This post has been guest contributed by Vern Padgett and relates to the ongoing discussion on the XL e-mail list about the Future Path for Harley Davidson. Before you write off the idea of an electric Sportster, read Vern’s take:
I just read the comments from 3 weeks ago on “Future Path for HD.” I’ve followed the story of the Tesla Roadster for a couple years now, and I plan to buy their White Star when it comes out in 2010. It should cost half what the Tesla Roadster costs ($98K).
The Vectrix electric is the current option for an all-electric motorcycle. They had success in Europe already. Here’s what I got from them 2 days ago:
“I am writing to inform you that the NEW Vectrix All-Electric Maxi-Scooter is now available from Vectrix California. All four colors are currently in stock at British Motors Car Distributors in San Francisco, with immediate delivery available throughout California. If you are interested in finding out more about the Vectrix or if you would like to come by to see it in person and possibly take it for a test drive it, please feel free to contact me at (415) 593-8685 or daniel@vectrixcalifornia.com.”
Maybe they already have it in black?
The only way for the United States to end its dependence on foreign oil is to shift personal transportation from petroleum-based engines to something else. 20% of our oil use is for personal transportation. Hybrid cars are not the answer. The only way to get energy in to them is to put gasoline in their tanks. Hydrogen is not an option anytime soon, and ethyl alcohol as a fuel appears not to offer any net gain in energy savings, and competes with land that now grows food.
Electricity for personal transportation is the answer. The infrastructure already exists to provide it (plug your vehicle into your 110 AC outlet at night).
As Lee Bussey noted, one powerplant, even a dirty coal-fired one, providing energy for vehicles is much cleaner than individual gasoline-burning engines providing that same energy. And solar-produced electricity is pollution free.
I have 12 Sharp 185 Watt photovoltaic panels (solar panels) on my roof. I generate my own electricity. I have not paid one cent to my power company (SCE) in the four years my system has been in operation.
I want an electric car and an electric motorcycle. I want to transport myself without using any petroleum. I want to take personal action to end my country’s dependence on oil owned by hostile governments, and I want to end my personal contribution to global warming, the result of burning fossil fuels.
An electric motorcycle, fueled by stored electicity generated from solar panels on the roof of my own home, would do this.
The disadvantage to electric vehicles is the weight of the batteries. Lead-acid batteries serve well in golf cars, but the best use so far in an auto was the GM EV-1, with a range of 80 miles. The nickel-cadmium batteries in the second year of production improved range to 140 miles, but the car still did not find favor with consumers, conspiracy theories aside.
Lithium-ion batteries are superior in a number of ways to lead-acid or NiCad batteries, and 900 pounds of them are now used in each new Tesla Roadster, an auto that accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 4 seconds, has an electronically-regulated top speed of 135 mph, and has an EPA-demonstrated range of 250 miles. This car is competitive in performance with high-end Porsches and with Ferraris. See www.teslamotors.com
Finally to the Sportster. What is needed for the commercial success of an electric motorcycle is the same thing that Tesla has already provided in an automobile. Not a stodgy golf cart (look at GM’s EV-1), but a high performance vehicle. The Vectrix is not my idea of a high performance motorcycle-it looks more like the golf cart of motorcycles. When Vectrix sent me a customer survey, and asked “what can we do to make our product be of more interest to you?” I wrote: “Make it look like the Harley-Davidson Sportster.”
Enough batteries to power a vehicle weigh a lot, even lithium-ion batteries. So you need a big bike to hold enough of them for high performance. Not the motor scooter frame of the Vectrix, but a bigger standard heavy motorcycle frame. Like a Sportster.
Next, you need a motorcycle marque that has a reputation for dependability and performance. Like the Sportster.
Next you need a company that has the willingness to adapt to changing times but keep its traditions. Harley-Davidson has shown its ability to do that from time to time.
I offer as the perfect platform for an American electric motorcycle: The Harley-Davidson Sportster. Use the existing Standard 883 configuration, without the motor and transmission. Replace that with a 150 pound lithium-ion battery pack and 3-phase AC electric motor of approximately the same size, shape, and mass as the motor- transmission unit. Don’t change anything else.
Add this new bike to the existing line of Sportsters as the electric option.
In this way Harley-Davidson would position itself for the future, with, as usual, one foot firmly planted in the past, if in this case, only symbolically.
Related posts:
You must log in to post a comment.