Taiwan plans free-use electric motorcycles

[FreepZ]

No idea who is making these bikes, but the folks in Taiwan are planning on providing 600 of them for free use to the public.


Read about it at autoblog:
http://green.autoblog.com/2012/01/10/taiwan-plans-battery-swapping-stations-and-free-use-electric-mot

[skuzzle]

Just got back from my first trip to Taiwan a couple weeks ago.  The number of scooters there is amazing.  There are at least as many scooters as there are cars.  All of the scooters are about 125cc.  Most of the intersections with traffic lights have a box area for scooters ahead of all the cars.  I was told that all two wheel vehicles of any size are not allowed on the freeway.  This is the perfect place for an EV, as long as it has plenty of storage.  (I saw a scooter pulling a packed trailer and another with a driver and two kids)

[CBke]

More info on http://www.uray.com.tw/

[Phantom]

I like the hub motor design. I would have predicted to see more entry-level EV bikes with them by now.

If you look really quick, it looks a bit like a Zero; at least to me.

Scooters seemed to be the most popular vehicle in small city in Japan that I often visit.

It looks like Taiwan is off to a good start with EV motorcycles.

[protomech]

Seat looks a lot like a Zero.

Sub-Enertia capacity and performance (1.9 kwh lipo, 3 kw hub motor). They claim 110 km range, or about 70 miles.. at 30 km/h. Seems optimistic.

Charger is pretty weak, especially for a public use bike (336w). At 17 wh/km, it charges at 19 km/hour.. so if people travel at 30 km/hour on average, they must be charged about 3 hours per 2 hours of use. A 750w charger surely would not add much weight or cost .. the slightly heavier much more powerful Zero XU (113 kg vs 96 kg) has a 1kw integrated charger.

Hopefully they have some type of prominent indicator showing how much charge is left on the bike. If bikes are parked at point of arrival, then you should be able to walk up to a charging bike and determine if it has enough range to get you to your destination.

[Gavin]

Im sure Taiwan is getting them cheap...much cheaper than Brammo could sell them some Enertias

It would be nice if Taiwan bought a few Enertias and Zeros and compared usage, longevity and such, but probably won't happen.

Can somebody explain the dual front fender to me....is this common?  I just don't remember seeing two front fenders before.

Gavin

[Richard230]

Im sure Taiwan is getting them cheap...much cheaper than Brammo could sell them some Enertias

It would be nice if Taiwan bought a few Enertias and Zeros and compared usage, longevity and such, but probably won't happen.

Can somebody explain the dual front fender to me....is this common?  I just don't remember seeing two front fenders before.

Gavin

If you want to see more dual front fenders, check out BMW "dual purpose" motorcycle models (such as the R1200GS and the F800GS).  BMW loves dual front fenders and I have no idea why. There is one of my F650GS and the lower fender works well on the street, but if the bike ever encounters mud it will cover front wheel in about 10 feet, thereby locking up the wheel as the mud packs between the fender and the tire.  The upper fender helps to keep road glare from your eyes and maybe functions well when you remove the lower fender to clean the mud off of your wheel.  But then the mud will clog the radiator and overheat the bike. 

I hate mud.   

[FreepZ]

Charger is pretty weak, especially for a public use bike (336w).

Hopefully they have some type of prominent indicator showing how much charge is left on the bike. If bikes are parked at point of arrival, then you should be able to walk up to a charging bike and determine if it has enough range to get you to your destination.

I don't think that charging time will be an issue for the people who use the Taiwan scheme, since these bikes are going to use battery swaps rather than have the bikes sitting still while they recharge. My guess is that there will be battery swap locations all over the place and when you run low on juice, you get the battery replaced, and then get back on your merry way.

From the original article:

Meant to make battery swapping as easy as filling up with gasoline and reduce maintenance worries, the program makes a maximum of NT$1.5 million ($49,430 at today's rates) available for each station installation.