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Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one

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Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one

#51

Post by rapjr9 »

gxon wrote: post #19
gshdg wrote: post #2

This is awesome. But nobody’s going to buy it if they have to drive it sharing the road with hulking SUVs. It’s nearly as dangerous as a motorcycle simply because it is so small and light. The only advantage is protection from the weather.

This should be drastically safer than a motorcycle. It presumably has a seatbelt and airbags, and no chance of being flung 50 feet in the air or sanded down by asphalt. Parking would be a huge advantage in a dense city. Limited parking can create a psychology barrier that impacts your realized mobility even if you own a car. I regularly decide to not go somewhere because I know how much of a pain it will be to park.…

It has seat belts/chest straps and a few safety features, but no air bags and hasn't been crash tested. That and the price are the main things stopping me from buying one. There are full size cars that cost less than a Solo, even though the cars have all the complexity of an internal combustion engine.

Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one

#52

Post by speedgoose »

ofrzeta wrote: post #33

There's also the Renault Twizy that is readily available and significantly cheaper (starting at 7000 Euro). Actually even the regular electric car by Seat (Mii) is much cheaper than the Electrameccanica.

You also have the Citroën AMI that is available since yesterday.

Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one

#54

Post by jmchuster »

J0_k3r wrote: post #16
keenmaster wrote: post #15

A single occupancy car will be more commercially lucrative once we have full self-driving technology. If you hail a self-driving cab for yourself, the fleet will send a single-occupancy car. If you’re with a few others, it’ll send a sedan. Etc...all under a tiered subscription model. Not sending a sedan every time saves on hardware, electricity, and maintenance costs. Some of the savings would in turn be passed onto…

we have self-driving cars already, they're called trains

i think you mean taxis?

To the end customer, the only difference would be cost, and if you are rich enough, or the service is subsidized enough by investor cash, or the cost of living in your area is low enough, then it all ends up roughly the same.

Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one

#55

Post by weinzierl »

ofrzeta wrote: post #33

There's also the Renault Twizy that is readily available and significantly cheaper (starting at 7000 Euro). Actually even the regular electric car by Seat (Mii) is much cheaper than the Electrameccanica.

Came here to mention the Twizy because I see a it in the steets occasionally, so it seems to be somewhat successfully. The only other "single person, but not quite motorcyle" I see even more often is the BMW C1, which is kind of a scooter with a cabin and can be driven without wearing a helmet here. I'm biased though because I live in a BMW city.

Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one

#56

Post by ncallaway »

jdavis703 wrote: post #23
Talanes wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Show me a train that can show up at my grandmother's door and drop her at the doctor's.

There’s a train outside my front door that will drop me off at the front of UCSF. But that’s about 10 stops away and requires a transfer. If one doesn’t mind the bus, there’s one that picks up in front of my door and drops off at the hospital (the bus stop is even closer to the main entrance than the parking garage!)

That's great! How soon can that train get to Talanes' grandmother's house?

Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one

#57

Post by 01100011 »

nsl73 wrote: post #39

I’d rather have a motorcycle. Motorcycles are faster, cheaper, can carry about the same amount of cargo, and 100 miles on a charge is enough to give me range anxiety. I’d rather have a car. I often need to carry passengers, carry large or heavy things, and a new economy car is in the same ballpark price. Who is this really for? I don’t see many people buying this as their only personal transportation if it only trave…

I'd rather not have a motorcycle. I'd rather not have to suit up in special clothing to try and reduce the chances of injury from accidents which, from talking to motorcycle riding friends, seem to be strangely more common than accidents in cars.

I'd rather not have a car for my daily commute. Driving my large family vehicle for my job is wasteful and inefficient. I almost never need to carry anything large or heavy on my daily commute. I work less than 20 miles from home. I don't need a daily commuter vehicle with more than 2.5x this range.

I would love to buy a small electric vehicle, but the cost is prohibitive. A small vehicle, safer than a motorcycle and more idiot proof, would be perfect to augment my existing transportation options.

Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one

#58

Post by ofrzeta »

weinzierl wrote: post #55
ofrzeta wrote: post #33

There's also the Renault Twizy that is readily available and significantly cheaper (starting at 7000 Euro). Actually even the regular electric car by Seat (Mii) is much cheaper than the Electrameccanica.

Came here to mention the Twizy because I see a it in the steets occasionally, so it seems to be somewhat successfully. The only other "single person, but not quite motorcyle" I see even more often is the BMW C1, which is kind of a scooter with a cabin and can be driven without wearing a helmet here. I'm biased though because I live in a BMW city.

For the BMW C1 you need a motorcycle driver's license, though. (unless you have regular car driver's license that was issued before 1980)

Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one

#59

Post by ofrzeta »

speedgoose wrote: post #52
ofrzeta wrote: post #33

There's also the Renault Twizy that is readily available and significantly cheaper (starting at 7000 Euro). Actually even the regular electric car by Seat (Mii) is much cheaper than the Electrameccanica.

You also have the Citroën AMI that is available since yesterday.

It looks ... interesting :) It has a max speed of 45 km/h which makes it primarily usable in cities. One edition of the two editions of the Twizy can go 80 km/h.

Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one

#60

Post by LilBytes »

pengaru wrote: post #50
LilBytes wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100,000+ km in total under my belt. Pillions in my experience pick it up quite quickly and this is across super sports, super nakeds and adventure tourers. I tell them either lean with me when I'm going around a bend or stay directly up right. I've not had any problems. And I've had a fair number of Tinder Dates with people without any experience of riding who've came accustomed quite quickly.

Sure, it's not hard to acclimate at all. But I too have ridden heaps of miles in a previous life when I'd habitually tour the US on two wheels, and there can definitely be frustrations and risks with inexperienced passengers. From having to convince them things like No, your Keds are not satisfactory for us to go riding. Yes, you must wear a helmet and some pants and gloves would be smart. No, you should not lean int…

Ouch! Thanks for sharing the stories.

My Kawasaki Z900 (2017) is pretty comical for wheelies, more so with a pillion on your R1 as you noted.

Here's a pick of a stock version of the bike. Because of the position of the pillion seat, it being so far to the rear, the short swing arm and because the pillion seat sits so far up and away from the rider. The front wheel lifts with such a trivial amount of power to the front.

I've still had a few rides on it with pillions but god damn, like you said. It does not inspire confidence with an additional passenger.

The Adventure Tourers I've had I was a lot more comfortable with, to date that's a Tiger 800 (2015) and a current Kawasaki Versys 2020 (1000CC). Both were great for additional passengers. Especially the Versys with the electronic suspension to cater for additional pillions or luggage.

My experience with riding with pillions must be close to, maybe, 2-3000km at best. And that's being generous. I've not had any accidents with a pillion, only when solo. As you've shown, motorbikes are fickle beasts.

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