Random EV thoughts.....

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121953925#Comment_121953925

Yeah theft is a problem if you have to leave it on the street, I never understand this in Ireland, in other countries people leave their bikes/scooters unlocked and no one would touch them, why is this an issue in Ireland, not just of course but it is a big issue here and fly tipping in the countryside. Really bugs me that but something I've never seen anywhere in Germany.

Buddy Bubs

Motorbikes would be ok if it wasn't for the mentality of so many motorcyclists. So many see them as get where you're going as quickly as you can as erratically as you can and using cars as an obstacle course. Very rarely see one just going along with traffic no matter how well it's moving, have to get ahead of everyone.

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121953934#Comment_121953934

"I see the Dutch have a mini rolling road which they test the power of scooters and confiscate ones that are overpowered" haha really ? that's mad.

Yeah I just don't get the mentality of some people on this Island doing what they like and not caring about the consequences.

I really do feel if a lot more people were on petrol scooters we would have a lot less cars clogging up the roads after all, most cars have only 1 person in them most of the time. There are some really great bikes that could work great in the city and beyond while providing 120 Mpg or more, Honda PCX 125, Honda SH 300, Yamaha XMAX 125/300 etc, I think the city and towns would benefit hugely if there wasn't such an emphasis on 4 wheel transport and why don't they promote proper 2 wheel transport be it BEV or petrol ? even the petrol ones are vastly more efficient than a car.

proper battery scooters are very expensive and the range is not good but it could work for a lot more people, the petrol ones can ride in the city and pretty much anywhere else.

eagerv

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121953590#Comment_121953590

I am just back from 5 weeks on one in hectic south east asia. And no scares, mainly because everyone is considerate to others, little fast moving larger vehicles and very few rules of the road. Just don't make any sudden moves and it seemed remarkably safe..

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121954001#Comment_121954001

funny enough, I also felt safer driving bikes in Cyprus over Ireland. Glad you had a safe trip!

eagerv

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121954007#Comment_121954007

Don't think I would ride one in Dublin either

Buddy Bubs

Drove ICE car for first time in 2 months, not a great experience. 1.6 diesel focus just about 20 KMs drive dropping it to my brother.

The effort to get it moving was a shock to the system! I'm not sure what power was in it, 110bhp maybe.

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121954053#Comment_121954053

Couldnt be any worse than a petrol Fiat 500L we've got as a rental. Wouldn't be surprised if it did actually have a 500cc engine. I have to apply in writing if I want to increase speed.

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121953925#Comment_121953925

Going off ev topic...I've cycled to work for 10+ years and never had a bike nicked. But always locked to a metal frame within a bike shed or carpark - won't leave it on the street.

I'd recommend getting one on bike to work scheme. I find it's brill to burn off stress and force me to exercise. I don't cycle every work day

zg3409

Hope there is no rain forecast, follow cable.

electricus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121955734#Comment_121955734

one way to heat up the battery (or burn the place down) I suppose 😳

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121954053#Comment_121954053

Like for like, Same power and torque, will still be some lag in the ice. I notice it in the Outlander too, manual, 150 Hp vs 205 Hp id3 but the id3 is a lot heavier and also no gears.

Petrol 500 CC Yamaha Tmax 500 feels way faster than the id3 lol. Mad yoke, I suppose being Auto helps a lot too. It pulls hard, never thought for 500cc that it would have such power but can't imagine th elads on 1300 CC bikes nust be insane altogether, definitely not my thing.

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121954007#Comment_121954007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121954011#Comment_121954011

see this is where the Government need to promote 2 wheel petrol scooters/motorbikes for city riding, most people in cars are only 1 person, why not encourage 1 person transport such as petrol bikes/scooters, most cars have only 1 driver and we'd free up an awful amount of space if many people would consider 2 wheels.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121958182#Comment_121958182

Or electric scooters? Really don't see the appeal of driving a petrol scooter in the city. Even worse than driving a car

It's worth noting that in cities where scooters are popular, electric scooters with swappable batteries are taking off big time

Look at the like of Gogoro for example

We're talking cities that are much larger and more spread out than Dublin

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121958615#Comment_121958615

The appeal is that petrol scooters can get up to 125 imp mpg which is a lot more than any other ICE car can get in town, a 125 forza or 300cc forza or XMAX for example is a very practical single person mode of transport with decent storage compared to your expensive battery powered petrol "equivalent" Even a SH125i or 300i are brilliant little things for getting about very efficiently. Most of these bikes can carry 2 people.

The petrol scooter can go much further and faster and is cheaper and can ride around all day with petrol rather than needing hrs to recharge for limited to very limited range and if that suits the person then that's fine but the point being we should really be moving from cars that are getting larger and larger from our Towns and cities clogging up the streets, you could fit a lot more scooters/motorbikes in or even have 2 lanes for scooters where you can only have 1 car lane etc.

The larger scooters have a good bit of storage too and could take some shopping.

How many cars do we see with only 1 driver ? and the odd biker filtering through laughing his head off at the rest of us stuck in traffic ?

Electric cars are not going to solve the problem with traffic congesting only our attitude towards how we move people around and big vehicles that are getting even larger, for one person isn't the answer in my opinion.

Do I believe in a congestion charge ? no, because Dublin public transport isn't fit for purpose, if it had a good underground system and a dart like system for the West instead of a crap slow tram then I'd say maybe. But in the meantime there is a lot we could do to remove big cars with one person from our towns and cities with just a simple change in attitude.

prawnsambo

You're making a great case for an electric scooter. Four to five hour complete charge time, ranges up to 100km which is way more than adequate for popping around town and top speeds up to 80kph. And the batteries are easily removable for recharging without the need for expensive charging points.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121959019#Comment_121959019

That person cycling past on the bike with two kids and a full shop on the rear carrier was me 😉😂

Electric cargo bike ftw 😁

eagerv

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121959019#Comment_121959019

Most EVs on night rate electricity probably cost less on fuel than an ice scooter.
the main advantage of a scooter is congestion, many countries where there are millions of them in cities could not sustain large numbers of cars.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121959250#Comment_121959250

I think it's probably better to say that if a lot of the scooter friendly cities suddenly turned to cars then they'd have huge urban sprawl like many cities in the USA

It's definitely a lot better to have city traffic on bikes or scooters or, dare I say it, on a bus than in cars

However the reality of Ireland is that we have a very spread out population relative to many of our peers (thanks property price growth).

So we end up with a lot of long distance commuting, which is generally suited more to a car

Ideally we'd have high speed rail lines, so you could take your scooter to the train station in Cork, bring it on the train, get to the big smoke in 45 mins because a 400km/h train will do that, and then take your scooter to work

However apparently we don't build any rail lines in this country

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121959250#Comment_121959250

There's nobody going to complain about the running costs of a modern 125 or 300 cc petrol scooter that can ride anywhere and fill up in seconds and can whiz past traffic stuck in long traffic jams.

I think bikes offer a real advantaged against congestion and when the majority of cars are carrying only 1 person it seems mad the Government aren't trying to promote bikes as a viable single mode of transport, electric cars can't solve this and cars are getting bigger, they're much bigger than they were 30 years ago and much heavier.

MightyMunster

The reason there's no one promoting petrol motorbikes is they aren't very clean. And all of the emissions would be in congested urban areas, having been in many Asian cities full of motorbikes I don't think the air pollution there is what we should be aiming for.

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121960627#Comment_121960627

All current bikes have to comply to the latest emissions regulations just like cars and remember bikes are much more efficient. A car that might average 7 L/100 km in city driving will emit far more emissions than a 2.0 - 3 l/100km 125/300 cc modern bike.

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121959154#Comment_121959154

100 km range at 80 Kph ? keep dreaming.

Mad_Lad

All the governments through the decades have failed to provide proper infrastructure, there's no reason we couldn't have electrified our rail network by now and have a much faster network, new routes, new lines.

Naas has no rail link ffs in 2024.

Irish Trains are slow, I was on the 400 Km/h fast train in Germany around 8 years ago, very comfortable, wouldn't know you were moving and I think it got to around 417 km/hr at one stage, a completely different way of travelling, it would be an amazing way to commute but then you get to your destination and have no way to get to the industrial estates.

We are so far behind with transport infrastructure and to think the Government want to continue to inflict higher and higher tax because ryan is anti car in general and the more people he can force off the road through higher taxes the better in his mind, well, it's not the answer.

Alkers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121960627#Comment_121960627

From your own graph, a petrol motorcycle is the most efficient ICE excluding a bus and even more efficient than an electric kick scooter. That impressive to me, should be encouraged in built up areas

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121961084#Comment_121961084

Not dreaming. And there are loads more with similar range/speed.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121961174#Comment_121961174

Except most of the pollution it generates is in those built up areas. Exactly the opposite of what's required.

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121961482#Comment_121961482

Probably 80 Km range but still decent I suppose although 45 Km/h but why would someone pay so much with some limitations when they can buy a petrol scooter that can ride all around the Island at decent speeds without restrictions ? But each to their own.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121962579#Comment_121962579

I think you missed the model on the right with a top speed of 90kmh and a range of 137km (dual battery). A quick search on Google will find at least a half dozen more with ~100km range and similar top speed.

And I see you've now moved the goal posts from getting around town easily on a scooter to riding all around the island.

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121962589#Comment_121962589

I never moved the goal posts, I said all along that the petrol bikes can do city and anywhere else with no restrictions, this is what battery scooters can't do, not everyone wants to pay petrol scooter prices for such restrictions.