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Would you buy a Hybrid Motorcycle?

Would you buy a Hybrid Motorcycle?

  • Total voters
    98
In the forseeable future? no. I hate current green cages out there... 10 years down the line, when all the kinky shits worked out... MABEH
 
Hybrids are going the way of the automatic transmission, fuel injection, and distributorless ignition. Sooner of later every type of vehicle will have a version of it. The main reason I think that Hybrids are here to stay is the fact that they combine two very important accessories on an engine. The starter and generator (used to be called an Alternator, but industry standards switched back to the term generator). But, the Hybrid Technology is not what is holding it back, it is the batteries, to make them effective energy holding devices and still be safe.
 
hybrid cars are a fucking JOKE

your trying to tell me that with BOTH an electric AND a gas motor, all you can get is 45mpg? :wtf

why is it that no one but myself seems to notice that the PROGRAMMING for when the electric is running and when the gas motor "assists", has it so that your burning JUST as much gasoline as a NON hybrid,...and in fact I know of several gas powered cars that get better mileage, and cost less to run than the worthless hybrids, but everyone is running around like it's the emperor's new clothes seemingly COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS to the fact that they would doing less polluting, and getting better mileage with just a standard small gasoline powered car (like the Geo Metro, and others).

get hybrid technology so that I can plug my car into a wall socket , and so that I'm getting 75mpg+ (and why NOT?!?!) and THEN you might interest me in a hybrid.
oh but then your money would be going to PG&E, or worse, you'd just install a windmill and solar panels and use THAT to run your car.

for now, hybrids are as much of a fucking joke as most of the assholes that buy and drive them, and I can't see that a motorcycle would be any different.

ok, I feel better now
 
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In ten years legislation to encourage fuel efficiency and discourage gas hogs will basically force most people to ride or drive some version of an extremely efficient vehicle. Whether it is a hybrid or turbo diesel or gas car remains to be seen. There is still huge room for improvement in all three.
 
I am assuming you don't quite understand how a hybrid works. It is actually very simple, the energy usually lost as heat during braking is now channeled through an electric generator (regenerative braking) and stored in batteries as electricity. thats it.

Like i previously stated it is not the Hybrid technology, but the capacity and safety of the batteries that is holding em back.


reckon said:
hybrid cars are a fucking JOKE

your trying to tell me that with BOTH an electric AND a gas motor, all you can get is 45mpg? :wtf

why is it that no one but myself seems to notice that the PROGRAMMING for when the electric is running and when the gas motor "assists", has it so that your burning JUST as much gasoline as a NON hybrid,...and in fact I know of several gas powered cars that get better mileage, and cost less to run than the worthless hybrids, but everyone is running around like it's the emperor's new clothes seemingly COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS to the fact that they would doing less polluting, and getting better mileage with just a standard small gasoline powered car (like the Geo Metro, and others).

get hybrid technology so that I can plug my car into a wall socket , and so that I'm getting 75mpg+ (and why NOT?!?!) and THEN you might interest me in a hybrid.
oh but then your money would be going to PG&E, or worse, you'd just install a windmill and solar panels and use THAT to run your car.

for now, hybrids are as much of a fucking joke as most of the assholes that buy and drive them, and I can't see that a motorcycle would be any different.

ok, I feel better now
Click to expand...
 
Hybrid and electrical cars are going to create far more environmental issues in about 5 to 10 years time. There are many issues I have with any hybrid vehicle but here are my two favourites:

1) Environmental cost. The amount of heavy pseudo precious heavy metals that are needed to construct efficient batteries are expensive to buy but I suspect require huge amounts of energy to mine. I've better things to do with my life (apart from surf Barf) but is there information in the ether about how much energy it requires to construct the hybrid batteries? I suspect not, as most people would be surprised.

2) Safety. Even before hybrids cars were too quiet. How many times have you heard the not so alert mention they almost got knocked down by a hybrid because they couldn't hear it? Motorcycles are invisible as they are but silent ones? Give me a break.

Diesel would be a better alternative. A lot of diesels get 60 to 70 mpg in Europe. Admittedly smaller engines but why does Audi and, I think, Peugeot keep winning the Le Mans 24 hour with them?

Sorry, this turned into a rant...
 
reckon said:
hybrid cars are a fucking JOKE

your trying to tell me that with BOTH an electric AND a gas motor, all you can get is 45mpg? :wtf

why is it that no one but myself seems to notice that the PROGRAMMING for when the electric is running and when the gas motor "assists", has it so that your burning JUST as much gasoline as a NON hybrid,...and in fact I know of several gas powered cars that get better mileage, and cost less to run than the worthless hybrids, but everyone is running around like it's the emperor's new clothes seemingly COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS to the fact that they would doing less polluting, and getting better mileage with just a standard small gasoline powered car (like the Geo Metro, and others).
Click to expand...

Ok, I don't particularly like hybrids just because I personally don't care for any boring Japanese sedans, but there's a few problems with your post. First, I'll agree with you that most hybrids are green-washing and a joke - the idea that you can drop a hybrid engine into any currently designed small SUV or sedan and make a green car is ridiculous. What I don't think is a joke is a car like the Prius, which has been designed from the ground up to be efficient (by reducing drag, etc), and make good use of the hybrid drivetrain. As a result, it gets closer to 60 MPG, not 45.

Also, you're right about the Geo Metro and several other cars coming close to this level of efficiency on gasoline - the main problem? They're not sold in the US anymore. The small engine and light weight that make the metro so efficient also means that it's extremely unsafe in a crash, and therefore wouldn't pass modern US safety standards. This is why a car like the Prius is such a big deal - the fit and finish is excellent, it has a 5 star crash rating, niceties like traction control and ABS, AND it gets 60 MPG. I don't know about you, but thats impressive engineering.

As for the hybrid moto, I think it would be amazing for commuting or touring, and yes, I would buy one. However, it would never be the only bike in my garage. Part of the fun of motorcycles for me is the noise, the smell of exhaust and gasoline - the unruliness you would lose with a hybrid. So yeah, great idea, but I'm not giving up my duc anytime soon.
 
i'd buy an affordable electric scooter/mc but not a hybrid
 
moriya said:
As a result, it gets closer to 60 MPG, not 45.
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Wrong. The Prius gets 45 MPG on the freeway and 48 MPG in the city. Very good gas mileage figures for sure but definitely NOT 60 MPG.

Read “Dust to Dust: The Energy Cost of New Vehicles from Concept to Disposal". While the study is controversial and makes some incorrect claims it does help you to look at the total picture and not just the fuel mileage of the vehicle with regards to how green it really is. The study itself is flawed but it helps in understanding everything involved in the lifetime of a car.

An earlier post hit the nail on the head, until we have a means to store the power necessary to run a car, electric cars are going nowhere. The current battery technology is not even close to adequate, not to mention the environmental damage caused to produce these batteries.

In my opinion, the Prius and current hybrid cars are an interim step to something that will make a significant difference someday. What that could be is anyone's guess.

As for the OP's question, no, I would not buy a hybrid motorcycle. The technology, in its current state, sucks and I refuse to participate in this beta testing project. I'll wait for them to sort this thing out better first because I do not drive enough for the high gas prices to be a problem.
 
hybrids have made their way into the trucking industry, more as a cost saving plan. If your driver is making 3,000 mile trips getting 10 MPG that is 300 gallons, Hybrid trucks getting 12 mpg that is 250 gallons. at 4 bucks a gallon for Diesel, the driver just saved $200.00.

BTW the Hybrid has been around long before the term "Green" has. And, seriously i hate that term.
 
Kawowie said:
hybrids have made their way into the trucking industry, more as a cost saving plan. If your driver is making 3,000 mile trips getting 10 MPG that is 300 gallons, Hybrid trucks getting 12 mpg that is 250 gallons. at 4 bucks a gallon for Diesel, the driver just saved $200.00.

BTW the Hybrid has been around long before the term "Green" has. And, seriously i hate that term.
Click to expand...
Ok. I'll bite.
Hybrid batteries are good for about 100,000 miles. Your driver would make a little over 33.3 trips saving $200 each time (more savings as average gas prices rise). So that's $6,667 saved in fuel.

Now pay the piper. The Prius battery pack is around $1,000 (plus a few thousand installed). You can absolutely bet a hybrid consumer truck battery is at least twice that size, so it's $2,000 (plus a few thousand installed). I'll be generous and say the battery installation is $1,000. So, after you've driven 100,000 miles, you now have to pay $3,000 to replace your battery pack.

Your net savings at 100K miles is around $3,667 (fuel - batt pack). Now what was the price premium you paid for the hybrid truck over a conventional truck? Oh, $3,000. Did you finance that money? You probably did, in which case you paid interest on it to your bank.

At 100K miles, that hybrid truck will cost you MORE than a conventional truck at current gas prices.

Buy a diesel and get 16MPG vs gas @ 10 or hybrid @ 12.

Oh, and if you're talking big rigs, hybrid is a joke. Big rig diesel engines go 300,000 miles before major service because they're big, low-revving engines.

Don't believe the hybrid hype.
 
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