The Enertia electric motorbike

The electric motorbike scene is so in right now, with the fourth that we've written about in the last two months being the Brammo Enertia. The Enertia is a plug-in bike that does 0-60 MPH in under 4 seconds and can go for up to 50 miles on one charge. Brammo is an Ashland, Oregon-based manufacturer that designed and built the bike, making sure that the bike has six 12 Volt lithium-phosphate batteries -- which don't blow up when punctured, unlike Lithium Ion models. It only weighs 275 pounds too, and most of the weight is near the road because the fuel tank isn't needed. The only problem now is the price: $14,995 for the "Carbon" model, and $11,995 for a later model once production is ramped up.

[shamowfski @ Jul 8th 2007 10:35AM]

That's 0 to 30 in 4 seconds, not 60...

http://www.enertiabike.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=19

[Bard @ Jul 8th 2007 3:07PM]

4 seconds is pretty good, but not unusual for motorbikes. My Vespa GTS250ie hits 60 in about 6 to 6.5 seconds And that weighs 150lbs more than the electric cycle with all accessories and is made of full steel. An R6 or BMW RS1150 will match this electric bike easy. BUT, to it's credit, it's nice to see them get this kind of acceleration out of such a lightweight bike (practically featherweight under 300lbs!)

And, 0 to 60 times can be estimated by basic algebra even if the bike doesn't acheive 60mph. Remember: on a bike, top speed doesn't matter at all, since after 100mph, it doesn't have any bennifit. But, your 0 to 60 times and braking times are FAR more importiant, since bikes are built for maneuverability.

Also, the "Loud Pipes Saves Lives" myth is just that... a myth. Doppler Principles prove that you only hear about a tenth of the volume until the subject passes you. It's just a way for egotistical morons to justify straight pipes just to make up for what they lack.

[Bard @ Jul 8th 2007 3:08PM]

Er....scratch that last 0 to 60 comment. Got changed in mid-writing on me. 8 seconds overall really isn't too hot...

[hypereric @ Jul 9th 2007 12:10PM]

Bard:

For the record, I am a rider myself, but Harleys and loud pipes are not my thing.
But what you are saying is just not true. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a bike located somewhere in my car's "blind spots" and therefore known he was there. A lane change could have wiped him out.

Having said that, I still can't stand the things. There is nothing worse then living in Daytona Beach when Bike Week hits (1/2 mil bikers come to DB that is around 65k pop. in DB proper) People plan their vacations to be out of town for that week. Heck, I moved about 20 minutes away and this little town I live in now is still a problem when Bike Week hits DB.

Anyway, there is no doubt in my mind that they do save lives. But 95% of the other time they are a useless nuisance.

[shamowfski @ Jul 8th 2007 10:36AM]

It doesn't even go 60. Max speed is 50.

[tom @ Jul 8th 2007 10:39AM]

275 pounds is pretty damn heavy for a little bike like that

[Grizz @ Jul 9th 2007 8:48AM]

My bike http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_ST1100 is 638Lbs and costs 12k new. Even though it does not have the range, its nice to see electric variants coming in line with realistic prices.

[ducatidoc @ Jul 8th 2007 10:40AM]

"So in?" Yeah, I am sure a bunch of riders will be lining up to trade in their Harley's and Ducati's for one of these. The electric vehicle companies should stick to scooters for the time being.

[Dolomite @ Jul 8th 2007 10:52AM]

actually no one in the scooter scene is likely to go for one of these either. For that price you could buy a nice restored classic Vespa and still have money left over to buy a brand new one.

[Sal @ Jul 8th 2007 11:00AM]

The day I trade in my V-Rod, R1200 GS, or Monster on this is the day the world ends.

[BobTurbo @ Jul 8th 2007 11:19AM]

Not another infinite free energy story!

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 8th 2007 11:28AM]

What's the matter, afraid to step into the future, tough guys?
-or is that for future tough guys?

Way to have that, "Doing my own thing/freedom of the road" spirit there, easy riders.

You stay where things are easier for you and you look pretty and someone with a more adventurous spirit will blaze the trail for you, okay?

Okay.

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 8th 2007 11:32AM]

By that I mean that the bike is not exiting or groundbreaking in any way.

Needs be faster and less ugly.

[cDub @ Jul 8th 2007 11:48AM]

Loud pipes save lives.
Good luck on this thing.

[Grizz @ Jul 9th 2007 8:49AM]

Get a radio and blast *Putt-putt-putt-putt*

[trev @ Jul 8th 2007 12:11PM]

That is nicely designed bike! Its one of the few electric vehicls that dont look ugly. Pitty about the price and performance, hopefully those will improve with time.

[BillyBones @ Jul 8th 2007 12:15PM]

Robert Q. Riley has been selling plans for electric vehicles for better than 30 years now. You could buy El Chopper plans from him, all the materials and pay someone to build it for prolly a quarter the price of this bike.

[k0an @ Jul 8th 2007 12:48PM]

Submitter, please update the article to show 0-30 mph.

[charlie @ Jul 8th 2007 1:21PM]

The bikes power is limited deliberately as a balance for usage, you can alter it.
Is not a bad looking bike , its really quiet and they're talking about making it give off some sort of audible signal.

[spyboy @ Jul 8th 2007 2:19PM]

Audible signal? Like what? A baseball card in the spokes?

[Noga Rosenthal @ Jul 8th 2007 2:22PM]

Only when the range is greater than 200 miles or so will people consider this an acceptable alternative.

- Noga Rosenthal

[BigBirdUK @ Jul 8th 2007 3:52PM]

Noga - wrong wrong wrong.

50 Miles for a city bike is fine. More would be nice, but it'll do for starters...........

[EvilBahumut @ Jul 8th 2007 3:02PM]

That "loud pipes save lives" slogan is so backwards. It might have worked back in the 70s and 60s, but since the late 90s with cell phones, multiple kids in the back seat and in-dash DVD players, it doesn't matter if you have 125db pipes on your fatboy or open arrows on your Duc; what really saves lives is vigilance and skill. I don't trust anybody on the road but myself. Period.

As far as this bike, I think it's a step in the right direction. As the owner of a Monster and a Vespa, I'd like to see cheaper means of riding, and the idea of being able to spend $0 on fuel for the weekly commute is cool. I would of course keep my current bikes, but for the daily grind, why not?

They just need to work on that price. If they could produce something like that for urbanites at about $5-6K, they'd sell like redbull cans at a martini bar...

[morcheeba @ Jul 8th 2007 3:19PM]

Amen, brother. Soundproofing has gotten way better, and automatic transmissions mean people no longer have to think more than 1 second ahead. I watched someone slowly back out of a parking space in to a car, even though the car had been honking their horn -- guy was on a cell phone. Why don't people understand that a lot of things are going on in a parking lot -- limited views, lots of intersections, attention focused on finding a space, pedestrians, shopping carts -- and realize it's a place they should be extra-aware and not take for granted. I once saw a 5-car accident in a parking lot!!

end-rant, sorry for going off-topic. back to my duc. considering an air horn for my car.

[Neal Forbes @ Jul 8th 2007 3:14PM]

You guys may be missing the target market. Not USA, better Rome. Scooters make up more than half of the commuter traffic there. They swarm like bees to the front of every traffic light and then drag race to the next one. Put a floorborad and a carry box on it and there is a goldmine.

[spyker @ Jul 8th 2007 5:58PM]

So... Check out the great spelling

http://myskitch.com/spyker3292/performance_-_enertia_bike_spell-20070708-165606.jpg

Doesn't look great, 30 mile range $15000 and a bad web editor.I'd rather buy a new car.

[spyker @ Jul 8th 2007 6:00PM]

I guess it would be quite for a bike and an audible signal? Like a blow horn...

[Doug K. @ Jul 8th 2007 7:29PM]

Another green toy for rich eco-snobs. Real people will buy a small scooter or motorcycle for $2000-$4000 and get 75 - 100 mpg. You can use the rest of your money to buy carbon offset credits from Al Gore.

[The ZeroCorpse @ Jul 8th 2007 8:25PM]

Yeah. You're not seeing too clearly through those partisan-tinted lenses you're wearing.

I happen to use an electric bicycle as my primary means of transportation. I get up to 35 miles on one charge, which costs me around fifty cents. Since it's classified as a bicycle, I can ride it on the sidewalk legally and avoid traffic and take shortcuts. I get work FASTER on my e-bike than I did in my car when I had to deal with traffic, frequent stops, and main roads, and the e-bike only reaches a max of about 18 mph.

Total cost of my bike? $699 plus shipping from Oregon to Michigan. I've already owned a gas-powered motorscooter (A Honda Metropolitan II) and I find that the electric bicycle is far easier to deal with, far lower cost to operate, and it's kind of nice that it doesn't have any emissions, either. I can store it in my apartment or in the back room at work, so I know it's secure and don't have to fight for parking on my daily commute to work.

Yes, a normal bike can do that, but can it get me to work without breaking a sweat, or give me the added power to climb hills with a load of groceries in the basket and trunk? I pass by cyclists all the time, and they sneer at me in my jeans while they sweat and pump away in their spandex and fall behind on their bike that probably cost 2-10 times more than mine.

It's not hard to be a little more responsible about your transportation choices. I get to work, do my shopping, and run around town (again, up to 35 miles range) without using a drop of gasoline. If I need to carry more, have a passenger, or go farther, I still have a car-- But since getting the electric bike, I've drive the car maybe twice this summer.

You can keep paying for gasoline if you want-- I'm not forcing anyone to get an e-bike. I'm just saying that a lot of the myths and misconceptions about electric vehicles are ridiculous and that the average person doesn't need a big car to get around about 75% of the time they're commuting.

Oh, yes. I got rained on once. That was annoying, but not as annoying as sitting behind an ass talking on his cell phone in his SUV while he ignores a street light turning green, or worrying about things like car insurance, stopping for gas on the way home, or finding a parking space when I get where I'm going. I'd say the trade-off is worth it.

Having had such a good experience with my electric bike, I can say I'd definitely buy a small two-person (or even one-person) electric car if it were reasonably priced and got a range of around 50-100 miles on a charge. I don't go that far most days. Few people do.

And before you say "electricity uses fossil fuels" let me point out that the small amount it takes to charge my bike's battery is about a fraction of what it takes to make a gallon of gasoline, and that in some communities, fossil fuels are not the only source for electricity. Wind, hydro, and nuclear power are all options that are clean, safe, and would provide ample energy for our electric vehicles.

If this makes me an "eco snob" then fine. Better that than an ignorant, selfish, Luddite.

[murray @ Jul 8th 2007 8:44PM]

I was going to say "what a rip-off," but then I realized it would pay for itself in, oh, 50 years. Awesome.

[Captain Lag @ Jul 8th 2007 10:53PM]

It would be pretty cool if this thing was actually powered by inertia....pulling it off is another story.

[Don @ Jul 9th 2007 3:46PM]

Talk to Steorn! I think they're coming out with a Orbo-powered motorbike in two thousand-never.

[jimf @ Jul 8th 2007 11:08PM]

Brammo is better known as the US manufacturer of the Ariel Atom...an amazing vehicle.

[rob @ Jul 9th 2007 1:09AM]

how come when people try to Design a fuel efficient or electric vehicles they design it to fail cant designers think bad ass or mean when they design

[Lonnie Moravetz @ Jul 9th 2007 12:57PM]

It's cheaper to opperate all electric but NOT greener.
It adds about twice as much carbon to the air as burning gas.

Nation’s electric power generation;
Coal-fired plants 49.0%
Nuclear plants 19.4%
Natural gas-fired plants 19.9%
Petroleum-fired plants 1.6%
Hydroelectric power 7.1%
Other renewables (biomass, geothermal, solar, wind, etc) 2.9%
3200 lb gas Car @ 60 mph, for 1 hour, @ 30mpg = 2 gallons of gas = 19.4 pounds of CO2
(EPA, average passenger vehicle engine makes 9.7 Lbs / gallon of gas).

3200 lb electric car uses 21 kWh for 60mph, for 1 hour (based on weight, roll and air resistance of GM EV1).

Battery efficiency (lithium ion) = 86%, 21 kW out = 24.4 kW in.

Charger efficiency (switch mode type) = 90%, 24.4 kW out, = 27.1 kW in from AC line.

Power grid efficiency (average) = 92%, 27.1 kW from outlet = 29.5 kW at power plat.


If 19.9% of this comes from natural gas powered sources, that = 5.87 kW

Natural gas powered generators Producing 1.321 pounds of CO2 / kWh (EPA).
The 5.87 kWh of output = 7.754 pounds of CO2.


If 49.0% of this comes from coal powered sources, that = 14.46 kW

Coal fired turbine Producing 2.095 pounds of CO2 / kWh (EPA).
The 14.46 kWh of output = 30.294 pounds of CO2.

Combining just the natural gas and coal produced power we have the electric vehicle producing
a total of 38.05 pounds of CO2 or nearly twice as much as a car burning gasoline.

For average electric rate ($0.0478/kWh) in Lincoln Nebraska that would cost $1.00 while the gasoline would cost about $6.00.

[Matt @ Jul 10th 2007 6:29AM]

And the petrol just appears at the station, right? Straight from the ground without refinement or transport in a big truck or anything.

[Lonnie Moravetz @ Jul 11th 2007 9:47AM]

Yes...the petrol just magically appears just as the fuel for the power stations does...

[Leo @ Jul 9th 2007 6:48PM]

I think they got the right idea trying to make an electric motorcycle but this definitely misses the mark. I ride a Vespa GT200 that I paid $5K for that gets ~80 MPG and goes 75 MPH. For me to pay $15k for an electric bike it better go 100MPH and have a 100 mile range or else I'll stick w/ the Vespa.

I dont live a carbon neutral life like Mr. Gore but like the guy w/ the e-Bike I dont drive a Excursion w/ 6 MPG. Doing something is always better than doing nothing.

[Doug K. @ Jul 9th 2007 10:26PM]

The ZeroCorpse: "If this makes me an "eco snob" then fine. Better that than an ignorant, selfish, Luddite."

Your reply would indicate that you are an overly sensitive, verbose, eco-snob.