Hey biknut, what's the wattage of the kit on your friend's bike? It must be about 3000W to be able to do over 40 MPH pedal assisted, 750W = 1 HP.
I'm not arguing against eBikes, I think they're great, but they are also expensive and lack power if they have range, or they lack range if they have power, if you want both you gotta load up with a lot of expensive batteries or add a lot of weight which cuts down on your acceleration and your top speed since acceleration runs draw down the max voltage which provides the potential to get the motor spinning at max revs up against back-EMF.
I guess if I spent a ton of money on my ebike I'd try justifying it anyway I can to myself and enjoy the feeling of belonging to an exclusive club that an expensive belonging must bring. I didn't spent very much on mine so I just enjoy short trips with REAR WHEEL burnouts, power wheelies, and power drifts which are really fun and make the razor dirtbike very much like a four stroke CRF motard. Traditional electric bicycles appeal to a crowd not normally interested in motorcycles or the sounds or sensations which they bring, hence the advent of FWD hub motors (FWD Bike? LOL) and normal powered kits which typically follow electric bicycle law with a top speed of 25 mph and a wattage under 1000W so the range is acceptable with normal battery packs and a bit of pedaling on flat ground. This is cool if you want a mild bike to commute reliably and don't want to break a sweat pedaling. If you want something more powerful and fast, especially with some range to it, the prices go up exponentially. On a cost/value basis for an entertaining bike with ripping performance, gas is still the best value for your performance dollar. For adequate pedal assist with range you can put together a kit for less than a $1k that will have decent range, most people are just looking for that, but it's still a lot of money compared to a better performing HT kit or mounting another type of gas engine yourself.
They'll get there eventually, but right now, if you're an early adopter, you're paying the cost which that brings. If I had the choice between a $10k ebike with batteries and motor of unknown longevity, VS a $10k Ducati Panigale, Honda VTR1000, Aprilia RSV4, KTM RC8R, Ducati Hypermotard, KTM Duke, street plated CR500, or a number of other relatively quiet and awe inspiring superbikes for less, it wouldn't be hard to see which is the better value.
In reality, if I had $10k to spend on a vehicle, it wouldn't be on a bike at all, I'd get a used Porsche Boxster S or maybe a mid-2000's Mercedes AMG sedan, I won't spend more than $2k on a bike build because I can't use them every day where I live and with the number of hours I work anyways.
I'm not arguing against eBikes, I think they're great, but they are also expensive and lack power if they have range, or they lack range if they have power, if you want both you gotta load up with a lot of expensive batteries or add a lot of weight which cuts down on your acceleration and your top speed since acceleration runs draw down the max voltage which provides the potential to get the motor spinning at max revs up against back-EMF.
I guess if I spent a ton of money on my ebike I'd try justifying it anyway I can to myself and enjoy the feeling of belonging to an exclusive club that an expensive belonging must bring. I didn't spent very much on mine so I just enjoy short trips with REAR WHEEL burnouts, power wheelies, and power drifts which are really fun and make the razor dirtbike very much like a four stroke CRF motard. Traditional electric bicycles appeal to a crowd not normally interested in motorcycles or the sounds or sensations which they bring, hence the advent of FWD hub motors (FWD Bike? LOL) and normal powered kits which typically follow electric bicycle law with a top speed of 25 mph and a wattage under 1000W so the range is acceptable with normal battery packs and a bit of pedaling on flat ground. This is cool if you want a mild bike to commute reliably and don't want to break a sweat pedaling. If you want something more powerful and fast, especially with some range to it, the prices go up exponentially. On a cost/value basis for an entertaining bike with ripping performance, gas is still the best value for your performance dollar. For adequate pedal assist with range you can put together a kit for less than a $1k that will have decent range, most people are just looking for that, but it's still a lot of money compared to a better performing HT kit or mounting another type of gas engine yourself.
They'll get there eventually, but right now, if you're an early adopter, you're paying the cost which that brings. If I had the choice between a $10k ebike with batteries and motor of unknown longevity, VS a $10k Ducati Panigale, Honda VTR1000, Aprilia RSV4, KTM RC8R, Ducati Hypermotard, KTM Duke, street plated CR500, or a number of other relatively quiet and awe inspiring superbikes for less, it wouldn't be hard to see which is the better value.
In reality, if I had $10k to spend on a vehicle, it wouldn't be on a bike at all, I'd get a used Porsche Boxster S or maybe a mid-2000's Mercedes AMG sedan, I won't spend more than $2k on a bike build because I can't use them every day where I live and with the number of hours I work anyways.
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