The Electric Motorcycle Thread

HadesOmega

HadesOmega

Well-known member
Gabe said:
Will Victory/Polaris dealers work on your bike or support parts?
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Yes I think Spirit Motorcycle might work on it. They used to sell them. You can still get parts from them from Polaris also. But yeah it sucks if something breaks because you need special laptop, software, and cables to get into the bikes computer.

From what I see some Empulse are really reliable and others are not so reliable. Mine has 6k miles on it and I'm already having all these problems, but I can't complain much because I got it for less than half the price and I'm having a blast on it. It's great to use for Doordash it has the perfect range for food delivery and it gives me an excuse to go riding to make money =P I seen some bikes with coolant leaks like me, oil leaks, computer problems, wheel bearing failures, temp sensor problems, melted J1772 wiring, and some other stuff. The good thing it's relatively simple to work on unless the motor/gearbox needs to be opened. The Brammo bikes are even worse. The Victory TT bike is slightly different than the Brammo so MOST of the parts will interchange except stuff like the computer, batteries, you know stuff that will brick your bike. There's this lady that lives in San Jose that is selling her bike because the bike won't charge anymore because the battery computer might be malfunctioning the VCU is what they call it. It's basically the battery BMS. It's a Brammo so they don't make those anymore and the Victory part isn't compatible. Sad story :(

I cleaned it up pretty good. I was able to get the coolant out and clean all that corrosion up. Notice you can read the grade of the bolts now. I could just imagine if there was enough water in there might short those motor leads. o_O'
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Now I have a problem with the bike overheating. The motor temp sensor isn't working right and the waterpump is activated at a certain temp. The temp never gets higher than about 70F it needs to get around 100F for the pump to kick on, so I found out that if you disconnect the sensor, the black and red wire in the picture, the temp will max out at 390F and kick the pump on. So I will forever have the waterpump running when the bike is on but it's better than an overheated motor.
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HadesOmega

HadesOmega

Well-known member
Stopped by SJBMW when I was doin some Doordash on the Empulse to see if I could oogle the SR/S. The had a SR, SR/F, and SR/S right next to each others. The fairing is definitely HUMONGOUS, it makes the already big look bigger. But like the SR/F it just looks good when you sit on it's not big at all. However the SR feels tiny.

WARNING SR/S PHOTOBOMBING COMMENCING
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I like the color, it's like a Battleship Grey, the grab handle are different than the SR/F and this has a top case rack and side case rack. Ready to do some touring I hope it has the faster onboard charger for that. I think with all the cases on there it would look nice because the front just looks so big.
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Front reminds me of a shark
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The cool shark fins
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HadesOmega

HadesOmega

Well-known member
I rode it today I liked it :) I forgot how fast it was I looked at the speedometer and it was at 100 already O_O

It's like a totally different beast compared to the Energica, it's fast but it's like opposites compared to the Energica. One is loud one is silent. One feels HEAVY the other feels light. But one things for sure they both put a smile on my face when I twist that throttle :)
 
Demoni

Demoni

Well-known member
HadesOmega said:
One feels HEAVY the other feels light. But one things for sure they both put a smile on my face when I twist that throttle :)
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Man we really need to get you some seat time with the EVA Ribelle. It's on another level compared to the last EVA you got to ride. :ride
 
HadesOmega

HadesOmega

Well-known member
sk8norcal said:

youtu.be/xPnMeYjwvHA
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Oh man I just watched that video, I would totally do that in the Light Bee. The Light Bee would be a cheater bike on that stuff. I don't think I would want to do it alone though there are some pretty gnarly sections but I've ridden stuff like that on the Rubicon.

I don't know why they complain about no clutch. He says he can't pivot turn the electric dirtbike. I can pivot turn for days on the Light Bee no clutch. I find I'm too tired to do pivot turns when it matters though =P. I can pivot turn my KLX140 with a clutch also. But they were pretty good riders it was entertaining watching the other dudes ride also. It never ceases to amaze me what you can do on a dirtbike.
 
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HadesOmega

HadesOmega

Well-known member
firstbuell

firstbuell

GO! 04,16,23,31,64,69,95
how quickly you forget - multiple Harley 1-make series (even Buell had 1) Sportster 883 FT, vRod drag, XR1200 pavement

marketing types luvs da hype

I’ve ridden both Livewire & Zero demos -
each was tons o’fun

to your point, Lightning & Energica mebbe even more so
 
mrzuzzo

mrzuzzo

Well-known member
HadesOmega said:
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Hrm supposedly the HD Livewire set a world record for the 1/4 mile? Running 11s.
https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/harley-davidson-livewire-sets-world-records/

But wait what about this? Lightning LS218 running 10s almost 9s? The LS218 is technically a production bike.

youtu.be/TjJ2IbzGTuo

I'm not sure but the Energica is probably faster also it's has a top speed of 125 where the Livewire has 110. It puts out more power also sooooo yeah. Harley Davidson excited over nothing
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If you can't walk into a dealership and buy it it's not really a production bike.

Still no word on that Lightning Strike btw.
 
HadesOmega

HadesOmega

Well-known member
They've sold a couple strikes sorta, I have never seen a Lightning Strike or LS218 on the street though. If I had a LS218 boy would I advertise to the world that I had one. The LS does cost more than the HD though. I just thought it was weird that they were all excited over it when there are bikes out that are probably faster. Also I have never seen a Livewire on the street as well =P But then again I've never seen a Brammo or Victory Empulse on the street either. Electric motorcycles are still so rare.

There should be an electric bike drag race shootout =P
 
bigpoppa

bigpoppa

Well-known member
I need to get my Ribelle out to a drag strip to see what it’ll do. My SS9 with traction control maxed out is in no danger of lifting the front, making hard launches easy. My Ribelle though is able to get the front wheel light even with traction control maxed out and my not-so-light butt on the seat.
 
mrzuzzo

mrzuzzo

Well-known member
bigpoppa said:
I need to get my Ribelle out to a drag strip to see what it’ll do. My SS9 with traction control maxed out is in no danger of lifting the front, making hard launches easy. My Ribelle though is able to get the front wheel light even with traction control maxed out and my not-so-light butt on the seat.
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Curious to hear what kind of real life range you get on the Ribelle and also what the handling is like with all that weight.
 
HadesOmega

HadesOmega

Well-known member
I got to ride a Ribelle last week and I notice the front will get light under acceleration also. I thought oh yeah the bike's preload isn't properly set up for me. Least that's what I thought.

You'd definitly want to get up on that tank when you launch that badboy you'd be suprised what you can wheelie on that dragstrip.

I would think the Ribelle could get 100 miles mixed riding easily probably more. The battery is double the Empulse and I can get 60 miles. The range estimator was telling me like 80 miles with 60% soc left.

It's still heavy but it tips in easier and slowspeed maneuvers are easier handlebar effort. I remmeber back riding the SS9 it took a lot of handlebar effort to turn the handlebars riding it around a parking. The Ribelle was definitely lighter.
 
bigpoppa

bigpoppa

Well-known member
mrzuzzo said:
Curious to hear what kind of real life range you get on the Ribelle and also what the handling is like with all that weight.
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With the following parameters, my Ribelle used 90% battery to go 80 freeway miles at 73mph +/-
  • Riding Mode: Sport
  • Regen: High
  • Traction Control: 6
  • My weight: 250lbs +/-
  • OEM saddlebags and windscreen installed

It's handles noticeably better than my 13kw EsseEsse9 but I wouldn't say it's a night and day difference, just better. My guess is it's a combination of lighter weight and the change in riding position.

It's not a lightweight supersport. It's definitely more in line with sport tourers but the physically smaller size makes lane splitting a bit easier than with sport tourers I've had.
 
erensi

erensi

feeling good, not bad
So only one thread for electrics huh. Well I just bought one. A 2016 Zero SR ZF 13.0.

I am gonna pick it up from the guy in Santa Cruz this week. Do you think it can make it from Santa Cruz to Oakland? The specs say brand new it will do 90+ miles highway. What do you think? How about if I take 35 or HWY1? Is that more efficient?
 
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