As I am in the Market for a new commuter since my GSXR 600 K7 in black (nice!) got nicked the other month I seriously considered the electric motorbike I saw whilst scrolling hotukdeals last night. I went through to the Firebox site and was very impressed although I think my 12 mile journey with a top speed of 30 mph would push my current stress levels over the limit. Don’t worry though! I didn’t stop there, surely they could not be the only Eco bike on the Market for around the thousand pound mark! And to be honest, I would probably pay up to the cost of my last motorbike if I thought it would do the job for some piece of mind, super cheap and convenient commuting. I had heard of the GoCyle and that that was available on the cycle to work government scheme so I started there.
The GoCycle is very convenient and operates as one of those pack down in your handbag jobbies that someone always hits you in the shins with on the train. Super light and enough power to last the journey but only a top speed of 15 to 20 miles an hour. Don’t be confused when you see it everywhere with a monthly charge on it you can buy it outright for about 1000 to 1200 quid, which if you place it in the push bike Market sounds expensive but as a motorcycle alternative it’s very reasonable, still, not the one for me so I moved on.
I had missed the Gadget show last night but had a tweet saying there was an electric bike on there so I caught on Demand Five. Looking on the Zero website I began to get excited with there range of models and higher top speed (55mph or 90 kph). Although with the higher speed and stunning design came a higher price, and only currently available in the states.
Another, again road legal, stunning looking, and with a reasonable speed are Brammo Powercycles. Probably my favourite looking, this bike again only available in the states at the moment. A point to note that although these two bikes haven’t made it across the pond yet the US government are offering a cashback incentive to get people on them which is positive.
My search couldn’t end here, I had not really found much considering Firebox were selling the original one so cheap, so reluctantly I started adding scooter into my search criteria. It was then that I came across Vetrix Electrics which had UK in the title so things looked promising.
A good top speed of 60 mph, 1 penny a mile and two seats but look at it!! and I couldn’t find a price for it!
Again, no givvy uppy! probably my favourite yet apart from the price of £7650 not including V5 registration, which I could buy a new gsxr for, is the Quantya Evo1 Strada. A simple website where you can get to the details of the bike quickly, Swiss made, available in the UK, nice photees and spec. 42 mph, holds a charge for 2 hours riding and takes 120 mins to charge, looks nice to.
I shouldn’t leave the big guns out. KTM have announced they will have something in their showrooms for 2010 and rumours are Yamaha and Honda will not be far behind in 2010.
Surely in a world where the effect of our carbon footprint is making a noticeable difference to the earth. Import shouldn’t be an obstacle and we should definitely not be waiting for some relatively small importer to decide to ship a load over. The government, rather than fighting wars based on oil ownership and prices or coming up with feeble congestion policies to reduce traffic and pollution should stop taking the stupid pills and produce on mass what already exists. People would buy them, cycling commuters, motorcyclists and everyone who pays a fortune on train tickets weekly an never actually gets to sit down.
I thought this Tom Tom app wasn’t going to be released this soon but given the recent 3D Sat Nav App race between Sygic, Navigon and Coplilot Live it makes sense that Tom Tom are quick to marmet. Competitively priced in comparison to the others at £59.99 I’m sure Tom Tom will rely on their dominant Market share and brand identity to drive sales.
