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[Bertie the Bullet]

Had a go on a Zero electric motor bike yesterday, does 90 flat out, 0 to 60 in around 3 seconds, no vibration, no noise, no gears or clutch, fantastic fun, but at £12k I won't be trading Bertie in for some time yet..
Just enjoy the ride

[jfw]

You going to start looking at the washing machine and pondering?

There's a lot of stuff out there on the Internet on making them and I keep thinking that it's when rather then if. When being after all the other projects.

[Alan R]

---------WOW !!! I've just watched the promo. vid }-----http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/uk/?video ---- and that would make an ideal ride-to-work, 24/7 bike releasing the petrol machine for the week-end/Holiday functions. I'd love to see the Tech. Specs on the motor. & Battery. Yes, of course the initial production machines will be expensive----so were the first Biro pens (my late Uncle was involved with their early production)---but if we all give this sort of enterprise the support it deserves then they will become affordable. I WANT ONE-----but I CAN'T AFFORD ONE (yet). Now to watch that promo. vid again--------------yee-har or what ??

[Les H]

http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/uk/zero- ... .......for Alan R

[MadMike]

Oh dear electric bikes. Now I am not a luddite, BUT, there is no real use for an electric bike until they can give us a range of say 150 to 200 miles followed by an immediate "energy top up". If I had one of the current crop of electrics then I could just about arrive at my friends houe in Derbyshire, from my place in Leicestershire, but could not make a return journeyfor about 6 or 8 hours!!! It is a fact that electric supply systems using current tchnology have no real future. For battery/alternative energy bikes to work then we, the human race, have to identify and develop a new power source. I know that a bike with a 60 mile range may be OK for local commuting but I personally do not believe that we are going to drag man out of his tin box.....particularly in the winter. Remember that battery manufacture with current technology is not environmentally friendly and uses too many of the earths rare metal resources. The cost of replacing batteries every couple of years is also prohibitive. Ever had a battery go flat overnight after the onset of the cold weather? I have, despite regular battery maintenance. Just imagine what that would be like if it was the motive power source that did that to you and you had to go to Halfords for a replacement....."That will be £3500 please sir, would you like to borrow the fork lift to get it to your bike?" No batery development as we know it is a dead end. We need an alternative. Anybody got any ideas?

[Midge]

Ideas? Well how about a Nuclear Battery like the one powering the Mars Explorer. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisoto ... _generator - There might be some 'green' issues though!

[Paul M H]

Well Actually there's experimental Battery's in development at present that can be dump charged with a special high rate charger in less than three minuets to fully charged state. But the draw back is there not stable yet and sometimes exploded when dump charging takes place. When they get it right which will happen in a few years you will have filling stations with dump pumps to Fast charge these batteries and they will last aprox 200 miles between charges. You can then top them up at home but at a much lower & slower rate.

[Bertie the Bullet]

The salesman claimed 1.5 hours full charge from flat using the built in charger, and about 900,000 miles until battery requires changing, havnt checked these figures for accuracy but have my doubts, also 120 mile range. Never the less it was great fun to ride, if I had 12k to burn could think of worse ways to waste it..

[Riggers]

I'm with Mad Mike on this one, but would also say that I don't believe we'll EVER see electric bikes on our roads in their masses. Reason being that by the time they're anywhere near ready the government or the EU (same thing) will have banned all bikes from public roads. For years now they've been chipping away at making biking more and more difficult and expensive (and are having another go next year), and they won't stop until the final solution. I don't like tobacco smoke but we've seen the same thing there, and a total ban can't be too far away now. And we're starting to see the same process at work with alcohol - how long before glasses in pubs bear a health warning, if there are any pubs left after the rate they're closing. Then pictures of rotting livers on plain white cans of Carling at 10 quid each. It's almost impossible for youngsters to ride decent bikes already, given a few more years and we'll all be in sat-nav guided tin cans sans any control whatsoever. Enjoy every minute while you can!

[MadMike]

Bertie old thing.....do the maths. How many amps are required to fully charge the system in 1.5 hours???? 900000 miles at 3000 per annum? Thats 300 years. I really do believe that. They are preaching to the gullible I feel.