The Electric Motorcycle World Is Split In Two – Here’s Why
As you may or may not know we are big fans of two wheelers on this channel from electric bicycles to es scooters mopeds and of course motorcycles we think that our transition to electric vehicles needs to include all forms of wheeled transportation for it to have Maximum Impact but while the
Electric bicycle industry is really truly taking off with more Choice than we’ve ever seen before and every type of bicycle from City commuters to off-road mountain bikes cargo haulers and even electric assisted races now available for those with the money to spend the world of electric motorcycles is taking
A lot longer to mature with a really wide and varied choice of models available to buy that are dependent on where you live in the world and if you’re in a market where the idea of affordable electric motorcycles feels a little like a pipe dream you might want
To know why some markets get commuter-friendly budget oriented two wheelers while other markets get few or none at all the answer though is all down to how motorcycles are viewed in different parts of the World as I’ve noted before on this channel it takes a massive amount of investment to establish a new electric vehicle brand and build a new electric vehicle and much of the associated costs for that come from the research and development of a vehicle’s drivetrain their battery pack and Power Electronics
And in the last decade we’ve seen automakers both startups and Legacy Brands work to streamline their development process finding new ways of iterating design and bringing about technology changes establishing Partnerships with companies very often whose expertise into Battery Technology and drivetrains can help accelerate development and deployment of new models
And as a consequence we’re now really starting to see some truly compelling and increasingly more affordable electric vehicles specifically cars hit the marketplace but in the electric motorcycle World things are a little different and the marketplace itself is extremely fragmented on a global scale with a massive variation of models
Available to buy that are entirely dependent on where you live and what your local cultural impressions of motorcycles is as a whole and it all depends on if motorcycles are viewed as a primary or secondary form of transportation what’s more companies that might exist and thrive in one
Market might not in another and we have have some significant thoughts about that in case you’re not aware I am of course talking about the chasm between countries in large parts of Asia Africa and South America where motorcycles are not only essential primary forms of transportation to get people to and from
Work school and shops but are sometimes even used in some parts of the world as taxis versus the way that motorcycles and scooters are viewed in large parts of North America Europe and oceanana where for the most part they are treated as subservient to the almighty SUV and
Pickup truck and therefore tend to be ridden primarily for leisure I am of course making massive sweeping humongous generalizations when Kate Walton Elliot and I both lived in the UK and we were reasonably close to each other in terms of distance from each other’s homes we both went through
Periods of time where our motorcycles became our primary form of transportation between Bristol and bath often because our respective classic cars were feeling a little sick and our partners had our other vehicle or we didn’t have one and I still have friends in the UK today who only ride
Motorcycles and don’t even own a car there are even some in North America who are the same but for the most part motorcycles are things in Europe and North America and Oceana that you take when the weather is nice and thus they more often than not seen as a non-essential form of
Transportation to understand this massive divide it’s probably worthwhile examining why two wheelers are more popular in much of Southeast Asia Africa and South America than in many other regions of the world and in case you didn’t realize it’s down to everything from climate to total cost of ownership
A robust local manufacturing and repair Network and in some cases Road quality and congestion as well as rules of the road climate is the first obvious one if the average temperature where you live is well above freezing for most of the year and riding a motorcycle or a
Scooter isn’t going to leave you chilled to the Bone getting around on two wheels might actually be preferable able to a car that may or may not have air conditioning this is in stark contrast to having to commute in the depths of winter when it’s significantly below freezing and there’s an implicit
Requirement you wear a massive number of layers to stay warm and that’s before you even consider the risk of you coming off being dramatically increased due to snow ice and just terrible weather and remember right now I’m talking about motorcycles and scooters in general General even if you have a throbbing
Engined between your legs the heat that comes off it in the depths of winter isn’t going to be enough to keep you warm even your hands can’t often be warmed at stoplights through your thick winter gloves if you’re riding a puny 125 ask me how I
Know go on this is before we even examine things like congestion of course I’m aware that the majority of people watching this video are based in either the us or Canada and say for a few exceptions in those countries you generally can’t filter through stationary traffic on a motorcycle or a
Scooter but in many other countries around the world there’s nothing to stop you from weaving through traffic on two wheels which can dramatically cut down your commute time save you Fuel and obviously help to reduce congestion into the bargain although I’ll also be fair there’s an increased safety risk RK
There at least if you don’t filter safely there’s a practical element too in places where Road quality isn’t so great so Boston and road rules are considered a suggestion so maybe California being able to weave around potholes and Dodge other Road users is a bonus and to seal
The deal motorcycles are far more efficient with result resources when they are being built require less to transport when they break down and they all tend to follow the same basic design principles too in fact there simpler the better in Many Nations where motorcycles are more important than the mighty
Automobile to the average person and Ingenuity Trump’s official parts replacement the cheaper and simpler the vehicle the more likely it is to be repaired and back on the road in a shorter span of time as possible just watch all of those motorcyclists who’ve traveled around the world on expensive
Motorcycles some of whom have ended up replacing said motorcycles for a local cheap model because of everything I’ve just said motorcycles make more sense unless you have a lot to carry especially if you live in a densely populated area and because so many people ride in many of the places where
Motorcycles are popular it’s much more socially acceptable and maybe even expected that you ride a motorcycle or a scooter as your daily driver people are more likely to expect a motorcycle on the road and that means that other Road users are much more attentive to the existence of people using forms of
Transport that aren’t the aforementioned Almighty SUV and pickup that said the motorcycle Market is now far more varied even in motorcycle Friendly Markets than it once was for example there are now many more lifestyle focused motorcycles both electric and non-electric coming to the four in India Indonesia China and other
Markets where traditionally two wheelers have dominated they’re often sold with a heavy emphasis on younger more affluent buyers who want a motorcycle but have a mixed use case scenario and a desire for much more in the way of onboard gadgets and Tech 2 especially when it comes to Electric motorcycles and scooters that
Means those choices will include things like battery swap capable models but those models that they buy are just as much a lifestyle Choice as they might be a practical commuting solution the difference in use case here is Stark in markets where cars are the primary form of transportation and where it’s more
Likely a commute will include higher speed travel motorcycles are designed very differently to par parts of the world where they’re considered more day-to-day use if you’re not commuting on a two-wheeler luggage carrying capabilities robustness and day of day ease of use is far less important leading to motorcycle models that focus
On long-distance cruising and speed over the ability to literally throw it off a building pick it up and then ride off into the sunset and if you think that didn’t happen I’m afraid to say it did for partly entertainment purposes BBC Top Gear once famously threw a Honda Cub
Off a building and then got it running again the first while Honda Cub isn’t exactly the most exciting ride out there but its legendary robustness is why it’s sold so well in massive suedes of the world it’s also why some people slightly Bonkers British people have driven one
Round the world but that’s a different Channel and a different video hi Ed Marsh of course I am making sing generalizations here because if you are a dual sport or a Naked Bike fan and I most certainly am it’s more likely you’re a fan of such bikes because you
Value load carrying and robustness over speed and looks but there are millions of squids and Cruiser fans out there who disagree but for the most part acceleration and top speed does tend to Trump robustness in the markets around the world where the mighty car is King in other markets though
Practicality and usability tend to come first which leave us with a very interesting conundrum but just before I get there I want to clarify what I just said I of course mean naked motorcycles a style of motorcycle with no fairing as opposed to riding naked which nobody
Should do and if you must know I am an at Gat Rider I know Portland does its naked bicycle ride every year but that is for bicycles not motorcycles and I’m too old and flabby for that kind of shenanigans also I’m just going to link to a glossery of motorcycle terms
Because I know I just used atat and if you don’t know you won’t know so follow the link below to learn some motorcycle terms back to aforementioned conundrum in markets where reliability and practicality for hauling and commuting come first range usually takes a back seat to price when it comes to Electric
Two wheelers and here’s where lower cost electric motorcycles come into their own because if you’re not building for Speed or range you can design and build a motorcycle or a scooter with a small efficient battery pack a battery pack that can easily be removed for charging or indeed battery swapping that lowers
The overall cost and it brings us to the exciting future of battery swapping in markets where motorcycles are the norm rather than the exception there’s already a critical mass of potential users that make batteries as a service a phenomenal business proposition deploying battery stop stations around a major city and then charging motorcycle
Customers for every battery they swap or charge them a predictable rental in the form of a monthly fee allowing those shorter range two- wheelers to gain extra range without needing bulky rapid charging or massive battery packs on the vehicle makes things so much easier for everyone because there are already so
Many potential users stop stations are regularly used and batteries are regularly tested by the company offering the service or renting out the batteries what’s more consumers don’t have to invest in buying that battery outright they only buy the bike leasing the battery and lowering entry costs even further putting battery swap capable
Motorcycle at or near price parity with gasoline ones with far fewer service costs and that means in markets where motorcycles and scooters aren’t a common place for commuting battery swapping is a far less usable proposition motorcycles tend to be built as luxury or fun vehicles and then they have
Larger price tags caused by those larger more expensive battery packs required for extra range onboard DC fast charging capabilities and higher spec Motors needed to carry that extra weight around that makes battery packs more expensive that makes motorcycles more expensive and it pushes people out of ownership potential and the companies that buck
The trend of all of this they’re often treated as Niche small volume motorcycles that ultimately fail to get much Market traction have a limited dealer Network and as recently demonstrated by Cake often find the companies making them declaring bankruptcy or something equally terrible what I love to see companies like
African-based Rome bring affordable electric motorcycles to major cities across Europe and North America with practical frames reasonable specs and Battery swapping abso freaking lutely I would love to see battery swapping become commonplace and they’d love to see motorcycles that are more utilitarian get the battery swapping infrastructure need to become more
Common more practical and most importantly more affordable but well without a major shift in how motorcycles and scooters are viewed without a major change in licensing and Road education and without a program that makes electric motorcycles more than the weekend play thing for the majority of the
Minority I’m not sure it will happen and while there are a small minority of people who commute daily on electric motorcycles in the US and Europe and there are more Affordable Electric models coming to Market hi to those Riders by the way hi chrisa those motorcycles nearly always end up having
Reasonably short service lifespans because motorcycle batteries that aren’t swappable and aren’t regularly checked at a swap station and are pushed hard during their life are more prone to abuse degradation and bad stuff often thanks to months off the road every year for winter but that is for a different
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In some parts of the world, the concept of replacing small engines internal combustion engine motorcycles and scooters with battery electric ones – often capable of battery swapping – is really taking off and gaining popularity.
In other markets, electric motorcycles are being build with high sticker prices thanks to massive battery packs and no option to battery swap.
And that’s impacting who can make the switch. Today we’re going to examine the massive split in the electric motorcycle market – and explain why it exists in the first place.
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00:00 – Introduction
01:24 – Building new EVs costs money
02:22 – The electric motorcycle world is very different to the car world
03:04 – Differences in how motorcycles are viewed around the world
03:46 – There are exceptions
04:58 – Why motorcycles are preferred in some markets
08:50 – The motorcycle market is becoming more varied
10:24 – Robustness
12:21 – Range comes after price in some markets – but is the exact opposite in others
13:00 – Battery swapping works best where motorcycles are already popular!
14:06 – In markets where motorcycles are lss common, battery swapping is harder to make a business case for
16:32 – Thanks, and Goodbye!
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Links:
Why it’s hard to make a good, affordable electric motorcycle : https://youtu.be/RO9a5el3Z54
Quick Ride: The Zero SR/F is a bike you should be riding: https://youtu.be/O4iyvQApurc
Swappable motorcycle battery packs: Revolutionary or not? https://youtube.com/live/97yO4qDipco
Energica Esse Esse 9 Review: https://youtu.be/hk0m0eopVNs
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Presenter, Script, Audio: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield.
Camera, Editor, Colorist: M. Horton
Art and Animation: Erin Carlie
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
© Transport Evolved LLC, 2024
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