Tips and Tricks for riding an electric bike.

[FreepZ]

[a Brammo employee of long standing] had lots of ideas about riding philosophies or ways of riding that make the most use of the batteries.

The Enertia has been around for a while now. Would any of the current Brammo owners like to offer some advice to us future owners as to how to ride an electic bike?

• Are you constantly keeping an eye on the power level, to make sure you don't run out of juice, or do you plan your trip so that juice will not be an issue before you start off?
• I assume that you get the most out of your battery by trying to keep your speed as constant as possible. I.e. early breaking, and gentle accellerations. Are there other things that you do?
• Is range always an issue? I mean, if I've got a full battery, and I'm just going to take a 5 minute trip to the movies and plug in for an hour and a half over there, why not have fun?
• Are you concerned that abusing the battery with hard accelleration is going to shorten the life of the battery, or is that negligible? Perhaps your plan is to sell the bike before it becomes an issue.
• What do you differently when riding your electric as compared to a gaser? (I heard that there's no engine break, so you're using the breaks more. Are there other things?)
• What else do you think that we should know?

[Phantom]

•Are you constantly keeping an eye on the power level, to make sure you don't run out of juice, or do you plan your trip so that juice will not be an issue before you start off?

I plan and only make a quick glance every now and then.


•I assume that you get the most out of your battery by trying to keep your speed as constant as possible. I.e. early breaking, and gentle accellerations. Are there other things that you do?

I avoid using my brakes as much as possible. I know the hills on my commute and I use them to preserve the battery charge. I coast down them at a good speed and I coast up them to slow down.

•Is range always an issue? I mean, if I've got a full battery, and I'm just going to take a 5 minute trip to the movies and plug in for an hour and a half over there, why not have fun?

I plan my trips so range is not an issue. I go heavy on the throttle to have fun sometimes, but I also make it a game to see how much battery charge I can preserve.


•Are you concerned that abusing the battery with hard accelleration is going to shorten the life of the battery, or is that negligible? Perhaps your plan is to sell the bike before it becomes an issue.

No, I like hard accellerations and I do not think it will shorten the battery life. I do not factor it in as part of my resale plan.

•What do you differently when riding your electric as compared to a gaser? (I heard that there's no engine break, so you're using the breaks more. Are there other things?)

Correct, there is no real engine braking. You can usually slow down by letting off the throttle.

•What else do you think that we should know?

It is really fun.

[Brammofan]

For the most part, I agree with Phantom's responses. 

•Are you constantly keeping an eye on the power level, to make sure you don't run out of juice, or do you plan your trip so that juice will not be an issue before you start off?

I know that as long as I've got a full charge, I will have no problem with my 25 mile commute.  I look at the state of charge every now and then, but am never taken by surprise by what I see. It goes something like this: [inner monologue]Humming. I'm at Antioch and Vivion Road, probably right at 90%. Yep. [inner voice changes to Sir Jackie Stewart] "and he's made it through the chicanes in stunning fashion!" [changes back to me] Humming. Beautiful day. I am invisible to most of these people, doubly so to the chatters and texters. Now, I'm at Burlington and North Oak, ought to be at 80%. Yep.  Hi little kid in the back seat of the car. Humming. I'm crossing the Heart of America Bridge, fastest point of the trip. Stop light at the end - probably at 70% OH... actually at 73%.  Must've been drafting that box truck most of the way. Up and over the 10th street ridge, coast down the hill, pull into parking lot and, yep, 67%.[/inner monologue]  I usually arrive in the parking lot with a SOC of about 64-69%.  I usually arrive home on a day with no errands with 20-38%. The difference is how "spirited" the ride home is.   

•I assume that you get the most out of your battery by trying to keep your speed as constant as possible. I.e. early braking, and gentle accellerations. Are there other things that you do?

As noted above, my commute is predictable but if I'm in a hyper-miling mood I will anticipate traffic lights (watching out for the stale green lights, pissing off people behind me by (gasp!) actually going the speed limit or treating it as a true "limit" and going 2-5 mph slower than the limit as I anticipate it will turn red.  Starting from a stop is a real power suck, so every intersection you can do this with successfully is another few hundred watts you don't have to use to accelerate from 0 to 35mph.  Constant speed is your friend.  I have also found that if you can stay at that constant speed by what I call "pulse throttling," you tend to save juice over keeping the throttle at a constant position.  Pulse throttling is opening and closing the throttle to maintain your speed  - coast...throttle...coast...throttle, etc. I have a long, straight flat part of my route that I have tested this on and I think it does make a difference.

•Is range always an issue? I mean, if I've got a full battery, and I'm just going to take a 5 minute trip to the movies and plug in for an hour and a half over there, why not have fun?

Yep.  If I've got plenty of juice left and want to have fun, I am Rossi.  But for me, the "range is an issue" consideration comes before the helmet comes on.  Thanks to google maps, range is almost never an issue.

•Are you concerned that abusing the battery with hard accelleration is going to shorten the life of the battery, or is that negligible? Perhaps your plan is to sell the bike before it becomes an issue.

Hard acceleration, to my knowledge, does not shorten the life of the battery.  I think the biggest factor in that consideration would be running the bike down to 0%.  The second biggest harm, perhaps, would be charging the bike to 100% but not leaving it on the charger overnight to balance the cells.  Maybe someone from Brammo could chime in about that. As for resale, I haven't thought about it.  Hell, I have a first generation Brammo.  It's a legacy.  Someday, at auction, it will pay for my great grandchildren's college education.

•What do you differently when riding your electric as compared to a gaser? (I heard that there's no engine brake, so you're using the brakes more. Are there other things?)

Different from gassers? I enjoy the silence, the not worrying about burning my ankles on the exhaust pipe, the ability to talk to people at intersections, the look on people's faces when they realize it's a real motorcycle that's electric. Plus, the babes.  You get the love from the women who like motorcycles, and the women who don't like motorcycle but want to save the world.  I'm only slightly kidding.

•What else do you think that we should know?

People on Harleys will not wave back at you, the f@rkers.

[05Sultan]

"People on Harleys will not wave back at you, the f@rkers."
  'F@rk 'em!' Bwaaahahahaaaa!

[Brammowannabe]

Plus, the babes.  You get the love from the women who like motorcycles, and the women who don't like motorcycle but want to save the world.  I'm only slightly kidding.

Unfortunately it only seats one, so once you get the "babe", she can't come along for the ride lol

[protomech]

Brammo has revealed there will be a passenger option for the production Empulse.

[EmpulseRider]

People on Harleys will not wave back at you, the f@rkers.

That's just the posers that wont wave back... real Harley riders (or anyone who rides for that matter) dont differentiate one rider from another, as long as you ride you get the respect returned. I have noticed that these folks typically wont initiate the friendly gesture, but will usually return it... with the exception of the posers of course.

[Gavin]

i think it has a lot to do with where you live...

Here in New Mexico: Harley riders- almost all wave. Vintage scooters- all wave. Most BMW riders wave.

CVT scooters and crotch rockets almost never wave...I assume both types are noobie riders who are afraid to take a hand off and wave for fear of crashing.

Gavin

[Phantom]

I nearly always initiate the wave to other riders, and most riders do wave back in my area; including Harleys and sportbikes.I think people rarely wave to scooters here, so that seems to be the group where I get the least waves back. I very rarely see vintage scooters on the road.

It was a good confidence booster for me to get used to taking my left hand off the handlebars to wave.