Re: Electric Motorcycles

["David M. Stensland" <stensland@peakpeak.com>]

> Don Powell wrote:
>
> > Well I'm still too far away from buying an EV so I started
> > thinking about Electric Motorcycles (my commute is only ~30
> > miles roundtrip but with 45mph (actually closer to 60) speeds.
> >
> > Does anyone know where to find Ecycles available for sale?
> > I've looked at eserati.com but it looks like they still are
> > not selling.  ecycle.com does not appear to exist any longer.
> >  I also could not find any listed on Ebay.
> >
> > Let me know if anyone knows of others out there.
>
> Hi Don,
>
> The only ones I know of you didn't mention are Lectra
> http://www.motorbike.org/ and Denali http://www.denalicycles.com/.  The
> Lectra seems to be almost but not quite up to your requirements.  See
> the range simulator and the page on speed vs. gearing.  Denali is
> working on a road bike called the Commuter
> http://www.denalicycles.com/Commuter.htm with a 50 mile range, but its
> top speed is only 23 mph.
>
> For your speed requirements I think the best choice is a motorcycle
> conversion.  For a car, 30% of your total vehicle weight in batteries
> gives you around the 30 miles you need.  For a motorcycle you'll need a
> higher percentage (include the rider's weight) due to the higher aero
> drag.  I think when you run the numbers you'll find a big road bike is
> your best bet - built for 700-800+ lbs rolling weight, maybe 200 lbs
> with the drivetrain stripped out, leaving you 300-400 lbs for motor,
> batteries and associated bits.  My personal choice would be a Kawasaki
> ZX-9, 10 or 11.

Don't know where you are, but how about this 1994 Kawasaki 500 - Electric
Motorcycle?
http://www.devc.org/classifieds.html

Please contact the seller, Carl Lawrence, via email if you're interested.
His email address is Carl@EnergySense.com

-Dave Stensland
Mead, Colorado