Why Electric Motorcycles Are Winning

FortNine is connected to a Canadian motorcycle online store. He has to say things to persuade people to buy there, and I guess the store's target audience are conservative old dipshits. EVs FTW! You rock!!

I was barely able to afford a used 2018 ZeroSR earlier this year, hard pill to swallow. Don't have charge tank so stuck with 110v and long charge time, makes it basically a commute only bike. These EV bikes need to drop in price dramatically for the masses.

So first you have to modifiy it and then ride.
What if I want to leave the country?
In the part of Europe I live in there is poor infrastructure for electric cars as in there's almost no charging stations.
What if I want to do a trip like Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania?
You provided just exceptions, when the rule is the fact that, at least for now, electric motorcycles are too specific.
I'm sure the technology will evolve.

I hear Kawasaki have electric prototypes that they are interested in bringing to production.

Good stuff! Thanks for making this video. It's important to not and document these electric motorcycle pioneers for future generations.

Hello to the other side of the world. I totally agree. So many have proofen that you CAN do long distance travels on electric motorcycles. I hope to contribute to that list in the near future, once me EsseEsse9 off-road rebuild is completed. As i explain in tonights premier video ii need to have it done before January. So wish me luck to get it done :-)

bonjour je suis français et est-ce que tu pourrait traduire tes vidéos de ma langue merci

I am looking forward to getting an electric motorcycle. I currently ride a Triumph tiger 1200 so I’m used to a big bike. I drive a Mini Cooper SE and think its a fantastic car and huge range electric cars are so over hyped. Guess I’m waiting for energica to release an adventure style bike.

In Australia, the AC is usually 22kw. Why would you need 2 plugs

Yeah, F9 was mistaken on that one. He entertains the crowd. Great video bro, I am still waiting for my electric Bike from China 😊

Fortnine is an idiot, def chose to ignore reality to help push his agenda and help push up video views. Lesson is, don't worry to omuch about the idiots, they love their own echo chamber when talking to fellow idiots. just drive on and enjoy the sweet ride :-)

I live in Panama and have a Zero DS 2014 level 1 charging, I could try to go from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic, is a 2 hour trip by car, my battery is small, but it could be fun, and kind of a record.

Thanks once again Mr NewZeroland. This video inspired me to buy a Nintendo Switch. Hope you get that Zero of yours fixed soon.

Another great video, and good to see someone putting the record straight.

Seriously thinking of selling my Ego.
Feel drawn by nostalgia,in the form of Royal Enfield Continental GT,in Chrome.
I will dodge the tomatoes 😅

Ok, first off, I am all for electric and drive a VW ID4 but you need to stop pretending that for "normal" folks, electric bikes are comparable to gas bikes. It is partially the bike, I am looking at you Zero, no fast charging and the overall infrastructure is just not there, period. I live in the country and there are no fast chargers anywhere close to do spirited rides. I have seriously considered the Zero, but no fast charging, I also looked at the Livewire, no LV 2 charging at all, and Energica, besides the waitlist, hardly any dealers around. I vlogged about it and really wanted an electric bike but instead, for now, I am adding more gas bikes to my collection as it is just not viable yet. I thought Ryan was spot on. If I would live in the city I would 100 percent ride an electric bike but in the country, no way. At highway speeds, the range of the electric bikes is not even close to Gas bikes, and charging times even at level 2 or 3 speeds are not comparable to a 3 min fill up at the gas station that is available anywhere at the moment. I like your channel a lot and enjoy your adventures, even talked about you in my channel, but please stop pretending electric bikes are close to being viable for everyday folk that is used to the convenience of a 3 min fill-up they can find just about at any corner.

Have you heard Ducati will take over Moto E in 2023

Can you advise how any biker in Australia can purchase an Energica or Zero and count on local service/support? We are so behind…as far as I can tell, the Lightwire is the only model widely available here. Because chargers are scarce where we ride, a LiveWire rated range of 158 kms is not encouraging.

Also, is it possible to rent an eMotorbike in NZ? We shipped our ICE motorbikes over to the South Island in 2017 and it was epic. Would love to ride the north island on an eBike.

I don’t think we disagree all that much.

If the proportion of EV cars / ICE cars is 20x what it is for EV motorcycles / ICE motorcycles, we can probably agree that our industry is failing to electrify as fast as it could?

Then there’s the drag ~ velocity^2 relationship; I bet we have common ground in saying that electric motorcycles are easier to make practical at slower speeds?

I’m not saying that touring EV motorcycles should not or do not exist – just that they represent a more difficult route for manufacturers to enter the electric market. I’m not very familiar with Energica as they aren’t in my country, but it looks like the Eva EsseEsse9+ has their furthest highway range (123 miles) and MSRPs at $22,100USD.

I can see this selling well to a passionate group of people, whom you did an excellent job of showcasing. But how would it fit into Honda’s lineup? Because we need mass production if the adoption of EV MCs is going to catch up, and Goldwing-level prices are a high hurdle.

My point in building a cheap commuter is not that it’s the only way to sell e-MCs, just that it’s the easiest. Zero sold ~4000 units in 2020 while NIU sold ~600,000. I’d like to see more manufacturers jumping in on the latter, because that’s the rising tide that will lift all boats (tourers included).

In other words, where’s my Honda e-cub? ~RF9

It's funny that you say "anyone" can go out and buy one of these machines. That's not strictly true is it. Like with anything electric, they're just that bit too expensive for the Everyman to buy just yet. I'll stick with my CB600FS Hornet for a while yet.....

Listen, I like the Fortnine videos, they are good entertainment, if you know what I mean. Also, the one on electric bikes adds to the discussion on them, which is good. It means that these are getting more and more attention. As soon as Zero/Energica make a bike that fits my 200cm, I'll get rid of my 1250 GS.

Taking the MSF class right now, and I really wanna get an electric bike, but with the amount of clutching that we're doing, I'm a bit nervous about just going for it on an electric. Is a zero alright? Are there any lower-powered bikes I should check out instead (SuperSoco?)? Or would you still recommend starting with a gas bike.

Comment for algorithms.

Wondering if a solar fabric exist could make bike cover and charge for free while parked

the main problem with bikes is that they are light and rely on rider balance... so they are highly sensitive to anything that might increase weight.. ; whereas a car doesn't have this problem as much.. they have chucked a huge heavy li-ion in there.. and get 300 miles range.. sure its expansive... but it works for the guy with a big enough wallet. Bikes.. the riders... they expect everything from the electric that they get with petrol... 180 miles range.. on a mixed road type.. especially motorway speeds.. they also expect high acceleration and top speed... and good handling. thats a very tall order ... range is as always the problem.. the tech isn't good enough to produce a light weight high performing battery with the juice to allow that bike the same level of practicality as a petrol.. not yet. So, its a leisure of love.. a rich man's toy... sadly. Bikes are where electric was starting.. but only city low performance electric scooters etc.

What would be cool would be if someone could setup a company that takes conventional petrol bikes and convert them professionally to electric.. if technically feasible... or explore the hybred option.. if technically feasible.. just maybe it might be poss to have a petrol electric generator that can just bump up that range.

Haha, I have seen that video a while ago. I really like your response to it. Well done :)

I would love to buy an electric bike. Wish they didn't cost so much. I will wait a while until the prices come down a bit. I have an electric car to use and my NC750X will have to last a bit longer.

Am I the only one who thinks you've got totally the wrong end of Ryan's stick.
He's not saying electric motorcycles are failing, he's saying manufacturers of electric motorcycles are failing us! And in doing so, those same manufacturers are failing the cause of electric motorcycling.

In pitching fast, expensive, motorcycles at price points above the equivalent internal combustion engined machines the manufacturers are forcing a comparison, a comparison where the electric motorcycle just doesn't stand up, without the rider making compromise, whether that's compromising the bike's warranty by squeezing it into an aerosuit and hacking on a load of aftermarket chargers, or compromising their riding style by forcing more, longer charging breaks. Yes, you can ride an e-moto across continents but the level of commitment and expertise and the willingness to fail is not something every motorcycle buyer wants.

So what do we mean when we talk about riding long distances? We mean further than the average (and an Energica isn't average) e-moto will ride on a charge. That's it, it's the 100-150 mile ride out we might take with our mates on a beautiful summer's day, it's the weekend camping jaunt into the mountains, it's the stuff internal combustion engined motorcycles will do without a moment's thought.

But before you hit your keyboard on full rant mode, isn't Ryan making another point too? Why does he build that rinky-dinky little e-hipster machine? Not to deride its performance, but to demonstrate what the motorcycle manufacturers should be doing, indeed what the Asian manufacturers already are doing, and what we're seeing in a great many markets across the world, although apparently not the North American one, and that's to make fantastic little city machines that don't need huge batteries, uber-chargers or price tags with more zeros than a Zero dealership. Machines that can be as cheap or cheaper to buy than the internal combustion engine equivalent, machines that you pull the battery out and charge it at work for pennies, machines that are the antithesis of the "Look at me, look at my throbbing tool of power" of the worst of over-macho, under-thinking motorcycle culture.
What he's saying is come on motorcycle manufacturers (by which he means Honda, Yamaha, Harley, Triumph and all the others sitting on the electric fence), come on, make us great little motos that the world and her wife will buy, and make them electric.

To steal a phrase from a certain Japanese motorcycle giant.

You meet the nicest people on an e-moto.

Hahaha playing Breath of the Wild, love it!!

FN loves his home-made electric bike!! He isn't criticizing electric bikes, he is criticizing the lack of entry-level/affordable bikes for the "rest of us."

To add a point nobody's making: There's nothing wrong with a motorcycle not designed for cross-continent trips.

I feel like the response video kinda doesn't really refute F9s video. Showcasing a handful of riders who've completed long journeys doesn't change the fact the most motorcyclists don't want to deal with the range and charging limitations of EVs...especially when they're being charged a significant premium for it. The sales numbers speak for themselves and EV bikes are only winning if they are selling and at the moment they really aren't (at least in NA). Remember most motorcyclist are not also EV enthusiasts and at best are indifferent to them. Small city EVs or offroad EVs play much better to an EVs strengths and suffer less for their limitations making them much closer to their ICE competition. This is where manufactures should focus more of their effort if there's any chance of EV moto adoption to drastically increase...at least in mine an apparently F9s opinion.

Also for reference, the motorcycle cannonball record has just been broken with a time of ~32hrs (covering ~4500km). This was done on a used 80,000 mile FJR1300 that the dude bought for $4k usd. That's >3.5 times faster than the EV record which shows how much ground EVs still need to make up to be comparable.

When an Energica Ego costs over $35,000 let's not pretend it's a bike anyone can have or that it is, in any way, a practical choice.

These aren't good bikes for long distance trips. All of these people jumped over obstacles and through hoops

I believe on electric bikes

I bought a 2016 Zero SR with 26k miles on the odometer about 6 months ago. Despite a failed onboard charger (just replaced!!) and high mileage, owning an EV has changed my life. I never want to go back to oil changes, transmission fluid, or gear shifting again. And I definitely won’t miss the smell of tailpipe exhaust. This said, 15 - 20k for a motorcycle is expensive. Dealerships are few and far between. I had to DIY change the charger with some tools in somebody’s garage. I wish it had better range and/or fast charging built in. This is my first electric bike, so I hope to upgrade to either an SR/S or an energica at some point in the future. 🏍🔋⚡️😎

Electric bikes r.for the wealthy... have fun.

My guess is because girls don't know how to shift and defiantly no clue how to clutch.

I agree that the 4/9 video was a bit forced but I perceived it more as a kick under the but for the industry. They should stop flicking rediculous ranges at the potential customers and coming up short. In stead they should start to get their act together. The electric motorcycle IS the future. It's case is however not served by commercial b(beep).

electric motorvaginas are gay

Once u go electric u never go back.
Except if u want to cross Africa and some other continents.

This video is a long list of why F9 is perfectly right...
EM are failing, they are a niche for passionate bikers with lot of income at huge price or ridiculous capacity.
Saying that there are bikes that can cover long range is cool but... what's the price?
Let's do that with an 18 k dollars cruiser and an 18 k dollars EM. Oh, wait... there is none.
And include Street time and the refill/recharge time in the record (I can give for free the night charging since you wouldn't ride anyway...).

The custom-made Zero double charger is awesome!
I'm riding with people from Motards Électriques near Paris. Jérémie modified his former Zero to get 19 kWh battery and 17 kW charge speed: 300 km in 1h charge and completed the France-Romania raodtrip (Transylvania Electric Tour, ~5000 km) with his now Energica Ribelle. They told me I should check out your channel and now here I am, binge-watching your videos and spamming your comment section ;) So coucou to you too :)

Price ? Sales? Convenience?ie extended travel time.,? Did you avoid these facts. What happens when you run out of charge you can't just get a can of electric brought to you. You sound like an advert for the manufacturers. What about battery life , replacement,expense,disposal?

Ryan has the mainstream market in mind. He thinks that the best way to drive ev adoption is for people to keep their cars and switch to smaller evs for commuting. I happen to agree with him.

What we have in the us right now is entire auto industry gearing up to market and sell evs. Either that effort stalls or a bunch of old cars and the carbon footprint to make them goes to waste. People can't buy cars that quickly given their cost. Also, this first generation will be as quickly outdated as the first zeros.

What ev would you put someone's mom on? An electric super cub doesn't exist, and a 20k bike makes no sense. An e-bike is the closest thing I can think of, and people balk at the price of those!

Since Scott modified his Zero to allow dual charging, will Zero help out with the firmware bug or will he left to fend for himself?

Hey man, I'm looking forward in buying a 2014 SR from Zero, low amount of kms. Would you still recommend? It's basically my ownly semi affordable option to get into electric motorcycling. Maybe I will later buy an Energica if possible, if they get cheaper. Thanks in advance. I had a good feeling about Zero until I saw your videos about their customer service. In the Netherlands there are some dealers. So should that be OK? Thanks in advance!

Awesome stuff! After watching so much of your content and others I've taken the plunge and put a deposit down on a Livewire. :) Looking forward to new adventures.

I watched Ryan's video after this. Ryan was absolutely right. Suggesting to bring affordable EM for a larger market rather than only serving a very small market for highly expensive EM.

You missed all his numbers and straight up accusing him of working for a gas company.

Hahaha.. TeaPot One.. started his 96 hour tour around England and Scotland... did 400 miles in 14 (!!) hours.... searching and waiting for charging his e-motorcycle... 8 stops.. plenty of different apps, cards and systems...
NO.. there is no real chance without a standard....
Remember video?
Betamax, Video 2000, VHS..???
And there is this guy from my Berlin-City (Marc Travels) bought a used ZERO... getting around 80-110 kilometer sometimes miles... telling the viewers, that he.. surround the world... yeah, yeah.. now he is back in Berlin, since 8 days.. NO info NO video.... what is going on..????