Thoughts on the Z ev

Plus, a scooter can comfortably transport a family of 5.

But back to the electric bikes, I looked at the specs on them (the Z-style and the Ninja-style), and was surprised how mild the numbers appeared. Maybe it's because they couldn't fit enough battery in the false tank to provide both range and horsepower, but it doesn't seem like they're swinging for the fences. I might like an electric bike, but it would be a lot more appealing if it were FAST. If they can't make them perform at least on a par with their internal combustion bikes, I don't think they're going to sell many.

VirusDumb wrote:

Exactly it makes no sense to have a motorcycle EV over a scooter, like why do these even have a tank

Some of ,the current electric bikes have exceptional performance and handling (I'm not a fan but I do "get it") and a dummy tank to house the electronics is nothing new, 1070's Honda gold wing has a dummy tank for electrics and storage (the gas tank is under the seat) as does the pan-European. Buel have a dummy tank to cover the air box and carry the fuel in the frame

Hmmm, I could go for Pierre Terblanche's electric motorcycle but that thing ain’t gonna be cheap. He has the right idea though. Just bungee a plastic milk crate to the back and you could commute on it.
And yes, I was one of the handful of people that actually liked the 999. The original was designed to look like an Art Deco era train. How cool is that? I even sat on one at a show. Extremely uncomfortable, that part was not cool.

Here in the central US there are areas where a 250cc scooter or motorcycle, especially an electric motorcycle, would be impractical owing to the huge wide open spaces we have here. I mean there are whole highways running straight as an arrow where you won’t see another vehicle for a couple of hours. On a cross country motorcycle trip I was on such a highway where after a couple of hours I pulled to the side of the road to call back home to see if there was some sort of disaster or WW3 started. It was eerie. I’m serious, I called.

Id say the minimum horsepower motorcycle you would need to comfortably ride this entire country, without blowing it up, would be 60 rwhp. No way would an electric motorcycle suffice. In the city, yes.

Take a look at the below link, if you've got the money then north of 200mph  is available right now and instant torque from standstill comes with all of them

www.makeuseof.com/fastest-electric-motorcycles-for-sale/

blipco wrote:

Hmmm, I could go for Pierre Terblanche's electric motorcycle but that thing ain’t gonna be cheap. He has the right idea though. Just bungee a plastic milk crate to the back and you could commute on it.And yes, I was one of the handful of people that actually liked the 999. The original was designed to look like an Art Deco era train. How cool is that? I even sat on one at a show. Extremely uncomfortable, that part was not cool.Here in the central US there are areas where a 250cc scooter or motorcycle, especially an electric motorcycle, would be impractical owing to the huge wide open spaces we have here. I mean there are whole highways running straight as an arrow where you won’t see another vehicle for a couple of hours. On a cross country motorcycle trip I was on such a highway where after a couple of hours I pulled to the side of the road to call back home to see if there was some sort of disaster or WW3 started. It was eerie. I’m serious, I called.Id say the minimum horsepower motorcycle you would need to comfortably ride this entire country, without blowing it up, would be 60 rwhp. No way would an electric motorcycle suffice. In the city, yes.





This is my long distance bike, a 94' Kawasaki ZG 1000 Concours. It was purpose built for sport touring and does it really well. I've done a few mods to make it even better, like Progressive fork springs, a ZZR 1200 shock, a Clearview windscreen with a Goldwing vent, fork brace, an EBC big brake kit and a set of Shouldabeen Eng. torque cams.

Now if I shift at 8k rpms to keep it in the torque curve my buddy's FJR 1300 and my brother's C 14 Concours can't catch me until I'm doing between 80mph and 90mph. It has serious range with a 7.5 gallon tank.

Even though it weighs 700lbs and is really top heavy with a full tank once rolling the weight disappears and the bike thinks it's a Ninja. I only weigh 125lbs so the bike has no idea that I'm there. It handles really well considering it's a big beast but I can ride it every day on a two week road trip and feel fine at the end of every day.  In 2019 we rode 1400 miles to Deadwood SD in 2 days and went riding for fun the next day. Kawasaki built them like a tank.





 

Some of ,the current electric bikes have exceptional performance and handling (I'm not a fan but I do "get it") and a dummy tank to house the electronics is nothing new, 1070's Honda gold wing has a dummy tank for electrics and storage (the gas tank is under the seat) as does the pan-European. Buel have a dummy tank to cover the air box and carry the fuel in the frame

But on the electric motorcycles they aren't doing any of that, the fake tank is just there to make it look like a motorcycle, it's better to design them to not look like fuel powered motorcycles with entirely new look, Or Just make em look like vintage drag bikes which have no tank 

VirusDumb wrote:

Some of ,the current electric bikes have exceptional performance and handling (I'm not a fan but I do "get it") and a dummy tank to house the electronics is nothing new, 1070's Honda gold wing has a dummy tank for electrics and storage (the gas tank is under the seat) as does the pan-European. Buel have a dummy tank to cover the air box and carry the fuel in the frame

But on the electric motorcycles they aren't doing any of that, the fake tank is just there to make it look like a motorcycle, it's better to design them to not look like fuel powered motorcycles with entirely new look, Or Just make em look like vintage drag bikes which have no tank 

I don't want to be argumentative but in the below example there seems to be quite a lot going on under the "dummy tank" most motorcycles don't have the real estate to waste space

 

The kind of connected to the seat/body looks cool but I'm really disappointed with Kawasaki not distinguishing their electric motorcycles from the Gas powered ones

VirusDumb wrote: But on the electric motorcycles they aren't doing any of that, the fake tank is just there to make it look like a motorcycle…

Zero Motorcycles has a storage locker on nearly every model.

Stereordinary wrote:

VirusDumb wrote: But on the electric motorcycles they aren't doing any of that, the fake tank is just there to make it look like a motorcycle…

Zero Motorcycles has a storage locker on nearly every model.

Wow I didn't really know that 
 

VirusDumb wrote:

The kind of connected to the seat/body looks cool but I'm really disappointed with Kawasaki not distinguishing their electric motorcycles from the Gas powered ones

i understand what you are saying, I suspect the marketing folks are convinced that the ev will be more widely accepted by riders if it has a familiar look and operates similarly to the fossil fuel models. Radically different designs often sell poorly. 

TexasKZ wrote:

 Radically different designs often sell poorly. 
 

Akira would beg to differ...  if a manufacturer made this as an EV, I'd pay top dollar.