Dirt Rider Magazine calls them “the future of off-road motorcycle riding;” Forbes Magazine calls them a “leap of innovation;” and Blaine Bermers of Eureka calls them “really cool.”
Joining the ranks of alternative-fueled vehicles that are growing in popularity against the backdrop of ever-climbing gas prices, “Zero Motorcycles” are the newest addition to electric vehicle family.
“They’re not your normal motorcycle,” said Bermers — who is currently displaying two off-road models for sale now — one at the showroom of Bedliners Plus in Eureka, and one that was available for demonstration at Ruth Lake over the July 4 weekend.
Street-legal versions are expected to be available later this month.
Founded by former NASA project manager, Neal Saiki, the Zero Motorcycle, known as “Zero X,” has no tailpipe, making it noiseless and emission-free, weighs a mere 130 pounds, has no gears, no clutch, and accelerates from zero to 30 mph in less than two seconds, the Web site states at www.zeromotorcycles.com.
They run on “second-generation lithium-ion cells” to ensure against fire, and deliver 20 horsepower that has 100 percent torque at all times and reaches speeds up to 60 mph.
A slightly more expensive German-made motor option is also available that offers 10 percent more power, the Web site states.
“You just plug it into an outlet and it takes two hours to charge. Most of the cars take 10 to 12 hours,” Bermers said. Once charged, the street-legal model goes for 60 miles and the off-road goes for about 40, Bermers said. “They say it will only cost you less than one cent per mile to drive.”
“I rode it up in the mountains and all the animals just turned around and looked at me like ‘what’s this?’” said Bermers of the whisper-quietness of the bike.
Comparable to a 250cc motorcycle, the Zero X costs about $7,400 and can arrive on a doorstep in a UPS box.
“I’ve got one sitting here that just came out of the box and another one I could get within the month,” Bermers said. “There’s a high demand right now as you can imagine with the gas prices.”
“Get dirty while staying clean,” the Web site invites.
For more information, phone Bermers at 619-640-0173 or see the bike currently on display at 1326 Koster Lane off Broadway in Eureka.
Electrify this!
4 comments:
I've been toying around for well over a decade with the idea of making car bodies as a giant battery using a non-corrosive electrolyte solution. Also interested in Sterling hot air engines running on vegetable oil burners. Anyone else with ideas about how to make cheaper alternative vehicles?
Electric motorcycles are an old idea, people have converted motorcycles to electric for about a decade in Home Power Magazine.
Other ideas, is people have run their cars off wood. Wood gasification is what it was called.
It's not as simple as just selling it cheaper. Developers of electric technology will need time and money to continue enhancing these vehicles to make them more viable. Right now, gasoline power is cheaper and performs better, but it has the benefit of over a hundred years of development. The first gas-powered cars performed horribly and were ungodly expensive. Give electric technology a bit of time and it will catch up.
The same goes for steam engine technology and hot-air engines. Both suffered lack of development after gas engines took the lead.
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