When we
spotted Electric Motorsport last year the company was pushing a high-ish performance
electric motorcycle prototype, with a top speed of 100 MPH, 100 mile range, a $15,000 pricetag, and a whole bunch ugly battery strapped underneath. Lucky for us, they've taken a very mass-market approach to their next bike, the GPR-S. Boasting a 60-70 MPH top speed and 35-60 mile range, the sleek little bike just might be the perfect commuter ride, and the $8,000 pricetag is much more palatable. The bike can charge in about four hours, or 1.5 hours with an optional speed charger. Even better, the bike is modular in nature, which means you'll be able to swap in a better power system once one comes along with a minimum of hassle. Electric Motorsport has sold 25 of these so far, but they're up and running and ready for sales at volume -- which is surprisingly still an incredibly rare feat in the electric transportation industry, even in 2008.
posted October 24th 2008 9:52AM
"100 MPH, 100 mile range" or you could say 1 hour autonomy. Sound petty.
it's a shame that it is so easy to steal a motorcycle.
When I was in college we had 4 guy's bikes stolen in 1 night. People must have loaded them into the back of a truck.
Lo-jack doesn't matter when they drive south of the border.
They'd ride it until it died, get confused when they couldn't find the gas tank, and then superstitiously abandon it in a ditch. (Flee! It's La Bicicleta Diablo!) You'd just have to drive 60 miles into Mexico to get it.
Too bad it looks like a 2000 dollar bike.
The first viable fully electric vehicle IMHO. This business of a car you plug in for 8-10 hrs to get a 40 mile drive out of are not practical yet. This sucker would be awesome though.
Why is there a gas tank?
same reason as there's a gas "tank" on Buells* - style, storage. In this case it's where the charger plugs in.
*a historically iconoclastic motorcycle maker known for using the space underneath the seat as a fuel tank, using the swingarm as an oil tank, mounting the muffler under the engine, radial disc brakes...
Wait, twinshocks? I just had a flashback to the 80s.
Here's an interesting question. A lot of the DOT laws around here are worded around displacement, 25cc and over requires a license, Under 250cc not allowed on limited access highways, etcetera. How will electrics be categorized?
I would be very tempted if I ever saw this bike for sale in the UK. However I'd be researching to see if it was actually better on the environment on the whole.