E-max electric scooter

Electric motorcycles and scooters are vehicles with two or three wheels that use electric motors to attain locomotion.

Contents

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Power source


Yamaha FC Aqel

Generally, the source of power for the electric motor has been batteries, but development in fuel cell technology has created several prototypes. Some examples are: the ENV from Intelligent Energy, Honda’s scooter using the Honda FC Stack, and the Yamaha FC-AQEL. Also, petroleum hybrid-electric motorcycles are under development. Some examples are the Ecycle, and Yamaha’s Gen-RYU.

Advantages and disadvantages

Electric motorcycles and scooters are rising in popularity because of higher gasoline prices. Battery technology is gradually improving making this form of transportation more practical.

Advantages of electric over gasoline power:

  1. The fuel costs for electric power are approximately 25% the cost of gasoline power (US, mid-2008; see Electric car, “Running costs” for the calculation)
  2. Nearly silent.
  3. Environmental friendly (no exhausted gases at point of use)
  4. Using grid power to charge batteries causes less pollution than gasoline scooters; the amount of emissions caused depends on the sources of the electricity used.
  5. No trips needed to a gas station– can be recharged at home.
  6. Lower maintenance costs and fewer maintenance activities; for example, there is no need to change the oil.
  7. Can be ridden indoors.

Disadvantages:

  1. Up front costs are higher than for a comparable gasoline powered motorcycle or scooter.
  2. Shorter range before recharging.
  3. Longer “fill up” or recharge time.
  4. Lower maximum speed at similar price points.
  5. Electric power outlets are often not conveniently located near streets or driveways. It is often difficult or impossible to bring the battery into an apartment, for example, for recharging.
  6. Battery capacity can be as low as 20% on a cold winter day with -20 °C (lead battery)
  7. As it is already difficult to be “noticed” by cars/trucks on a motorcycle, the loss of characteristic engine noise might make riding these even more dangerous than their combustion engine powered counterparts.

Promotion

Premier of the Republic of China Liu Chao-shiuan said that the government-financed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) will help domestic manufacturers churn out some 100,000 electric motorcycles in four years .

History


Electric scooter at the 2005 Vancouver EV gathering

Main article: History of electric motorcycles and scooters

  • Late 1860s: Earliest references to electric motorcycles can be found in patents.
  • 1911: Electric motorcycle available according to early Popular Mechanics article.
  • 2007:
    • A123 Li-Ion cell-powered Killacycle makes new quarter mile (400-metre) record of 7.824 seconds and 168 mph (270 km/h) in Phoenix, AZ at AHDRA 2007.

Types


50+ mph fun-ev electric scooter

A scooter is a type of motorcycle with a step-through frame and usually with smaller wheels designed for urban transportation.

Various types of scooters

Scooters are divided into categories as per the particular niche that they are designed to operate in and speed requirements:

  • Two-wheeled Vespa-styled scooters 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h)
  • Two-wheeled Stand-up scooters (like a kick scooter) 0-25 mph (0-40 km/h)
  • Two-wheeled, side-by-side stand-up scooters like manufactured by Segway PT 0-12 mph (0-20 km/h)
  • Two-wheeled Seated scooters 0-25 mph (0-40 km/h)
  • Three-wheeled standup scooters like manufactured by Zap 0-15 mph (0-25 km/h)
  • Three- and four-wheeled Mobility scooter (disability riders) 0-10 mph (0-15 km/h)
  • Three- and four-wheeled Seated scooters/golf carts 0-25 mph (0-40 km/h)

Electric motorcycle or electric bicycle


Electric motorcycle “Electrocat”

Two-wheeled motorcycles are generally differentiated from motorized bicycles and mopeds (motorized pedal cycles) by speed, with motorcycles having greater speeds—usually greater than 30 mph (about 50 km/h). Although, this line for what constitutes a 2 wheeled motorcycle has blurred due to marketing, styling, and public opinion.

Main categories of 3-wheeled motorcycles

Due to vagueness in motor vehicle laws, any 3-wheeled vehicle that can travel over 31 mph (50 km/h) may be classified as a motorcycle. This classification does not depend whether the operator is fully enclosed by a “cage” or exposed to the elements. But for design purposes, three wheeled vehicles are divided into 2 categories:

  • 1 wheel in front and 2 in back, known as a delta design or the traditional trike (tricycle) design
  • 2 wheels in front and 1 in back, known as a tadpole design.

Some three wheeled motorcycles enclose the rider in a “cabin” or cockpit. These include the Gizmo, Twike, NmG.

Some three wheeled motorcycles have independent suspension allowing the vehicle to tilt or lean.

Comparison of select production vehicles

This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes.
Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (April 2008)

Name
Top Speed
Power
Cost
Vehicle type
Battery
Range
Comments

Type
Life
Capacity

Vectrix
62 mph (100 km/h)
20 kW
$8,800
Scooter
Nickel metal hydride (NiMH)
provided by GP Batteries
10 years or 50,000 miles / 80,000 km
30 A·h, 3.7 kW·h
68 miles @ 25 mph (110 km @ 40 km/h)
Review

Yo Speed
(45 km/h)
750W
Rs.35000(~$815)
Scooter

80 km @ 70kg
Review

fun-ev li-ion
50 mph (80 km/h)
3 kW
$5,200
Scooter
li-ion LiFePO4
6 month warranty
40 A·h
25 miles @ 45 mph
Lacks long term testing

fun-ev VRLA
50 mph (80 km/h)
3 kW
$3,600
Scooter
VRLA, 60 volts 5×12
6 month warranty
40 A·h * 60V
25 miles @ 45 mph
Forum pics Forum discussion

ZAP Xebra
40 mph (65 km/h)

$10,000
3 Wheel
Lead acid
3 years

25 miles at 30 mph (40 kilometres at 50 km/h)
review

EVT-4000e
30 mph (50 km/h)
1500W
$2,900
Scooter
Lead acid, 4×12
1.5 – 2 years
50 A·h
25 to 35 miles (40 to 55 km)
Solar Mod, Taiwanese Manufacturer

Zero X
60 mph+
17.4kW 23 HP
High Power $8350 Standard $7450
Off-road Motorcycle
Patent-pending lithium ion array
?
2 kWh
40 Miles 2hrs

Comparison of select upcoming vehicles

Name
Top Speed
Power
Cost
Vehicle type
Battery
Range
Comments

Type
Life
Capacity

Brammo Enertia
50+ mph (80 km/h)

$11,995+
Motorcycle
6 Lithium Phosphate by Valence
20,000 miles (32,000 kilometres)
3.1 kWh
45+ miles (70+ kilometres)

Available in 2008.

VentureOne
75+ mph (120+ km/h)
40+ kW
$23,000
3 Wheel
Lithium-ion batteries by A123Systems
5000+ charge cycles

120 miles (about 200 km)
video Available in 2010.

Electric GPR-S
70 mph (112 km/h)
14.2 kW
$8,000
Motorcycle
24 Lithium cells
2000+ charge cycles
3.6 kWh
60 miles (economy setting)
Available summer 2008?

Aptera Typ-1e
85 mph (135 km/h)
30 kW
$27,000
3 Wheel
Lithium Phosphate, unknown manufacturer
 ?
10 kWh
120 miles (190 km)
Production expected in October 2008.

EVC Volta G/T Metro
70 mph (112 km/h)
8 kW
$7,995
Motorcycle
Lithium ion
?
8 kWh
75 miles at optimized speed
Production in summer 2008.

EVC Roadking
91 mph (146 km/h)
15 kW
$9,895
Motorcycle
Lithium ion
?
8.2 kWh
75 miles at optimized speed
Production in summer 2008.

EVC X21
107 mph (171 km/h)
21 kW
$10,950
Motorcycle
Lithium ion
?
8.2 kWh
75 miles at optimized speed
Production in summer 2008.

List of electric motorcycles and scooters

  • Zero X from Zero Motorcycles .

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (October 2008)

References

  1. ^ Technology Review: Making Electric Vehicles Practical
  2. ^ U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (2000-07-12). “Federal Register Vol. 64 No. 113” (PDF). U.S. GPO. Retrieved on 2006-09-22.
  3. ^ http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=101846&topicId=104970025&docId=l:837646769
  4. ^ ElectricMotorcycles.net-EM Headline News » EM History: 1911 Popular Mechanics
  5. ^ KillaCycle – World’s Quickest Electric Motorcycle » Blog Archive » 7.824 @168 MPH !!!!!! at Pomona AHDRA Nov 10th
  6. ^
  7. ^ http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/

See also

  • Electric bicycle
  • Battery electric vehicle
  • Electric dragbike
  • Electric vehicle
  • Killacycle – an electric drag-racer motorcycle
  • Plug-in hybrid
  • Scooter (motorcycle)
  • Zero Motorcycles

External links

  • Details on how to build an electric motorcycle including a parts list and links where the parts can be purchased: www.electricmotion.org
  • V-EM-60-21 from Elite Power Solutions

News

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Electric scooters

  • Yamaha aims to launch electric motorcycles by 2010 – Sep 2008
  • Blackswan to launch electric cruiser,using giant V twin Solenoids

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_motorcycles_and_scooters”
Categories: Three-wheeled motor vehicles | Electric vehicles | Electric motorcycles | Green vehicles | Electric scooters | Motorcycle technology | Motorcycle classifications | VehiclesHidden categories: Articles with unsourced statements since April 2008 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles to be expanded since October 2008 | All articles to be expanded


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