PAULBACH
New member
A friend from Australia sent me this link. I always like a story that's current.
The original story is here.
Electric Motorcycles: Cool and Green
There's nothing wrong with "cool", and we have to admit that few vehicles are cooler than motorcycles (at least in theory - not all of us would ride one). You're basically sitting on an engine with wheels. Can't get much simpler than that. They're not always practical, but the people who love their bikes really love them.
But cool is not enough. The vast majority of motorcycles are still running on fossil fuels, and that's a problem. As battery technology improves, we're starting to see more electric motorcycles: Some are commercially available, many are DIY custom jobs. Today we look at some of the coolest ones.
Electric Motorcycle No Need for Gasoline
Photo: evahakansson.se
The bike in the first photo at the top is Electrocat, and the rider is Eva H?Ñkansson. We're starting with her because she is a true pioneer in the world of electric motorcycles (she describes herself as a "hardcore 'EV geek' with a green heart and passion for power and speed.").
She has built Electrocat with her father, Sven H?Ñkansson, and it is probably the first street-legal electric motorcycle in Sweden. It is based on a Cagiva Freccia C12R model year 1990, but the insides are pure electric goodness.
Electric Motorcycle Batteries and electric motor photo
Photo: evahakansson.se
In the picture above you can see the Electrocat's "Thunder Sky litihum-iron-phosphate cells and the original Briggs & Stratton Etek motor". The blue box is the Alltrax AXE7245 controller. Charging takes half an hour on a powerful garage charger (longer with the smaller onboard charger - about 7 hours) and range is 80 km (50 miles) per charge at 70 km/h (44 mph).
You can learn more about the Electrocat on Eva's great website.
The original story is here.
Electric Motorcycles: Cool and Green
There's nothing wrong with "cool", and we have to admit that few vehicles are cooler than motorcycles (at least in theory - not all of us would ride one). You're basically sitting on an engine with wheels. Can't get much simpler than that. They're not always practical, but the people who love their bikes really love them.
But cool is not enough. The vast majority of motorcycles are still running on fossil fuels, and that's a problem. As battery technology improves, we're starting to see more electric motorcycles: Some are commercially available, many are DIY custom jobs. Today we look at some of the coolest ones.
Electric Motorcycle No Need for Gasoline
Photo: evahakansson.se
The bike in the first photo at the top is Electrocat, and the rider is Eva H?Ñkansson. We're starting with her because she is a true pioneer in the world of electric motorcycles (she describes herself as a "hardcore 'EV geek' with a green heart and passion for power and speed.").
She has built Electrocat with her father, Sven H?Ñkansson, and it is probably the first street-legal electric motorcycle in Sweden. It is based on a Cagiva Freccia C12R model year 1990, but the insides are pure electric goodness.
Electric Motorcycle Batteries and electric motor photo
Photo: evahakansson.se
In the picture above you can see the Electrocat's "Thunder Sky litihum-iron-phosphate cells and the original Briggs & Stratton Etek motor". The blue box is the Alltrax AXE7245 controller. Charging takes half an hour on a powerful garage charger (longer with the smaller onboard charger - about 7 hours) and range is 80 km (50 miles) per charge at 70 km/h (44 mph).
You can learn more about the Electrocat on Eva's great website.