Articles tagged with motorcycle

BMW owned Husqvarna has unveiled its own concept electric motorcycle the 'Concept E-go bike'.  Despite the high-seat off-road appearance the E-go is shod with street tyres and according to the press release is aimed at 'young riders of the future'.  Sadly Husqvarna seem to be a bit shy about giving away any specifications at this stage (other than weight; 80 kg) but based on their heritage we hope it will be fast an fun.  I have to say that one phrase in the press release did raise my eyebrow; "urban traffic will seem like a videogame that will be fun and easy to skilfully nE-gotiate". More »

Talk about shaking things up. Until now we've really only ever thought of electric vehicles as being single or perhaps two-speed (thanks to instant torque and high RPMs). Just to keep us on our toes Brammo has today announced two new electric motorcycles which feature a hydraulic clutch and a six-speed gearbox (from Italian company SMRE Engineering). The Engage dirt bike will be available as MX motorcross (offroad; $9,995), SMR supermoto (onroad; $9,995) and SMS supermoto (road legal; $11,995). The Encite MMX Pro is a hardcore racing version of the Engage which hasn't yet been given a price. SMRE has designed its Integrated Electric Transmission (IET) gearbox from scratch to give the same feel as a traditional gearbox but specifically for use with electric vehicles.More »

Quebec based LITO has revealed the amazing looking SORA electric superbike.  The SORA combines a lightweight aluminium chassis, CVT transmission and liquid-cooled 3-phase electric motor to deliver 960 Nm (708 lbft) of torque at the wheel and a top speed of 120 mph (200 kph).  Energy comes from a 12 kWh lithium-polymer battery which provides a range of up to 300 km (185 miles) and can be charged from a standard J1772 connector.  Also onboard is an advanced 5.7" touch screen digital display with speed, battery level, warnings, GPS navigation and communication.  Naturally for such a cutting edge creation the SORA doesn't come cheap at C$42,399 (US$43,930) but you have to admit it's probably the meanest looking electric superbike to date.  UPDATED: Additional photos courtesy of LITO (thanks!).

According to Pike Research (the 'clean tech' research company) the number of electric motorcycles and scooters worldwide are set to boom to 137 million in the next six years (an average compound annual growth rate of 25%).  This new data has been published in their (paid-for-only) study "Electric Motorcycles and Scooters".  “Electric motorcycles and scooters have strong appeal for many consumers,” says senior analyst Dave Hurst.  “They are relatively low cost to own, do not take a lot of space, and are easy to maintain, therefore making them attractive for city dwellers.  Governments also like these vehicles because they can utilize existing transportation and electricity infrastructure without the congestion problems and emissions impacts of conventional automobiles.”

Zero Motorcycles has announced a completely revamped range of electric motorcycles for 2011.  The new range (available in March) has a number of significant changes included new brakes and support for J1772 public charging stations.  Other new features include belt drives for Zero's street orientated S and DS models and 12.5% more capacity from their batteries (now a rated 58 mile range).  Also new are street versions of the X and MX trail bikes which means you can now ride to the trail before hitting the dirt.  Both the S and DS models are eligible for a federal tax grant of 10% of the purchase price, this also applies to the street versions of the X and MX.More »

Brammo has today revealed the Empulse 'trio' of motorcycles which will all do more than 100 mph and come in three different sizes of (water cooled) battery packs; the Empulse 6.0 ($10K, 6 KWh, 60 miles), 8.0 ($12K, 8 KWh, 80 miles) and the range topping 10.0 ($14K, 10 KWh, 100 miles).  Due to ship next year the Empulse has roughly the same power as a 600 cc motorbike but more torque.

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