ECO: No wonder some people are turning to two wheels

With electric cars destined to cost significantly more than regular vehicles, electric bikes and motorcycles may provide the world’s best short term answer to weening ourselves off oil.

The average electric motorcycle battery can give riders huge mile per charge distances over their car counterparts and even though it’s only early days for development, more brands are joined the battery-powered ranks.

Motorcycle battery packs are smaller, lighter and therefore cost much less to produce than automobiles.

There are also numerous home conversion kits available online, and a growing fleet of garages set up in the US that now specialise in the low-cost conversions of our traditional oil guzzlers into electric motorcycles.

Brammo’s latest electric bike, the aptly named Enertia, features top of the line road electrics with a 13.7Hp motor and 31 ft/lbs of torque for a 50 mile top speed. At $US12,000, it might be considered expensive for a regular petrol bike, but it’s not bad when you compare it to the price of electric cars.

Similarly, the Zero S Electric from California manages a powerful 17Hp engine with 60 ft/lbs of torque.  Riders describe the silent electric ride as slightly unnerving at first.

As for battery upgrades, the Zero S features an easy to modify battery; old batteries can replaced with new ones in just a few minutes. Initiatives such as Better world are already looking at developing battery swap bays for our future electric vechiles, rendering the whole ‘old battery’ argument mute.

Other electric bike contenders include Vetrix electrics VX-1, Extremegreen’s X-ride ($US3000) and the Swiss made Quantya dirt bikes.

The Japanese are also developing a unique array of hybrid style bikes.

Each bike varies in price, but all promise an electric plug and go future. The bikes are catching on in sport too: Electric motorcycle races are now being held on the Isle of Mann.

It’s not just for motorcycle riders; electric bicycles are quietly catching on and have done so over the last decade. After your pedal power gives in, electric motors can carry a tired load up steep hills and are quick to recharge after a long day commuting.

Best Buy in the US are said to be one of the first mass retailers that will carry many of these ‘hybrid’ bikes for sale: neither bicycle nor motorcycle – they sit somewhere in the middle and offer a cleaner ride at a lower price point than either motorbike or car.

In the short term, these bikes may well turn out to be our best bet for mass electric transportation – especially, if battery technologies don’t improve in the near future.

Australian PC Authority

The coolest environmental friendly motorcycle

So, this new thing with the environment touched the moto industry as well. The coolest environmental friendly motorcycle, Enertia, is made by the manufacturer Brammo.

If you ask me, it looks cool and it’s a major step in the industry, if you consider the limited resources, the environment, and the problems with the traffic.

The Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle goes on-sale at select Best Buys on July 5. Well, the old school bikers won’t be the the main target for the company. That distribution hints at its intended purpose: to appeal to people that don’t buy traditional motorcycles. With zero-emissions, low running costs, and silent, simple operation it should do just that, according to Hell for Leather.

I’m looking for to enter the Romanian market as well.

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