

They’re carrying out tests to assess the suitability of hydrogen just up the road from here, at Spadeadam.
 

I hope it’s an easy conversion from LPG as we have a monster of a tank in the garden and I sure don’t want the expense of replacing it. 

[Pie man]

5 minutes ago, Steve_M said:

They’re carrying out tests to assess the suitability of hydrogen just up the road from here, at Spadeadam.
 

I hope it’s an easy conversion from LPG as we have a monster of a tank in the garden and I sure don’t want the expense of replacing it. 

Oh dear - I think there could be a slight problem there! 

[Bender]

The problem with NG to hydrogen mix is its one or the other. 

 

Your looking at new meters, your old meter is defunct. Fire useless, back boiler?, oven/hob may be conversable, so the 1hr for the boiler turned into half a day and you and every person in your area of grid switched on same day, needs to be done and purged, it's a nightmare 

[Pie man]

Currently they mix NG and Hydrogen 80%/20% on a blending trial. Back boilers, are there still many around  (I know there probably is but in reality they should be replaced)   

 

[Pbassred]

The argument that; using the earth natural recources to create jobs solely to sustain other jobs is beneficial to the economy, is nonsense.  What if we didn't do that?  We wouldn't be paying people to do those jobs.  We wouldn't have to work to earn the money to pay people to do things that don't need to be done.  We could instead, work less hours for the same standard of living minus the wear and tear.

 

Example: I have a job that was 40miles away I worked our that it cost me around £3500 a year to commute, but to earn that money I needed to earn even more to pay the income tax.  I took a job 2 miles away that paid £4000 less.  I ended up with more disposable income, 7 hours a week more free time, and fitter.  All this by eliminating work that didn't need to be done.

 

I notice the quoted guy who suports the argument works for a bank!

 

Back on topic; Electric bikes are here to stay but they don't make the bikes that suit their advantages.  What would sell?  Low power, short range scooters for office comutes, delivery riders, local shopping.  There is a market for low running cost, low maintenance transport, but manufacturers are focused on trying to out sport the sports bike.  I recall that the largest selling bike of all time is the Honda C90 they should make the E90.

[Essem]

1 hour ago, Pbassred said:

I notice the quoted guy who suports the argument works for a bank!

Why anyone would give weight to an economists view on the science behind what is happening to the climate is beyond me.

[Bender]

11 hours ago, Pie man said:

Currently they mix NG and Hydrogen 80%/20% on a blending trial. Back boilers, are there still many around  (I know there probably is but in reality they should be replaced)   

 

The mix is an attempt to stretch it out till they can work out if full hydrogen is possible, would be great for filling up fuel cell car or bike  

[dynax]

Going back to EV's and more specifically cars, has anyone considered their practicality during the winter months.

We don't get particularly bad winters anymore but there are the odd days that do get quite bad, how will the range be affected by the battery performance when all the lights and the heating and everything else is switched on, the lights fair enough are LED's so not particularly current draining but the heating, heated windows and seats and wipers, all these will drain and how will the cold affect the batteries

[dynax]

Another point, are people really going to bother plugging them in to charge when it's blowing a blizzard after coming home from picking up the kids or doing the shopping,  I can foresee a huge amount of stranded cars and people who have run out of power

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, dynax said:

Another point, are people really going to bother plugging them in to charge when it's blowing a blizzard after coming home from picking up the kids or doing the shopping,  I can foresee a huge amount of stranded cars and people who have run out of power

 

I'm sure wireless charging will be the norm  

[fullscreenaging]

5 minutes ago, Stu said:

 

I'm sure wireless charging will be the norm  

Then you’ll get some f**ker hacking into your home charger to charge their car for free!

[Stu]

1 minute ago, fullscreenaging said:

Then you’ll get some f**ker hacking into your home charger to charge their car for free!

 

I am sure there will be plenty of solutions available to stop that 

 

Even just a simple timer so it charges overnight would work if that suits 

[fullscreenaging]

17 minutes ago, Stu said:

 

I am sure there will be plenty of solutions available to stop that 

 

Even just a simple timer so it charges overnight would work if that suits 

I like your optimism.

[Stu]

7 minutes ago, fullscreenaging said:

I like your optimism.

 

 

[dynax]

Still have the problem with on street parking and the suitability of being able to have a charging point, the current percentage for off street parking in the whole of GB is 65%, but out of that what percentage don't own cars so the percentage is even less, and I would Guesstimate that is probably fifty fifty of the uk population who drive have off street parking available to them https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/mobility#a8

People will soon get a reality check when their EV's are not as an attractive option and are a lot harder to maintain than they realise.

Edited August 6, 2021 by dynax

[Bender]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

 

 

Just turn the supply off inside the house 

[Pie man]

45 minutes ago, Bender said:

Just turn the supply off inside the house 

c'mon that's too easy. You would have thought someone develops an app to operate home charging point and car in unison, charging unit wont work on any other car unless connected to the app. Your app then tells you when car is fully charged or not etc. Oh wait.......

[Bender]

14 minutes ago, Pie man said:

c'mon that's too easy. You would have thought someone develops an app to operate home charging point and car in unison, charging unit wont work on any other car unless connected to the app. Your app then tells you when car is fully charged or not etc. Oh wait.......

Cable theft will be a bigger problem  

[TimR]

Petrol crisis? What petrol crisis? Electric motorcyclist circumnavigates Britain for £19!

Doncaster man Curt Langan completes 5000 mile trip in 21 daysZero S motorcycle delivers up to 160 miles between rechargesJust £18.69 spent on electricity at public charging posts

 

September 30, 2021: Britain may be in the midst of a fuel supply crisis, but that didn’t affect motorcyclist Curt Langan as he completed his 21-day, 5000 mile, clockwise circumnavigation of the nation on his all-electric Zero S.

 

The Doncaster man set off on the challenge on September 9, departing from the south side of the Humber Bridge, and yesterday he and the Zero were back were it all began, albeit with 5010 miles under their wheels.

 

Curt, a former top motorcycle racer, has completed a number of epic adventures in recent years, including a 5000 mile rail journey to Russia and a challenge to reach the most northern, southern, eastern and western points of the United Kingdom by bicycle, which inspired his electric motorcycle ride.

 

Curt’s Zero was a production 11kw S model, meaning that it can be ridden by riders as young as 17-years-old, and had just a few practical modifications for the journey. From Zero’s official accessory range, the motorcycle was fitted with a Charge Tank, allowing it to be quickly recharged using public charging points, a touring screen, rear luggage case and a USB charging socket, which kept Curt’s smartphone charged during the day. Sponsors Bikerheadz supplied waterproof riding gear and soft luggage, while a gel seat pad allowed him to complete up to 300 miles on his longest days. The bike performed impeccably, with only a rear puncture slowing progress and requiring a tyre change in Wales.

 

Langan’s journey was possible thanks to the UK’s comprehensive public charging network, which has chargers readily available at over 16,000 locations, around double the number of traditional fuel stations in the country. The Zero was able to be fully charged in around two hours using the many free 7kw charging posts.

 

Speaking about his trip, Curt said: “I’ve done similar journeys on bicycles before, so was able to plan it quite well. The bike has proved a great little workhorse and allowed me to stick to my schedule. I put the screen and gel seat on for my own comfort, and I tried to keep the luggage inline and behind me to keep drag to a minimum. The tyres are a bit worn out now, and I ended up with a puncture in Wales. I still managed 250 miles that day but had to keep stopping at garages. Ispent more on air that day than I did on electricity!

 

“The charging infrastructure is definitely there. Chargers are in out of the way places but in most towns you have two or three places to charge and a few times I found brand new posts which had just been put in and weren’t even on the apps. I found the Tesco chargers, run by Pod Point, to be the best, they were easy to find, reliable and completely free to use. In my whole trip I only found one charger that was out of order and, even then, there was a working one right next to it.

 

“I rode mostly on B roads and unclassified roads. Typically I was getting between 120 and 130 miles between recharges, although one day I saw 160 miles in Cornwall thanks to the battery regeneration I was able to get going down the hills. It’s nice that people were interested and I struck up a lot of conversations while charging. There were some common questions, the biggest one being about the range, but also price and charging time. A lot of people didn’t even know that electric motorcycles existed. They do now!”

 

Dale Robinson, Zero Motorcycles UK’s Country Manager, added: “We’re really proud of Curt’s achievement and believe he’s the first person to circumnavigate the island with an electric vehicle of any kind. The purpose was to show that not only are our electric motorcycles capable of racking up the miles, but that it’s incredibly easy too. Curt spent a couple of weeks living with the bike before undertaking the journey and quickly adapted to EV best practices. He was able to take advantage of free charging at supermarkets and at his overnight stops, where he was able to plug into a regular wall socket, and amazingly the total cost of electricity he had to pay for was just £18.69!”

 

About the Zero S

The Zero S is a fully-electric motorcycle from Californian company Zero Motorcycles.

 

With a standard 14.4kwh battery, it is capable of travelling up to 178 miles between recharges and can be ridden by experienced riders and learners (after completion of the compulsory basic training) alike. It has a top speed of 86mph and virtually maintenance free running.

 

Zero motorcycles are eligible for a £1500 Plug In Electric Vehicle grant, reducing the price to £12,910, while low deposit and 0% finance are currently available until the end of 2021.

 

For information on Zero S finance options, please visit: https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/en-gb/financing

 

For general information on Zero motorcycles, please visit: www.zeromotorcycles.com/uk