Electric Euro Scooters We Can't Have #2: Motorman

[Yesterday's post was about the electric Schwalbe - a vintage scooter retrofit to be electric.]

The Motorman was a slow burn when I first saw it - it was just too simple, too European, and too expensive. It took me a while to figure out how beautiful that simple part is.

And it's hard to figure out what it is. It sure doesn't look like a scooter. It's not a moped or electric bicycle - it has no pedals. Really, when you get down to it, it's the distillation to the simplest of motorcycles (but most people won't see, hear, or smell the motor.)

The Motorman is the design of Ronald Meijs, a Dutch designer who set out to build a basic and beautiful eco-friendly urban transportation. He took styling inspiration from the American board track racers of 100 years ago.

The Wired Article from 2015

(Lots of Mesquite Hugger motivation in the first paragraph.)

(Just ignore the last paragraph's coming to America theme.)

Frame, hub motor, wheels, brakes, and a seat. What could be simpler? No pedals. No chain. No gears. No clutch. Easy to clean, Easy to maintain. Easy to charge. Even easy to haul - it's only 99 pounds.

Just plug and charge

Don't let the numbers bother you - you can't buy it over here anyway.

Do I want a Motorman - oh yeah! But not in Euro-spec. I would want it to be a simple motorcycle capable of somewhere around 45 mph, which should be pretty attainable. But then I'd probably want to mess it up by adding things like suspension and a cushy seat.

How about you? Do you find appeal in this stripped down machine? May you find a scoot that avoids that Wired article's first paragraph!

PS. If you want a cool electric moped-ish machine that you can buy here, be sure to check out Monday Motorbikes - straight out of San Francisco!

2016 National Drive Electric Week in Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene, Odessa-Midland, and Wichita Falls!!!

National Drive Electric Week 2016 is September 10-18.

 

We may need a bigger battery pack! (Click the map to find an event near you.)

 

May we find what we are looking for and may it be healthier for us all!

 

PS - More NDEW news to come, but no events.

Why I write so little about Electric Motorcycles

I was updating the Electric Motorcycles link page and noticed (once again) that I seldom write about electric motorcycles. It always surprises me. I write about bicycles, electric bicycles, electric scooters, electric mopeds, and electric cars fairly often, but I rarely find myself inspired to write about electric motorcycles. I guess I got it out of my system before I started blogging. And for me, they don't make that much sense. It may also be that I live in a flat, boring place that does not inspire one to ride that much.

Getting it out of my system:

This one did it.

I once bought a brand-new electric motorcycle. I bought it discounted because it was an unsold earlier year model. It was a 2011 Zero XU. And it was a brilliant motorcycle - when it was working right. Which was rare. It literally traveled twice as many miles in the back of a pickup to be repaired by one of the nearest authorized repair facilities than it did under its own power. It had an advertised range of 25 miles. It had an 11 mile range on a warm day and an 8 mile range on cooler days. It would occasionally just shut off while I was riding it. And Zero was really terrible to work with for both me and for their authorized dealer/repair facility. I had dreamed of owning a Zero, and it turned out to be the single-most miserable ownership experience I have had in my life. So every time Zero announces a new model or extended range or a good discount...I don't bother to post about it. And Zero is truly the only significant electric motorcycle provider in the United States, snagit!

Money:

When you look at the cost of an electric motorcycle (or the cost of converting your own -  especially the batteries), it's hard to swallow spending that much money on a toy that will haul only one person and very little stuff. They are cool. They are sexy. They are fun. But they are not practical, and you have to pay for insurance and registration. When I had mine, I found myself constantly running home to get the car so that I could buy groceries or take someone with me. It made very little sense as transportation and I was not wealthy enough for it just to be a toy. So I don't write about them very often.

Value:

When I compare the virtues of an electric motorcycle to those of a Nissan Leaf or a Genze 2.0 Scooter or an Electric Yuba/Juiced Rider/Vanmoof/Radmini/etc., I start having a hard time being excited about another electric motorcycle. And until we see more electric motorcycles with attainable prices, I just don't see that changing - especially not when I can pick up a gently used Leaf plus a home charger plus a pair of Radwagon Cargo Bikes plus a plus a pair of Detroit Bikes plus a weekend getaway to the mountains with my wife for less money than one Empulse.

May we reach a point where we are overwhelmed with great electric offerings, but we are not there yet.
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Fossil Free Friday: A Vintage Electric Motorcycle (story)

Sometimes you run out of inspiration. No new electric vehicle news has gotten me all hot and bothered this week. I thought about doing a story on vintage VW Beetle electric conversions, but it looked a little overwhelming, so I went to the expert - I googled "electric car Lubbock" to see what popped up. Shockingly, I found a lot of pics and posts from a dork called Mesquite Hugger. So I kept looking and stumbled across this rather intriguing photo:

That EV grin existed way back in 1970!

 



The photo came from a small newspaper from Moraga, California (a little bit east of Oakland). The article in the Lamorinda Weekly is from 2012 and tells about a local high school team that built an electric motorcycle and competed in a cross-country challenge - The Clean Air Race of 1970. They built it using a Honda motorcycle chassis powered by a 1928 Dodge starter motor. And they successfully travelled from Massachusetts to California. How's that for a cool high school experience?

You may be scratching your head wondering about the Lubbock tie in. (I did.)

"In Lubbock, Texas Muir said they slept behind some bushes near city hall."

Mystery solved. Inspiration gained.

Big fairing - check. Peace sign - check! EV grin - absolutely!

 

May your Friday be fossil free and may your grin be contagious!

In Honor of National Drive Electric Week: Terry Hershner Earns an Iron Butt!

In electric vehicle circles, Terry Hershner is our Chuck Yeager. He and his Zero motorcycle continue to pioneer new ground and break records everywhere they go.

Strangely enough, Terry's biggest nemesis/arch rival/Achilles' heel is Texas, but that is a story for another day.

Same bike in an earlier state of evolution - aerodynamics count!

This week, Terry earned the Iron Butt Award for traveling 1000 miles in less than twenty-four hours, and he did it on an electric motorcycle. He's a regular guy who keeps proving that electric vehicles can compete in the real world. His most recent victory before this came with winning the Vetter Challenge.

Terry, thank you for pushing the envelope and breaking stereotypes everywhere you go! Click the links to learn more:

First 'Iron Butt' Award For Electric Motorcycle: Terry Hershner

Pushing Limits Of Electric Motorcycles: Terry Hershner Wins Vetter Challenge

Terry Hershner Completes First Cross-Country Trip On Electric Motorcycle

May we all push harder to make the world better for all!

A Self-Powered Pickup on Two Wheels

Not being (financially) rich is a blessing for me. First, it forces me to find cheap and creative solutions to expensive problems. Second, it keeps me from running off and blowing all of our hard-earned money on somebody else's hard work and creativity.

That somebody else for today's blog entry is a guy named Neal Saiki.

Neal, among other things is the co-founder of Zero Motorcycles. At this point in time, Zero is probably your best option if you want to go out and buy yourself a new electric motorcycle, but don't ask for Neal if you drop by the factory. (And it's very hard to drop by the Zero factory - I tried last year.)

You will find him down the road at his new place - NTS Works, where they build some extremely cool and functional electric cargo bikes. Pricewise, they are in the same range as the cool cruisers featured on this blog back on January 8th (link at the bottom). But there are a few major differences. The NTS bikes are not built to be beauty queens or showpieces. They are built to do work and to be two-wheeled trucks. And one of the NTS bikes is built to feed itself. All you have to do is park it in the sun.

If we had the hard earned money just sitting in a pile at home, I'd be throwing that money at Neal as soon as I finished this blog post. If you follow this post through to the NTS website, be sure to check out the very high-powered and compact solar panel and how little the price difference is between the solar and the non-solar models. And check out their interesting and appealing approach to battery warranty. And, just bask in the glory of the functional coolness. (Sigh.)

Now for those of you who sigh like I do and don't have the pile of money to throw at Neal, here are a few Instructables to help you run out and build your own cargo cycle.

And here is the January 8 Mesquite Hugger post.

And here is the original Derek Markham article  from Treehugger that led me to the NTS Works website.

May you be inspired whether you throw money at Neal or not.