Modern Vespa

If thump, vibrate, and crunch when you shift is your objective - I really think you ought to try a Ural. One from the '90s would be best. And bring along the 2 toolkits that originally came with the bike from the factory so you can do major tear downs by the side of the road. Doesn't get much more basic than that.

No thanks. I have enough crunch in my breakfast cereal already and if I brought a Ural I'd have to buy another camera.

"New automotive start-up brand Savic Motorcycles is set to become Australia's first high-performance and zero-emissions electric motorcycle manufacturer."

https://www.drive.com.au/news/australian-ev-motorcycle-brand-savic-gets-green-light/

Brutalist design comes to motorcycles.

It looks like an industrial microwave oven and with wheels ...

I was going to say that it's not an attractive looking machine is it.

Sorry but we spent all the money on the battery.

Speed, range, not looking like a enormous battery on wheels.
Pick two.

It also looks like that you could play a tune on it.

Next up, water cooled batteries.

Expect a fresh batch of coolant threads.

Looks up Nissan Leaf and Air.

It feels like watching a tennis match where the players use a battery instead of the ball.

With Cobalt being an important element in the making of long range batteries we may risk our oceans health as we turn to mining the seabed to extract it. I am certain environmentalists and eco warriors will delay for decades or all together stop seabed mining from moving ahead.

You are optimistic about the survival of humanity, we will certainly die out before we do more damage. And the cycle will start from scratch.

We are all different when it comes to refinement in our machines.

I have always felt that smooth, quiet and refined represented quality.

Think of a Rolls Royce, Bentley or a Rolex watch.

One of the reasons I enjoy riding a Vespa GT is that it is so smooth, quiet and refined.

The GT, at certain speeds, gives off a turbine like sound that represents quality to me.

I have yet to ride an electric bike, but I would appreciate the smooth power.

For me, the shaking, noise machine is not appealing.

Bill

Bill, you should really take a test ride on a Zero or Energica, it will blow your mind. Of course the price tag will too. Seriously though, these battery operated machines are designed to be used and used often. Commuting on one would be ideal. Once it is assembled, the battery is aging - yes, I know they can be recharged many, many times. But this is not like when you buy a scooter or bike as basically an occasional weekend ride, or something that has to be stored for months on end. Plugging it in for storage does not work that well either as keeping it up to 100% charge is not good. Storing between, say, 30 to 70 percent is better and bring it up to full charge before a ride. Don't get me wrong, I want one after riding a few, but will most likely have to build one as 7k for a used 10 year old one is a little pricey.

I plan to ride one at some time in the future.

And will probably be buying an electric scooter as soon as they make one that fits my most basic needs of practicality, speed and range.

My friend Warren (wmak) has a Zero in Kentucky.

Next time I head north, I will have to visit and give it a try.

I think I will like it.

Bill

I rode a Zero a few years back and I'm afraid that I didn't enjoy it as it felt inert and soulless.

I don't necessarily need noise either. Just a sensation that something combustive and mechanical is going on is enough.

The electric revolution is coming but much of the thrill of riding for me is actually operating the motorcycle as skilfully as you are able with the aid of the throttle,clutch and gearbox, not just press a peddle or twist a grip.

It holds no appeal no matter how cutting edge the design is or efficient they have become they are still too expensive and limited in range for them to be practical when compared to the ICE equivalent.

Think of just how many manufacturers of electrically powered motorcycles have gone to the wall recently. The reason is that there's no demand for them.......yet.

I mean, as an example just look at the Savic. It's supposed to have the equivalent power of a 300cc engine but the battery is huge and ugly.

For the same price ( Australian Dollars ) you could have a beautiful GTS 300 and have none of the inconvenience.

Batteries will become more efficient and they will become smaller, there's no question of that but right now it feels like there are too many manufacturers competing for too small a market.

For the price of a GTS 300 you could have a decent motorcycle that exceeds 100mph. And yet...

there's a BMW in my garage. I can't think why.

There is a vintage Moto Guzzi 250 Airone Sport (single cylinder) to be restored in my garage, it may be impossible for me to use it due to my physical problems but I bought it anyway because it's regular "tum-tum" reminds me a beat of a heart as if it were a horse and therefore a living thing.

I agree that the progress will be electric traction and for various reasons, all good but I see nothing wrong with someone being a little, very little nostalgic for something that is defined as "machine" in the full meaning of the word, without for this is to be demonized, an object to be exorcised in the name of a new era herald of ecological progress.
It's sad you know ...
We are the first witnesses of an epochal transition and many are indifferent, it's not that they don't understand... they just don't care.

Our society has become numb, devoured by ever faster progress and without being prepared for the transition, we take it as well as what we consume every day, a part remains on the plate and is thrown away because there is so much stuff to eat and we want to taste everything before it ends.
And we don't understand where we are going or why we got there ...
Sad.

PS: I write a shitty english when I use complicated concepts to express me, sorry.

...no, come on...
I drove the Bulli for work (it was already old in 1980) and I can say that its gearbox was based on the calculation of improbabilities, you put in gear and prayed it was the right one ...
Our Bulli, the Fiat 850 T:

Traditionalists - there is one for you too

...I do not know whether to laugh or cry...

An electric motorcycle from the Land of Lucas electrics. I shudder to think.

Here's another Aussie

https://www.fonzmoto.com/nkd/overview

By insisting, sooner or later someone will succeed.

"McFly technology"!

Does it have a flux capacitor?

Do they make hoverboards?

I'll take the 500cc, automatic, dual-front-wheel emulation, please.

I get the knocks on the electric bikes, but I love mine! I am fortunate to own more than one bike, I can choose the right tool for the job, LOL

Of course, we did this for free with playing cards and clothespins.

Ha! We used baseball cards. Used the Yankees on the spokes. Take that Mickey Mantle!

Chris from CLE

But hey, you didn't have 15 custom stickers, I'd bet.

I recall using balloons for that basso profundo that mimicked a Harlette.
They lasted quite a while before popping.

It's interesting to note that there appears to be Harley Davidson and Zero at the top and then there's a huge gap between them and numerous low volume specialist start ups.

Maybe BMW are the exception but their electric two wheelers don't seem to get that much exposure for some reason.

On the point of that, BMW have been accused of dragging their feet on the switch to electric vehicles but I think that they are being very shrewd thing by watching to see how it all pans out before committing.

https://iltirreno.gelocal.it/pontedera/cronaca/2021/10/14/news/una-stilista-cinese-per-personalizzare-lo-scooter-elettrico-piaggio-1-1.40809305

PONTEDERA. Piaggio announces a collaboration with the Chinese-born stylist Feng Chen Wang, who has made London its base of operations. The result of this operation will be a customization of Piaggio 1, the electric scooter of the Pontedera company which is part of the Group led by Roberto Colaninno.

Authentic, multidimensional, "modern future". This is how Feng Chen Wang defines his aesthetic. At the basis of her work is the search for a style that is, at the same time, conceptual, distinctive, functional, based on aesthetic values ​​that draw on the experiences and roots of Chinese culture. In fact, Feng was born in Fujian, a province in Southeast China, known for its mountains and breathtaking natural landscapes. From here she leaves for London, where in a few years she establishes herself as the avant-garde stylist of a generation of new fashion talents. The union of these two worlds, the Asian and the London one, made her creativity unique and brilliant. "The collaboration with Piaggio goes beyond co-branding - say the company -. It is in fact a journey into nature that explores the concepts of functionality, design and style to create a capsule collection of unisex streetwear garments".

Well ... Who would have thought that?