This month, electric motorcycle companies Fuell and Energica went out of business. They join a list of companies that died after poor sales

This month, electric motorcycle companies Fuell and Energica went out of business. They join a list of companies that died after poor sales

  • frezik@midwest.socialEnglish
    91·
    3 days ago

    Because the battery tech isn’t ready yet.

    They have enough range to commute around town, but then why not an ebike or electric scooter? Both of which are cheaper and go fast enough. Depending on local laws and trails, an ebike might give you access to bike trails aside from the regular road.

    If you want to cruise on the highway, the poor aerodynamics of motorcycles means range plummets much harder than it does for EVs.

    I’ve been seeing lots of electric motorcycle manufacturers market their combined or city range, but hide away their highway range. You have to go digging to find it, and once you do, it becomes obvious why. It’s abysmal.

    My standard is that I can ride from my home in Madison, WI out to Wisconsin Dells and back again on one charge. This isn’t even that long of a ride. I haven’t found an electric motorcycle yet that can do it. Batteries will need to double in capacity per kg before it can get there. That would take another decade or so of the improvement rate we’ve seen over the past 20 years.

    • LowtierComputer@lemmy.worldEnglish
      24·
      2 days ago

      The highway efficiency losses are due to the inefficiency of the electric motors running at the higher speeds.

      • humanspiral@lemmy.caEnglish
        41·
        2 days ago

        No. It is aerodynamics vs weight balance. Low speed, weight matters a lot. High speed takes major power to overcome air resistance especially if geometry is like a Harley instead of a motosport race bike. Electric motors are most efficient at top RPMs.

      • frezik@midwest.socialEnglish
        3·
        2 days ago

        That doesn’t explain all the data. EVs would also show a much greater drop on highway range than they do.

        Aerodynamics is at play, here. Motorcycles have a better frontal cross section than cars, but their drag coefficient is much worse.

        Edit: also, the drop in efficency at high speed is small. Depends on the type of motor, but it’s usually only a few percent:

        https://electricalacademia.com/induction-motor/three-phase-induction-motor-performance/

        • LowtierComputer@lemmy.worldEnglish
          14·
          2 days ago

          Please show the drag coefficients being so much worse?

          Every number I find is very similar if not better.

          • frezik@midwest.socialEnglish
            4·
            2 days ago

            https://airshaper.com/videos/motorcycle-aerodynamics/qrH_QBOrqbw

            Unfortunately, open wheels, sharp edges, exposed components and a constantly moving rider cause all sorts of disturbances to the airflow. This makes it extremely difficult for air to remain attached and so the flow separates, creating wakes and generating drag. Consequently, the drag coefficient of a motorbike can range from 0.5-1.0 which is double that of a modern car.

            The best cars are around 0.2. EVs have been getting close to that because they get hit hard on highway range if they don’t. ICE cars tend to be closer to 0.3.