Changing from 2 bikes to 1 bike + 1 car

[nerrrd]

Interesting, good for you in being an early adopter.

Might want to look at the new dl650x too, much cheaper than an AT so you could upgrade sooner.

My cynicism expects that now is the time to get the most value out of EVs, in the fullness of time as they become more popular they'll end up being taxed heavily so the income the Govt needs for the roads can stay the same or increase as required.

Also it occurs to me that the Electricity companies might enjoy being in the same position as the oil companies are now.

[cods4]

Is that right? Interesting. How bad is it though? I thought it wasn't such an issue with modern battery construction and charging systems. If you're correct and it's still something to think about then that really fucks up the whole charging station ideal.

Yeh it definitely has an effect as it generates a lot more heat in the batteries. However a quick google suggests it doesn't have as big of an effect in a cooler climate like NZ thankfully.

[Swoop]

It is still drastically cheaper to drive an EV. Right now I'm looking at no RUC for 3 years and after that there is a decent chance that they will make the RUC cheaper than what diesel cars currently pay because they will still want to encourage EV car uptake.

Until a labour government gets in. They tax everything they can think of.

[James Deuce]

Said it before and I'll say it again: Not vaguely interested in electric bikes. Will only be interested in electric cars when I can drive one 600kms on one charge through varied terrain and be able to travel at the open road speed limit over the last 20% of charge.

Will probably buy an electric scooter to get to and from the train station within a small town and won't be vaguely sad if it gets stolen from the train station car park.

[MarkH]

I'll say this about my decision to buy an electric vehicle:
- If I compare the 2015 Leaf with 7,500kms on the clock that I've bought with something like a 2015 Toyota Corolla, there isn't much difference in the purchase price. It seems to me that a very tidy 2 year old car with low mileage would have cost fairly similar money even if I'd gone for a fossil fuel burner.
- For my particular situation, having a 70km round trip commute 5 times per week, the savings are absolutely huge. If I only ever used the Leaf to go to work and back and rode my DR650 for ALL other travel, I would still save the entire price of the car over a 10 year period compared to the bike I was riding (not even counting the price I paid for that bike, just the ongoing costs).

For me it was a no brainer. For anyone else - it would depend on their circumstances. Some people live so close to work it would make MUCH more economic sense to walk or ride a bicycle. Aucklanders gain a huge benefit by riding a motorcycle due to the crippling traffic the cars get stuck in. Some people have no garage and charging would be a difficulty.
The practicalities of using an EV for my work commute make it really appealing - charge overnight at home, unplug in the morning and drive to work, work, drive home and plug in, charge overnight, etc. I never need to stop for gas and the weekly cost for electricity would only be about ten bucks, that's a bit cheaper than paying for $40 worth of petrol each week.

Currently there are some extra bonuses that give the early adopters a nice bonus - no RUC and there are quite a few public fast charging stations that are free to use. The WEL energy stations in Hamilton and Te Kauwhata are both free. There are quite a few Vector fast chargers in Auckland that are free too.

[JimO]

so you rock up to a charging station with a empty leaf and all the plugs are being used, how long does it take to charge? how long does a battery last, whats a replacement battery worth?

[Rhys]

My commute is similar to yours at 70 km per day, you should easily do that with 24w leaf at 80% charge (it's recommend to keep the charge between 20-80% for longer battery life)

A couple of things to think about if you are on the open road with a lot of hills the heater on, heated seats and steering wheel, lights and window wipers on range is down to as low as 100 km, if it is more urban you'll get around 200 km per charge (80%)

Join up to chargenet cost $6.00 you get RFID fob for the charge stations. They work like a fuel card, plug in your car, swipe the fob and your car will start to charge. They send out a bill at the end of the month. The charge stations don't take eftpos or credit cards.

[Rhys]

so you rock up to a charging station with a empty leaf and all the plugs are being used, how long does it take to charge? how long does a battery last, whats a replacement battery worth?

To charge from 20% to 80% is 10-15 minutes at a fast charger or I plug the car in at work (std 10amp plug) it take 5 hours max, the car is normally not that low and would only take 2-3 hours. So full tank ever day I leave work, no need to drive out of my way and stop at the gas station

Most Nissan leafs from 2011 still have 12 bars some have 11, at 11 bars they have lost 20% capacity, best way of think is that the gas tank has got 20% smaller
Putting a new battery in a car is like putting a brand new motor a car, can be done but is it really worth doing?

[F5 Dave]

So what you now need is a good condition Aprilia RS250. One to balance out the equation but two to inject some excitement into you motorcycling the way an ST or DR never could. Only live once.

[MarkH]

Now I've had a week of commuting in the Leaf and I must say it is really nice.
I've been using Eco mode around town when the roads are wet so that I don't keep spinning the wheels, that insta-torque makes it too damn easy.
I have an extra heavy duty 20m extension cord in the boot, that gives me more than enough length to be able to charge at work if I want to. If the car was charged overnight at home then after 3 hours of charging at work it is pretty much full again (maybe 98%). I can easily unplug in the morning and drive to work, then back home - still have 35% remaining, running the A/C in the morning to keep the screen demisted.

I got my Chargenet fob to increase my options, but I haven't needed to use them yet. I've used a couple of WEL energy's stations (Te Kauwhata & Hamilton north) and both are free.

I'll give the ST1300 a really thorough cleaning and list in on Trademe, it's been a great bike for the work commute with 100% reliability and at 84,000kms it still has well over 200,000kms left in it. But it is nice to not need to wear my motorcycle gear every day now and the car has better protection from the cold and the rain while still giving me great reliability. This week I DIDN'T stop to put $40 on petrol in my commuter vehicle and that was nice!

In the stop-go around town driving the Leaf is outright fun! It's easy to think that the Leaf wouldn't be all that quick because 80kW isn't overly impressive (my friend's Honda Type R has 130kW), but the power delivery is considerably different and 80kW is plenty for the 0-50kph acceleration to be damned fast. I'd quite like the 2018 Leaf with the 110kW motor and 40kWh battery - that would be quite the hot hatch! Maybe in a few years time I'll trade up to a 2nd hand Japanese import 2018 Leaf.

[MarkH]

It's now been about 7 months, still enjoying commuting with the Leaf and saving heaps of money.

I managed to sell the ST1300 and then I took the DR650 and traded it for a brand new Africa Twin DCT.

I've basically spent nothing on the car since I bought it, just charging it each night is all it needs. I've only owned the new bike for 2 weeks, but I've already spent close to $2k on it - with much more planned. The bike cost me $2k more than the car did and if by the end of next year I've spent a further $8k on it then I wouldn't be surprised (maybe a little surprised that I hadn't spent more). By that time I might have bought new tyres for the car, but I'll probably have spent more on motorcycle tyres than car tyres over that time period.

I've been thinking about why I've spent practically nothing on the car but am busy pouring money into the bike. What I've come up with is this: The car is a means to an end, it gets me to work so I can earn money. The bike IS that end, that's what I spend my money on. I use the car to achieve a task, it is a means of transport. The bike is fun, it is the reason I look forward to the weekend when the weather forecast is promising. The day after buying the bike, I headed up to Auckland to catch up with a friend - it is 135km by the shortest route, but 200km by the route I took. Riding from Morrinsville to Auckland via Waingaro might not be the shortest route, but it was definitely fun! I didn't even check before I left that my friend would be home, basically it was the ride I cared about more than anything.

I think electric cars are a good idea for motorcyclists. Throughout the week I save around $30 on fuel/energy, that means that in the weekend I have more money for petrol for the bike! It makes sense to save money on the weekday commute so you have more available for weekend fun.

Anyway, here's a pic of my new baby:

[Coldrider]

If you want to releave your wallet of $910aussie you can fit a mccriuse control.

[MarkH]

If you want to releave your wallet of $910aussie you can fit a mccriuse control.

You know, that would not be a bad addition to the bike. Right now I'm really poor and I would like to add a rack & panniers as soon as I can spare the money, but once my finances recover then I will definitely consider buying a mccruise cruise control. That would be a LOT better than a throttle lock type device.

[rastuscat]

Poor is a relative term. If you had the dosh to buy a DCT Africa Twin, poor isn't the best word to use.

[MarkH]

Poor is a relative term. If you had the dosh to buy a DCT Africa Twin, poor isn't the best word to use.

Yes, I HAD the dosh, now I don't. Cash poor then?
I had money in the bank, then I got $7k for my ST1300 and banked that - giving me even more money. I traded the DR650 and as well as the trade-in I also had to pour all the money from my bank account into theirs. The following week I received a fortnight's pay and paid the insurance premium, leaving me still cash poor.

This week coming up I'll receive another fortnight's pay, I might buy a pair of 50/50 tyres so I can go gravel riding. I'll still have next to nothing in the bank. On Monday I'm taking the bike into work so I can head into Honda Hamilton after work and get its first (1,000km) service done. Between the service & the tyres I won't have much spare money from this pay packet.