E-Motorbikes are a Good Option if You Want to Jump into the E-Car Scene
Motorbikes are great if you’re a person who commutes by yourself or with an additional travel assistant. Now, motorbikes have their own set of problems just like cars and pollute the environment. If you care about nature, you may think of opting for an electric car. Now, if you usually commute alone for office or any other cause, electric cars are a bit too much for you. It’s costly, and it is proven that electric cars don’t help much when it comes to reducing fossil fuel dependency and saving nature. Now, I was looking at a concept for an e-motorbike by Yamaha and I thought it’s a good thing. Let me discuss in detail.
Electric motorbikes are your average bikes, but electric and solves a lot of issues traditional motorbikes have. It also shines bright where electric cars fail for single person usage. Lots of companies are making electric versions of their bikes, and there are also many companies who are primarily focusing on manufacturing electric bikes only. There are also some smaller startups coming out with fancy and inventive models of electric bikes, but I am more interested in the existing market because electric motorbikes aren’t that new and nowadays the market has improved by a lot.
Electric motorbikes really helps save the planet
Unlike cars with immense amounts of power consumption and requirements, motorbike batteries are efficient and lightweight. Still newer electric motorbikes can go more than 300 kilometers with that size of battery. Of Course without leaving no carbon footprint and charging that battery won’t take a strong outlet and too much electricity. Better option if you can utilize renewable energy for charging your battery because it is easily possible to do so. Installing a solar panel that can generate required electricity for your motorbike is not very costly unlike cars that require an immense amount of energy to recharge. With this way, your electric bike can become hundred percent carbon neutral.
And you won’t have to sacrifice speed
Modern electric bikes can generate torque and speed higher than traditional bikes (except some super fancy ones). For example a fairly affordable E motorbike model Zero SR/F can reach from 0 to 60mph within 3.5 seconds and can achieve maximum torque of 140 ft-lbs (about 189.8145 Nm) and 110 horsepower. This is impressive for a value bike, now if you want to spend more, you can always get models that will give you much higher torque and speed. With electric motorbikes, you don’t have to speed from afar to climb hilly roads, bridges and culverts with instant torque. You can just get up easily.
Electric motorbikes and bikes in general enable you to move faster through slow paced roads and traffic. You can cut through other cars with great control. If you live in a country like India or Bangladesh, where road conditions aren’t as good as in the US, electric motorbikes can give you more comfort because electric motorbikes are lightweight. It can help you ride better in complex conditions. Some modern electric bikes give you extra digital features that help you find better parking, navigate via satellite maps, predict power consumption based on roads and other conditions and so on. Although it leaves more security holes, software based features are much more advanced and common in electric motorbikes.
It costs you less if you think about maintenance
Traditional motorbikes require extensive maintenance because of all the parts they have. You have to refill engine oils after a certain time, there are parts that can corrupt, there are leaks you have to look out for and there are many hazards if you do not take care of your bike. Electric bikes, due to their nature, do not require much supervision or maintenance. It has fewer parts than a traditional motorbike and since there are no fluids involved, there are no tank leakage or oil leakage. And since the maintenance is low, you save money in the long run! This is not the only money saving aspect of electric motorbikes.
As you already know, electricity is cheaper than gasoline and oil. Modern electric motorbikes can charge themselves within 60 minutes and will give you a long mileage. A bike with 19kwh battery will cost you about 1.55 USD in Bangladesh from your residential line and about 2.10 USD per charge from a non-residential line. Now, if your travel distances are shorter than 30km, you can ride for 2/3 days with a single charge. If you travel longer distances, it still costs less than a traditional motorbike. And then there are renewable energy options. If you already have a solar panel or other renewable energy source set up, your cost can come down to almost zero.
And..
Of Course you won’t find renewable energy sources when you travel long distances, but since it’s a motorbike and not a car, you can charge it in someone’s house if you visit them, or bargain a charging fee in a nearby garage when you travel long distances. This way you can save a lot of money by not paying high prices for fuels and gasoline. And fuel prices will only get expensive since it’s not a thing that has stable supply. Only a handful of companies regulate oil prices and the government puts huge taxes on fuel and gasoline. On the other hand, some countries are encouraging people to opt for electric motorbikes by giving a tax cut or even subsidising. Some countries are going to ban fuel or gasoline powered motorbikes within 2040, so having an electric motorbike means you are well prepared.
Now for the consideration points
This post doesn’t aim for you to go buy an electric motorbike, but helps you to decide better if you want to join the E revolution. That means you have to also think about the shortcomings of electric motorbikes. Right now one major caveat of electric motorbikes is that these are not cheap. Electric motorbikes can start from 15k USD to shy 50k USD if you want optimum features and benefits. Now, many companies are producing cheaper motorbikes, but those don’t give you better benefits than a traditional fuel or gasoline powered motorbike. There are also scooters you can opt for and I think this is the optimum choice for many. In India a company called Ola is producing smart electric scooters for affordable prices.
Another problem is that you have to plan your routes before you go out with your electric motorbike if you want to travel longer distances. With traditional motorbikes, you can go anywhere and expect a fuel or gasoline refill station everywhere. But you cannot expect the same when it comes to electric motorbikes, at least in India and Bangladesh. It will take some time before we see charging stations everywhere here.
Conclusion
Consider all the positive and negative points and more I have not written in this article for the sake of keeping this article less time consuming before you go and purchase an electric motorbike. There are challenges and also fun when it comes to an electric motorbike and you have to think before paying the price (which is a lot compared to traditional motorbikes). For me, electric motorbikes require government subsidising for me atleast on the taxation side to finally have any benefit of electric motorbike in my locality. But if I ever go out of the country, electric motorbikes would be my prime choice for travelling.
About the Author
Mahbub Hasan is a creative professional from Bangladesh. In Technofaq, Mahbub writes articles about design, privacy, technology and life surrounding them.
