the Livewire is leading the charge followed by many smaller models apparently (a thread may exist already). https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/harley-livewire-production-bike-unveiled/
Well, I like Harleys, but I much prefer them with a V-twin petrol engine rather than an effing great fridge or air conditioning unit stuffed in the frame.
That don't look so bad Chris, probably goes very well. The future of cars and bikes is electric. Whether we like it or not , its inevitable. As you know I've embraced the future. Looks like the C.E.O of H.D is ahead of the game here. Volvo is ceasing production of all internal combustion engines by 2019, to be followed shortly after by others. https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/07/volvos-electric-future/532659/
My worry here is, is electric the new diesel? We have heard an awful lot about it's environmental impact reduction when replacing conventional engines but hardly anything about the resources needed to build so many batteries, even more so the most technical longest lasting ones, how will we dispose of them safely and not simply dump them on poorer nations for kids to strip them down How will we charge them given the building programmes in the U.K. already favour tower blocks than houses with drives and garages What protections are built in as companies like shell are already buying existing charging companies as the public chargers are charging 3 times the conventional electric rate already fuel duty and car tax create £39 billion for the treasury every year, how will they replace that Lastly and a smaller point, how much will your insurance premiums go up given crashed electrical vehicles are difficult to recover and the cost of the batteries are likely to see the bike scrapped?
Shhhhhh///we cant talk about the drain on resources to make batteries...its in the same bracket as the climate changes anyway
What's the betting they haven't worked out what their annual profits loss will be when they market these at a higher cost than conventional IC engined cars and people prefer to stick with their old cars for a lot longer than normal, because of preference; high service costs and lack of charging facilities / infrastructure. Buggered if I am going to fit a charging point on my house just so I can add to an already high electricity cost. It doesn't matter whether the batteries consist of lithium, cadmium or similar; it is bound to be a filthy process which damages the environment more (and a bit risky given that lithium batteries seem to ignite when they feel like it) plus the cost of disposal of wanked out batteries will add heavily to service and supply costs.
Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has announced that every Volvo it launches from 2019 will have an electric motor, marking the historic end of cars that only have an internal combustion engine (ICE) and placing electrification at the core of its future business. The announcement represents one of the most significant moves by any car maker to embrace electrification and highlights how over a century after the invention of the internal combustion engine electrification is paving the way for a new chapter in automotive history. “This is about the customer,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive. “People increasingly demand electrified cars and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs. You can now pick and choose whichever electrified Volvo you wish.” Volvo Cars will introduce a portfolio of electrified cars across its model range, embracing fully electric cars, plug in hybrid cars and mild hybrid cars. It will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models and two of which will be high performance electrified cars from Polestar, Volvo Cars’ performance car arm. Full details of these models will be announced at a later date.
I see where the misunderstanding is. They will not be selling conventional engined only cars from 2019 They will be selling fully electric as well as hybrid (electric/conventional engined) cars only from 2019
I waited 18 weeks for my GTE, not particularly efficient, especially on long runs, circa 42mpg, I do like the gte mode though the tax saving is enormous though. I was told that Panasonic cannot make enough batteries to keep up with demand, so much so that VW won’t even accept an order!
I was chatting to one of my neighbours who works in aviation the other day about the lack of lithium and other silicone stuff thats affecting the ability to build tech. So much so, large companies are hedging and buying way more than needed, totally against their JIT delivery processes. What happens when it runs out...
TBH if the cost of them was lower, and they made decent electric cars (convertible would be perfect), I'd be encoring my wife to have one simply because she does 20 miles per day on average.
Battery powered electric vehicles are not the future, they are a stop-gap measure, Hydrogen is where it is at, obstacles still exist but are being overcome with new research. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/...-ship-hydrogen-fuel-cheaply-as-ammonia-2018-8
That's not the same as ceasing production of internal combustion powered vehicles. All they are saying is that all new models launched after that time will have some form of electric motor, either in combination with an internal combustion engine or as a standalone.
