Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal • Hacker News Board

Re: Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal

#81

Post by Zenbit_UX » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 10:09 PM UTC

cerberusss wrote: post #43

BubRoss wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I can tell, a huge part is that they are incredibly overpriced. No one is going to pay $14k for an electric cycle when a brand new gas cycle costs $8k. People put together their own scooters from batteries, a controller and an electric motor on YouTube all the time, but companies are trying to get people to give up the same amount that could buy them a Ducati.

A friend of mine drives a zero. The very low cost per mile makes it cost effective.

Gas costs are negligible on a motorcycle, I pay at most $20 a month for premium (91 or better) gasoline... The economics of an electric bike just aren't there yet while they remain above $10k for the base models.

As much as I'd love to own an electric bike,vlike a zero, they're still in a premium early adopter phase that I can't justify yet. A good comparison would be the model s vs 3.

Speaking of, it's a shame Tesla won't make an electric motorcycle.

Re: Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal

#82

Post by Zenbit_UX » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 10:12 PM UTC

ivanvanderbyl wrote: post #11

clort wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I felt that the site was a tease. The pictures way too close up, not showing you the whole thing, hidden in the dark. When I finally reached a picture of the device, I thought the very square 'battery' (?) looked chunky. "And now for something completely different" more pictures of the same (or very similar?) except with a tablet glued on. Marketing.

I hope that's not a touch screen. Anyone who has ever ridden a bike can tell you how impractical and distracting that would be. Try using it in the rain, with gloves on.

That was my first thought as well, it only looks pretty to someone whose never had to pull over and take off their gloves to check their phones GPS...

It also looks like a free tablet to anyone bold enough to rip it off while you're parked on the street.

Re: Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal

#83

Post by Zenbit_UX » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 10:15 PM UTC

milap wrote: post #25

Here is a video of the motorbike running in the Himalayas https://youtu.be/uNKIqbdIS9o

The thing is a flat line and they didn't bother to flare the "tank" so I'm not sure what your thighs are supposed to hold on to? It looks like braking too hard might cause you to flip right over the front.

Re: Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal

#84

Post by Gibbon1 » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 10:17 PM UTC

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #80

dharmab wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has never been a better time to be a rider, you can get some seriously amazing bikes for the money. Unfortunately it is a very bad time to try to make money in the motorcycle industry right now. Older riders are aging out and interested young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt.

> young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt. I find comments like these interesting because it shows a fundamentally different perspective on motorcycling. It sounds like you view it as a hobby or pastime, and an expensive one at that, likely because you see it as something to purchase after already owning a car. I see it as a highly efficient and cheap form of personal transportation, especi…

Friend of mine in the Bay Area commutes on a motorcycle. says depreciation and maintenance negate any savings. He does it because it saves him an hour a day commuting.

Re: Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal

#85

Post by Gibbon1 » Sat, Dec 28, 2019, 10:35 PM UTC

orange3xchicken wrote: post #35

forinti wrote: post #33

Is there a reason for most motorcycles not to be electric by now? Few people take them on the road, they seem to be used mostly in cities, so there's not a big problem with range. They are small, so you would have less of a problem setting up the charging infrastructure in your house.

They are definitely coming. I would totally love to get one. I think one issue is that they are typically a lot more expensive than traditional motorcycles. Additionally, there are not too many used electric bikes that have significantly depreciated in value. For example, I purchased my current bike at ~2k from craigslist. I just looked up the prices for some used Zeros on CL and they vary around 10-20k. In the US, f…

When I tried penciling out electric motorcycles it seemed like you run into scaling problems.

Compare Model 3 at 4000lbs with a 60kwh battery. Vs a Zero SR at 485lbs and a 14.4kwh battery. The Zero weighs 1/8th as much but the battery is 1/4. The SR has 1/2 range to boot.

Not trying to piss on electric motorcycle by any means. It's just difficult to make an electric motorcycle match a gasoline one spec for spec, especially at the same price point.

Re: Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal

#86

Post by dharmab » Sun, Dec 29, 2019, 12:09 AM UTC

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #80

dharmab wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has never been a better time to be a rider, you can get some seriously amazing bikes for the money. Unfortunately it is a very bad time to try to make money in the motorcycle industry right now. Older riders are aging out and interested young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt.

> young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt. I find comments like these interesting because it shows a fundamentally different perspective on motorcycling. It sounds like you view it as a hobby or pastime, and an expensive one at that, likely because you see it as something to purchase after already owning a car. I see it as a highly efficient and cheap form of personal transportation, especi…

Outside of very large cities where filtering is legal, the maintenance costs eat up any money you save over an economy car. Tires are especially brutal- my commute makes me have to replace both tires every winter.

Re: Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal

#87

Post by peatmoss » Sun, Dec 29, 2019, 1:10 AM UTC

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #79

peatmoss wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> while for motorcycles they have only improved substantially in 2010s with the EU mandating ABS as a requirement. I really wish it were possible to get advanced cornering ABS on something that isn’t a bajillion cc displacement. The smallest, most reasonably sized adventure touring bike I’ve seen with cornering ABS is the new BMW F750GS, which is still >800cc. I sat on one the other day and the weight and height seem…

I'd suggest taking a look at a gentpy used Triumph Street Triple (R/S Optional). Depending on the year and mileage you're looking between $6000-9000 with stock ABS and with 675cc right in that sweet spot you're looking for. I picked one up 2 years ago, 2014 with 1400km and no regrets whatsoever.

I think cornering ABS is only available on the new 1050? I think that’s also the case with the Tiger (I’m part of the adventure-touring market segment). You can get cornering ABS on the huge 1200, but not the 800, IIRC.

Like, I want a 500cc Honda twin with cornering ABS. As it is, I have ABS, but cornering ABS looks like a solid evolution.

Re: Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal

#88

Post by Zenbit_UX » Sun, Dec 29, 2019, 5:55 AM UTC

dharmab wrote: post #86

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt. I find comments like these interesting because it shows a fundamentally different perspective on motorcycling. It sounds like you view it as a hobby or pastime, and an expensive one at that, likely because you see it as something to purchase after already owning a car. I see it as a highly efficient and cheap form of personal transportation, especi…

Outside of very large cities where filtering is legal, the maintenance costs eat up any money you save over an economy car. Tires are especially brutal- my commute makes me have to replace both tires every winter.

My tires will have to be replaced in the spring but maintenance costs other than that are about $120 for oil change and filter once per season. What other costs are you getting?

Re: Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal

#89

Post by Zenbit_UX » Sun, Dec 29, 2019, 5:57 AM UTC

Gibbon1 wrote: post #84

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt. I find comments like these interesting because it shows a fundamentally different perspective on motorcycling. It sounds like you view it as a hobby or pastime, and an expensive one at that, likely because you see it as something to purchase after already owning a car. I see it as a highly efficient and cheap form of personal transportation, especi…

Friend of mine in the Bay Area commutes on a motorcycle. says depreciation and maintenance negate any savings. He does it because it saves him an hour a day commuting.

$120/season for oil change and filter + new tires every 2 years (unsure of the costs here as I've yet to need this on my new bike). Surely this is comparable or less than the average ICE car?

Re: Yatri: First electric motorcycle to be made in Nepal

#90

Post by peatmoss » Sun, Dec 29, 2019, 3:13 PM UTC

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #80

dharmab wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has never been a better time to be a rider, you can get some seriously amazing bikes for the money. Unfortunately it is a very bad time to try to make money in the motorcycle industry right now. Older riders are aging out and interested young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt.

> young people can't afford bikes due to student debt and other debt. I find comments like these interesting because it shows a fundamentally different perspective on motorcycling. It sounds like you view it as a hobby or pastime, and an expensive one at that, likely because you see it as something to purchase after already owning a car. I see it as a highly efficient and cheap form of personal transportation, especi…

All that makes sense except the Montreal part... riding in icy conditions sounds like pure terror to me. And I say this as someone who used to commute by bicycle year around in Montana.