Indian Electric

[Shinysideup]

"Polaris Industries, the company behind Indian and the now defunct Victory, are planning to release an electric motorcycle under the Indian name within the next five years, a senior executive has said."

This was published in MCN yesterday.

5 YEARS?

[kingcharles]

In 5 years we will all be riding a Zero...

[Richard230]

Well, you have to admit that it about time that someone made a production heavy-weight electric cruiser. However, Indian's really problem will be how to make it noisy and leak oil.   

[Richard230]

Here is another article regarding the electric Indian. Unfortunately, you won't learn anything new:
http://www.autoblog.com/2017/03/02/electric-indian-famed-motorcycle-victory-polaris/

[Auslander]

This was exactly what I expected.  HD runs their barely-usable prototype "Livewire" out, Victory absorbs Brammo, massive leapfrog over HD.

I agree with kingcharles, though I hope to be on a Zero in a year from now. Anyone want an Enertia+?

Fitting the electric drivetrain in to something as bloated as an Indian is going to result in poor performance all around.  Same thing I said about Livewire: HD riders (and Victory, and Indian) don't want a silent bike.  Parking at work on my Brammo or BMW, there were always HD guys that had to gun their engine real hard before shutting down (which is bad to do, but golly, it makes them *so cool*).  They need the noise and the rumble.  I've seen sportbike riders blown away, just stunned, getting off an Empulse, and still not convinced that owning one is worthwhile because they don't get the audio thrill.  Not convinced there's a market there for an electric cruiser.

[kingcharles]

Good points!

I have wondered for a long time why there is no commute focused electric bike. Something like an electric Honda Deauville.

Because that's clearly the best application by far at this moment. The good sales of the electric BMW scooter in Europe proves it too. Pure commuter application clearly works. Don't forget that even Vectrix sold quite a lot of bikes in their short existence.

Reasons for my thoughts:
Who cares most about (avoiding) maintenance?
Who can live without slipping the clutch?
Who knows their range requirements best?
Who cares least about looks?
Who will love the perfect balance in narrow (city lane splitting) situations?
Who benefits most from time saving by avoiding the gas station?
Who will appreciate the full tank each morning (and evening when charging at work)?
Who doesn't want to wake up neighbours early in the morning.
Etc. Etc.

I'm convinced that if Honda would launch the E-Deauville it would quickly gain a lot of commuting fans.

Not so convinced that would work for an unknown brand like Zero but at this point in time Zero should start thinking about making a name in this niche market before the big boys do.

[Richard230]

Those are all good points, kingcharles, and I agree with every one.   

Too bad the major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers apparently don't.   

[Auslander]

Here's how I parse things:

The Empulse cost about 30% more than I paid for my 1999 BMW, when it was new in 1999.  Performance numbers are about the same, range is the same.  The BMW I can extend the range (refueling) in about 10 minutes, and is also known to be insanely reliable.  Maintenance is more, but repairs (from what I've seen some Empulse owners go through on the forum) is arguably less.

So, 30% premium for less maintenance and almost no performance gain?  No thank you, Brammo.

Enertia+?  Costs about 30% more than my 2006 DRZ400SM did when new.  Same as above, range is about the same, same fueling restrictions (moreso, since it charges off 110), performance is about the same (the DRZ, if you push it over 60 and hold it there for long periods, like a highway commute, you're pretty much cooking your engine).

But, for commuting?  Wow!  Heavy traffic, no need to slip a clutch?  It's great for commuting, with 2 limitations: Off the line it's a pig, so splitting lanes is unsafe, and the saddle bags:  They're too small to hold a laptop, and ... Givi costs as much as BMW luggage, but feels like a cheap milk carton.  I've seen BMWs laid down on plastic luggage, and the lids get scraped but no cracks or collapses.  So, I feel some of the things that would make it a nicer commuter (ability to get out of its own way, or tackle steep hills even, and the ability to carry *anything* physically large that's not on your back) was hurting it.

I was really hoping that Polaris would've worked more in that direction.  Most people aren't aware they've had e-bikes (like, the kind with pedals!) for some time, continuing the Enertia+ would've been a great gap filler between someone that may need to carry their bike in to their apartment and someone not ready for a full-fledged moto with a transmission.