i guess the question is - would you still go for an electric bike if there was one going 55mph for 120 miles with 5 minute charging time?

I wouldn't... I like bikes for what they are. petrol engined vehicles. if i took every decision in my life according to economics, i'd have been taking a bicycle everywhere as it would work out the cheapest... and longest trips

halfabusa wrote:i guess the question is - would you still go for an electric bike if there was one going 55mph for 120 miles with 5 minute charging time?

No, I wouldn't now as it would be no use to me.
My next scooter will require to sit at 75mph comfortably and have a minimum tank range of 150 miles, preferably 200+.
I couldn't care less whether it runs on petrol, electricity or fairy dust, so long as it does what I need.
So I guess that back when I bought the PCX if a viable electric scooter had been available then yes, I would have considered buying one.
But I didn't because there wasn't and there won't be for a very long time, if ever.

Best to stay away from BMW and/or electrics then
I'm happy to play around with whatever suits the situaton best - electric, petrol, jet, radial or turboshaft. I'm a compete motor slut.

Info on the BMW batteries seems to be in short supply, not much on battery life or the chemistry. The battery casing is part of the frame which makes me wonder how easy/difficult it would be to change it - whether there are subframes or it is literally moving everything to a different frame .
The air cooling for the motor and control board seems to port directly onto the rear wheel too (on the prototype), not exactly a dirt free region.

Bluebottle wrote:Best to stay away from BMW and/or electrics then.

That won't be at all difficult, they will be far too expensive.

Now that I think about it, I agree that BMW scooters will flop.

Overpriced and experimental plus the biggest scooter markets are in the Mediterranean and at the moment they kind of boycott German products.


TA-pa-TA-pa-taPAtalk

I wonder if that is the market they are going for?

The USA rose to Bmw's top 3 for country by country sales
India outsells the whole of Europe and China sells 10 times more, both of those are growing markets too and moving up the luxury ladder. If they can maintain the status symbol image I think they will attract those who want to send out a clear message that they don't ride a scooter because it is all they can afford - but I don't know if those people exist or in what numbers.

Are they aiming at their ageing adventure rider base who don't go adventuring, existing maxi riders, people "downsizing" from expensive cars or a new sector altogether?

The market research would have been carried out before the current situation in Italy and I can see that is going to hurt a bit but I think France was already outstripping Italy recently anyway for bigger scooters.

The big question is "is it any good?"
If it is there are going to be people who can afford it.

They get a thumbs down from me, so the opposite will happen

I'd only go electric if it were at least twice as better than a petrol engine in every way and economically more viable.

I think the BMW scoots will sell but not be competition with the large engined Yamaha or Suzuki scoots

Ill be honest.... if the BMW is far better quality than those junkers at the NEC last Autumn, and it rides well then IF I had 10k to spend on a bike, Id buy one. However, I dont have 10k to spend, I wouldnt want to borrow it and theres good bikes for half the price.

Ask yourselves, would you buy a car for £20,000 when theres some for £10,000? Well, many of us wouldnt but loads do so it must be the same for bikes?

gn2 wrote:As I see it the major problems with electric bikes/scooters is that they cannot store enough energy and the energy cannot be transferred to them fast enough.
When an electric scooter is available which will sit at a constant 75mph for 150 miles and can be fully recharged in under an hour.....
Ah well, a chap can dream.

I agree with you 100%. Also batteries deteriorate and start to hold less and less charge the more times they are re-charged.