Taking A Look Inside The Alta Electric Motorcycle Factory

On the shores of San Francisco Bay, just south of San Francisco, Alta Motors is getting ready to begin selling its all electric Redshift MX motocross bike to professional racers. Priced at $14,995, the Redshift MX is designed to give fine tuned control to the most demanding off road rider. In an environment where the tires are constantly gaining and losing traction, that control is a huge advantage says Alta co-founder and CEO Marc Fenigstein. A street legal version of the bike, dubbed the Redshift SM, will be available in a few months and will cost just $500 more.

Alta  Motors manufactures all the components of the bike itself, except for tires, wheels, brakes, and suspension. “Everything we’ve done in-house we’ve been able to do faster, cheaper, and at higher output than outsourced. The hardest part is bringing up a supply chain that delivers all 460 parts that we need on time on quality and on cost.” Tesla Motors is another California electric vehicle manufacturer that is following a similar “made in-house” formula.

Other electric motorcycle companies have burst on the scene, only to flame out and fall back to earth fairly rapidly. What makes Alta Motors different is its proprietary battery technology. Since it started in business in 2010, it has designed and built its own batteries using cells sourced from various world manufacturers.

Fenigstein says one of the things that’s makes the Redshift special is that its battery has 80 percent more range per pound than is available with any other electric motorcycle. The battery weighs only 70 lbs put packs 5.8 kWh of power, according to Alta Motors CTO and co-founder Derek Dorresteyn. That is a better ratio than for just about any other battery powered vehicle on earth and on a par with Tesla Motors.

The hidden beauty of an electric motorcycle is that it requires far less maintenance than a gas powered machine. Oil and filter changes, motor repairs, and the like are all a thing of the past, so owners can spend more time riding and less time wrenching. One of Alta Motors’ most prominent backers is Martin Eberhard, an original founder of Tesla Motors and a renowned battery technology engineer.

Within 3 years, Alta plans to be selling the Redshift and other all-electric products internationally. Dorresteyn and Fenigstein decline to say exactly what other vehicles Alta may develop and when, but they do acknowledge their technology could work in scooters and smaller motorcycles. The demand for those vehicles in China, India, and the rest of Asia is enormous and growing stronger by the day.

Sourec: TechCrunch

Harley Davidson To Make Electric Motorcycle Within 5 Years

Sean Cummings is senior vice president of global demand for Harley Davidson. That means his job is to accurately predict the future so the company has the right products on offer at the right time. He told the Milwaukee Business Journal this week that Harley Davidson will produce an electric motorcycle within five years.

Harley Davidson excited the world of motorcycles 2 years ago when it created its LiveWire electric motorcycle and sent it on a tour of the US to judge people’s reaction. Those who rode the concept bike loved it, but Harley owners are traditionalists in a way that is unusual. For them, a motorcycle has to look and sound a particular way. Loud is better in Harleyland. The $50,000 list price wasn’t all that appealing, either.

Several years ago, Harley Davidson introduced the V Rod, a thoroughly modern rethink of the traditional V twin theme. It featured an overhead cam shaft, 8 valve engine developed in cooperation with Porsche. Most testers reported it was a superb motorcycle, but few people bought one. More than anything else, the V Rod just didn’t sound right.

It had none of that classic “potato, potato, potato, potato” sound at stop lights. And when you fitted it with shotgun pipes, it wasn’t loud enough to wake the dead at wide open throttle. Buyers sniffed around it, but most opted for traditional Harley Davidson machines. The V Rod was a sales disaster.

Harley has a problem, though. The average age of its customers is rapidly trending toward Buick territory. It desperately needs to attract younger buyers who aren’t yet ready for Social Security. And it has to be aware that attitudes toward electric motorcycles are changing.

Victory Motorcycles is grabbing headlines for its electric Isle of Man and Pikes Peak racers. Energica has two electric road bikes on sale. Zero Motorcycles has an array of electric models available. Harley has to get with the electric motorcycle program or risk being left behind.

Apparently, it has decided a business case exists for an electric motorcycle with the HD logo on its flanks. Two years ago, such a thing was the stuff of fantasy. Today, it seems inevitable. The change in attitudes in the marketplace is accelerating faster than most believed possible when the LiveWire was unveiled in 2014.

Source: Asphalt and Rubber   Image credit: Harley Davidson

Zero Announces 2016 Lineup: Better, Longer, Cooler

Zero will be presenting their new models at the AIM Expo in Orlando today, and we got to peek behind the curtain so you could be the first to read about it. On Monday we joined a call with Zero’s Scot Harden to find out what’s coming for 2016. They’ve made a lot of exciting improvements to the lineup and are introducing two customer-designed bikes, the FXS and DSR, after so many Hollywood Electrics customers couldn’t leave without these upgrades.

I was seriously in the market for a Brammo Empulse. Until I rode a 2013 Zero FX on the streets of Hollywood. I knew immediately, even with knobby tires, this was the perfect urban assault vehicle. So I bought one and had Hollywood Electrics swap those dirt wheels out for wheels that come with the S, and some Pirelli Diablo Rosso II’s. Well, this has become such a popular modification that Zero went ahead and made it permanent for 2016- the Zero FXS, a proper Supermoto bike.

The FXS features the new IPM motor, suspension components from the DS and comes stock with Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tires. The new FX and FXS also have taller handlebars. I just hope they’re narrower on the FXS, as I was smoked by some kid on a fixie lanesplitting through DTLA because his bicycle was so much narrower than those massive bars. Reviewing the 2016 Zero FXS on the streets of LA for your edification will be one of my greatest pleasures.

The Z- Force motor has been dramatically redesigned to deliver power more efficiently and cool more rapidly. The patented Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) motor has the magnets mounted in a new formation to significantly improve cooling under hard riding conditions. This will be especially valuable to racers but also to riders whose only mode is “ride it like you stole it”.

The horsepower and torque haven’t changed on any of the Zero models, but the motor can use all of those ponies for longer periods of time, as long as the battery is still up for it. If not, you’ll still get the governor kicking in to throttle you back to a speed more likely to get you to your destination.

For 2016 Zero has improved the battery capacity of the S and DS models by 4%, but the FX line with its swappable batteries now boasts a whopping 14% more battery life. This is no small feat. But if that’s still not enough juice for you, and you want something a little cheaper than the Power Tank, Zero now offers the Charge Tank. This on-board charger comes with a J1772 and can triple the charging speed! You don’t even have to connect the regular plug to an outlet, the Charge Tank automatically connects to the on-board charger and works through that as well. The Charge Tank is also backward-compatible with 2015 Zero S and DS models in place of their Power Tank. And Power Tanks from 2015 can fit 2016 models.

With Zero’s Charge Tank, and startup DigiNow having just announced their Super Charger accessory, it’s clear a lot of electric motorcycle owners are looking for a faster charge more than the weight (and cost) of extra batteries. The $1900 Zero Charge Tank can fit where the $2674 Power Tank (extra batteries) would go. And it’s a lot cheaper than the batteries. This proves that Zero is listening to their customers and finding that many of them would like to go for a long ride and stop for a quicker charge than what a 110v outlet will give.

Zero continues to offer the highest energy density batteries in the entire EV industry. Take that and stick in your SUV, Elon. All these improvements are actually costing less in some ways. The more popular SR and FX models retain their 2015 prices, while the S and DS are each $1,000 cheaper than in 2015. The FXS will retail at the same price as the FX- $8,495 for one battery (3.3) or $10,990 for two (6.5). Don’t be cheap and think you’ll be ok with only one battery. You won’t. And 27 hp is a LOT less than 44, even with 70 ft-lbs of torque in a super-light sub-300lb. package.

The DS also gets a sportier version in the DSR (above)- This high-performance dual sport features the new IPM motor, ZF13.0 batteries, 56% more torque and 25% more power than the DS. Zero continues their fleet program, with the following lineup …

… and here’s a handy chart of how the 2016 bikes compare to each other on the basics. The details should be up on Zeromotorcycles.com soon.

Zero Motorcycles 2016 Pricing

---

All photos courtesy of Zero Motorcycles.

Zero Motorcycles Announces Price Cut

By the time you read this, the official price of all Zero motorcycles will be $1,350 less than it just a few days ago. The company’s entry level FX ZF2.8 now lists for $8,495, while its top of the line SR sports bike now starts at $15,995. Zero says the price cut is possible because battery costs have dropped, while energy density has increased. That’s good news for followers of trends in the electric vehicle marketplace.

Zero gets high marks for upgrading critical components of its motorcycles, especially new brakes with ABS, better hardware, and much-improved suspension components. This should all lead to an even more-engaging driving experience for electric motorcycle enthusiasts.

Attitudes about electric bikes are changing. While riders can still get more bang fo their buck with a gasoline powered bike, fans of electric motorcycles praise them for their abundant torque and quiet ride. It’s actually the perfect green commuter for anybody that lives in a temperate climate, and it’s much more affordable than even the cheapest electric cars. For getting around town emissions-free, electric motorcycles make a ton of sense…and they can get up and go pretty quick too.:

If battery prices continue to fall, more people will find an electric bike may fit their lifestyle just fine.

Source: Gas2

Zero Motorcycles Presents Their 2015 Lineup | Intermot

So you know all those upgrades you did to your 2014 Zero S, SR, or DS to make it really kick ass? Well, for 2015, that’s all stock, including 10% more range you didn’t get. Unless you’re pulling a Terry Hershner. He did just complete the first Electric Iron Butt, on a modified Zero S. The FX doesn’t get more range because they still haven’t figured out how to stuff more energy into those swappable battery packs. All in good time… The same four models make up the line, the S, SR, DS and FX. The red is a bit darker, while the yellow and orange bikes are a bit brighter and warmer.

For police and security customers, there are police versions of the S, DS and FX. the new FXP, an FX with all the bells and whistles (literally) a cop bike would need. And for our brothers at arms, there’s the MMX, a military grade version of the FX, developed solely for military customers. Hopefully only the good guys. I’d hate to see my bike in the wrong hands. Zero’s Scot Harden held a conference call with some of us to discuss the new models. He mentioned that police and military are very strong customer segments for them, and they expect those orders to double over the next year.

All Zero models now come with fully adjustable Showa suspension, developed over the past three years specifically for Zero. I haven’t noticed a problem on my 2013 FX, as the bike is so light and flickable anyway. On the S and SR’s I’ve ridden, however, the bike didn’t feel that solid, especially at high speeds. So it will be nice to experience an improved suspension. Compression, rebound, and preload are all adjustable for both the forks and the shock. Harlan Flagg of Hollywood Electrics tells us they’ve modified the suspension on many customer’s bikes, so he’s very excited about the improvements coming for 2015.

I fully intend to attempt to ride a 2015 Zero FX up as many staircases as I can. There are plenty here in LA…

The entire Zero line also come stock with Pirelli tires. The S gets their Sport Demon tires, while the sportier SR gets the grippier and taller profile Diablo Rosso II, an awesome dual compound I’ve been running on all my street bikes for years. They heat up quickly and grip very well. The dual compound provides even more stickiness on the sides for maximum traction at full lean angle. These are the tires I paid a mechanic to put on the 2014 SR before I even took it to Refuel at Laguna Seca. The cast wheels are also redesigned, with a sharp new design.

For 2015, Zero FX owners will also be able to buy any of the accessories Zero sells to their Police customers for the FXP. This means an rack for that Givi top case you can’t live without, a flyscreen, crash bars… Now if they’d just sell us all the siren and PA system…

All 2015 Zero models also come equipped with Bosch ABS. Although regenerative can provide plenty of stopping power for normal conditions, sudden stops and riders who like to play hard will require excellent brakes. It can be turned off, hopefully with the swipe of a finger on the app. I’ve never felt the need for ABS on a motorcycle. A good motorcyclist knows their bike’s limits, how much braking to use when. Shoot, I’ve even done a stoppie on my 177 HP Yamaha R1 in LA traffic to avoid being doored, and no harm came of it. Still, the European Union, in their infinite wisdom, has decreed that all motorcycles sold in the EU from 2016 onward, will be equipped with ABS. Yawn. At least you can turn it off and still do stoppies and back it into turns at will.

I asked Scot Harden what all this would add up to, and he said the 2015 models MSRP’s are only about $300-$350 more than the 2014’s. This is great news, as it could mean the cost of batteries is declining for Zero. I also asked them about fastener quality, as that has been a bit of an issue on some bikes. Harden explained that they’re now using a higher quality of fasteners. They are all ISO spec structural fasteners (class 8.8 and above), and Zero have improved upon the use of button heads on frequently serviced joints. In addition to this, they now use DC tools for maximum threading and torque precision on installation.

All photos courtesy of Zero Motorcycles.