Quote Originally Posted by unsub View Post
I don't know. How hard is it to push a 900 pound motorcycle that's run out of gas, or a 1.5 ton car?

"up to" would depend on how hard you are on the throttle, or power, in this case. I haven't been keeping up to date with Zero but I remember they did offer different models with various battery configurations and types of quick charging.

Electric technology admittedly is still not fully developed by any of the current vehicle manufacturers, nor is it within the reach of the average consumer so likely you can't afford it as an experiment. I mentioned before they're not cheap.

So, IMO they're probably not for use as a primary vehicle unless you're in an urban setting but they are the best example yet of how electric technology can be applied to motorcycles.

Thanks Vstar from bringing up the topic.
They do have various modes. Sport is the highest performance, but, as you can guess, shortest range. They also have Normal and Economy IIRC. One more setting - Custom. You can program the computer with a smartphone app to tailor the performance characteristics to your liking. Electric power makes this option much easier for the manufacturer and offers more specific programming then throttle-by-wire with a gasoline engine.

We have pretty much maximized the efficiency and output of the 100+ year old internal combustion engine. It is on the cusp of being obsolete. The best it can do is to deliver about 30% of the incoming energy to power the wheels. The rest is lost.

I hope battery technology can become viable enough to support cars and motorcycles with a 1000 mile range that require charging only once or twice per month. I have already gone to a battery powered weedwacker and soon a lawnmower (for limited use).