Boom and bust for electric motorcycles

Two new developments in the electric vehicle industry are both good news and bad news for the move toward electric motorcycles.

On the good news side, a Super Charger has been developed for the electric Zero Motorcycles which will recharge a battery in under an hour.

DigiNow and eMotorWerks have developed the compact 8kW Super Charger to fit in the “tank” area of the Zero S and DS models.

However, the price is a hefty $US2499.

Meanwhile, a spike in demand for electric cars, boosted by the recent VW “dirty diesel” scandal, is expected to delay the move toward electric motorcycles.

The demand has also led to a backlog in supply of batteries and a world shortage of cobalt, one of the key components of the high capacity, high performance batteries that have driven the technology.

While mass-market electric motorcycles are still some way off, boutique manufacturers continue to produce interesting niche models.

We recently showed a range of off-road electric motorcycles and now comes this eGroov scooter suitable for riding to and on the beach.

The eGroov has a 250-watt motor in each wide wheel, providing all-wheel drive that helps it tackle pavement, dirt, and even sand and mud.

You can get it with one or two 12 Ah, 36 V lithium-ion batteries for about 15-20km of range with each battery which is stored under the floorboards. Charging is five hours per battery and top speed is 25km/h.