Charge

**slofox** · 15th March 2013, 13:18

Did anyone else see the doco, "Charge" t'other night on sky? About electric powered bikes doing the IOM circuit.

The odd decent performance but a few woeful ones as well (especially when they ran out of batteries part way through...)

Opinions anyone?

**Ruahine** · 15th March 2013, 14:07

Enjoyed the doco.

Have to say most of the bikes weren't up to much, running out of batteries half way up the hill or burning out their motors. But I was impressed with how much they improved from 2009-2010, much faster and more reliable. I supose there is no reason why they can't eventually match petrol engines with improvements in technology.

Still can't get over how quiet they are, the riders kept getting hit by birds!

**slofox** · 15th March 2013, 14:52

Originally Posted by Ruahine

Enjoyed the doco.

Have to say most of the bikes weren't up to much, running out of batteries half way up the hill or burning out their motors. But I was impressed with how much they improved from 2009-2010, much faster and more reliable. I supose there is no reason why they can't eventually match petrol engines with improvements in technology.

Still can't get over how quiet they are, the riders kept getting hit by birds!

Agreed. Reliability is an issue still.

However, there was one lap at an average speed of 96.summat mph. Which ain't too bad.

**Berg** · 15th March 2013, 14:57

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Quite impressed with the development in the following years as well.

**Swoop** · 15th March 2013, 15:01

Originally Posted by Ruahine

Still can't get over how quiet they are, the riders kept getting hit by birds!

Wonderful.

"Green" technologies "saving the environment" while killing off other areas of the environment. A bit like the prius really.

**slofox** · 15th March 2013, 15:08

So when are we getting into steam powered bikes then?

**bluninja** · 15th March 2013, 15:10

Originally Posted by slofox

Agreed. Reliability is an issue still.

However, there was one lap at an average speed of 96.summat mph. Which ain't too bad.

Michael Rutter went round at 104 mph average...you must have nodded off before the end

Couldn't understand why they were using motors with brushes. No wonder they kept failing.

**pzkpfw** · 15th March 2013, 16:15

Originally Posted by bluninja

Michael Rutter went round at 104 mph average...you must have nodded off before the end

Couldn't understand why they were using motors with brushes. No wonder they kept failing.

The motocyz (sp?) team in their second (more successful) attempt did use (U.S. sourced) brushless motors.

(They seemed to develop a feeling against the Agni (sp?) motors most people were using. Though the Agni guy (Cedric Lynch) thought the motocyz guys were using theirs wrong.)

I missed the start, and in the credits saw a thanks for a picture of a Britten. What was that about?

Also noted: deaths of about 3 or 4 riders during the making of the doco.

**Ruahine** · 15th March 2013, 17:18

I see MotoCzysz broke the 100mph average lap time this year.

**The End** · 15th March 2013, 17:47

Originally Posted by Swoop

Wonderful.

"Green" technologies "saving the environment" while killing off other areas of the environment. A bit like the prius really.

That whole "green" argument is utter bull IMO. What about the methods used to create the energy needed to charge the car/bike?

Not every country has sustainable power generation; most use a combination of coal and gas.

**Fryin Finn** · 15th March 2013, 17:54

See the guy with the big penis commentating again - how about jobs for the less well hung eh?

**tigertim20** · 15th March 2013, 18:51

Originally Posted by slofox

So when are we getting into steam powered bikes then?

Theyve been done!

There are plenty of people out there creating innovative electric bikes in their sheds! - looking at the IOM bikes and complaining about reliability issues isnt really a fair complaint - they are designing bikes to go at full noise, 100% of the time - there was a cash prize at the last IOM for the first electric bike to do a 100mph lap - clearly the emphasis wasn't on long term reliability or high milage capability.

There are several options out there though if a lekky bike is what you want for commuting - I remember a yard in Blenheim having lekky scooters for sale back on 2006 or 2007, they werent terrible looking, and I think had a travel distance of 50km on a single charge. That was a small bike, several years ago, plenty of gains have been made.

I was discussing options on electric bikes with Jantar at a rally a year or two ago, and even then there were several options available (albeit mostly ones that would need to be bought from overseas and shipped over) that would have been legitimate choices for a commuter. I recall (sort of, I was drunk!) discussing at length the options, including how far they could go on a charge and cost etc etc.

There are options out there if you look, but you arent likely to see them at your local Kawasaki or Harley dealership