I dunno, fellas. I'm pretty excited about moving away from IC engines. All we've been doing is enriching our enemies and helping to screw up our environment. OPEC greed is what brought the focus on electric vehicles and I'm also not excited to be sustaining Arab countries that don't give a crap about us... also Russia, Venezuela, etc. Whether we use nuclear reactors, sustainable sources, natural gas, etc., to generate it, I'd rather be using electric than gas. Also the technology (batteries, etc) is improving in leaps and bounds, while engines have improved slowly over the years. In the near future you'll be getting 500 mi of range from a 15 min charge. If I had an electric vehicle right now, I'd be charging at work for free. Thought of getting a Tesla but they no longer get the federal tax credit and keep raising their prices. The tax credit thing may change soon, so I'm waiting to see.

 

At this point, there are a LOT of choices for BEV's, and more to come.

 

I told the guy my truck wasn't worth anything like his bike. He said if I corrected the few things it still needed, he would probably get more use out of it than the bike. After working on the bike a bit, I don't feel guilty anymore. After I rebuilt the rear suspension and tightened a BUNCH of loose parts, it's riding great now. However, it is NOT stock. I asked a guy in the dealer service department if it sounded stock and he said they don't normally vibrate that much. It's had major work done to the engine and has a tuner. Around town it's a fun bike but on the interstate, it will deafen you. Sitting at a light, you have to stand up or you see double. On the other hand, at the local Fall Festival last week, I had three coeds from one of the local colleges want to go for a ride. .

 

I thought 'harley' and 'vibration' went hand in hand? I mean, seriously, I don't think they invented rubber isolated engine mounts until the 90s.......

 

Everybody is getting starry eyed over electric, but besides the charge time and supply, there are other things to consider. Our roads are funded by gas taxes. Electric won't be paying for the roads. You'll be paying an electric tax. How that will work hasn't been discussed. Where will the power come from? I don't know of any new power plants being built. Coal? Most are converting to gas. Hydroelectric? Blocks the Salmon runs. Nuclear? There hasn't been one built in decades and you can bet there will be all sorts of protests over that. Solar? Only during the day and if it's cloudy, not much even then. As for electric being cleaner, once it's built, yes, the car doesn't emit pollution. However, the rare earth materials to build the battery are very nasty to dig up, refine and then ship across the ocean for assembly, then they get shipped back. Usually, the shipping is on fuel oil or diesel powered ships.

As far as safety, look inside one and you see huge bright orange cables. They are BRIGHT orange for a reason. I've only seen one major crash with a electric vehicle and it shorted and burned to the ground. By the time the fire department got there, it was a smoldering shell and had burned a deep hole in the pavement. That was a problem 100 years ago and it's a problem now. I still think hybrids are a viable solution now, the kid has one and has had it for years, but full electric is not viable for most transportation needs. Especially for colder climates and especially in the snow. There are some Teslas around town. I don't see them in the snow and really cold weather.

 

The battery charge suffers in cold weather, but, with the right tires, even an electric car can do good in snow, especially if its all wheel drive. (and a lot of 'em are....) Granted, some of them simply are not intended to be driving in crappy weather, but, most of the big name auto makers are building them for joe average here real soon..... Even Ford, with the Lightning. That will actually be reasonably priced for a truck, and is also available in AWD.

The electricity supply, and road maintenance ARE going to be issues though. We are already short on electricity.... (brownouts in California.....) and our roads are in horrible condition. I have heard rumors of a 'use tax', you pay for the miles you drive per year. Either that, or a tax on electricity at charging stations. Still most folks will be able to charge at home, for the most part. Don't know of too many folks that have 150 mile one-way commute to work.

 

I had an old Harley years ago. It, and the ones I've been around since then, don't shake like this one. I've always called them "Tater bikes" because at idle they sound like they are going potatopotatopotatopotato. This thing is definitely been beefed up. It doesn't feel like it's plotting to kill me like bikes I've had in the past. It has been hot rodded though and you can almost see the window pulsate while it idling. I've got a neighbor who's upset because he doesn't have the loudest bike anymore.

It does have rubber mounts. It;s an '06.

 

Go drive one and you'll see why. It will become clear to you, I promise. I have already promised myself to not buy another gas vehicle.

Unless you're on long trips that deplete the whole charge, charge time is shorter than gassing up at a pump. Let me explain why.... most will plug in at night or when they get to work. Plug in and walk away, or go to sleep. Wake up in the morning and you've got the the equivalent of a full tank of gas. Say you use 60 miles of that per day, you're only topping off off that sixty when you charge that night. That takes no time... or no down time. You waste more time at the gas station.

 

I have driven both electric and hybrid vehicles. That is why I feel hybrids are a feasible alternative where electric isn't. I retired after 45 years in one place. Most of that was running lift trucks. We tried electric. The charge would tend to drop right when you needed it. We had to basically take the lift apart and swap a new battery pack in. This was time we weren't moving material. People had to wait while we changed over. The line didn't get supplies or have finished product moved. Trucks didn't get loaded to go to the customer. Changing to propane IC powered lifts sped things up by 300%.

I live in a semi-rural area. 100 to 200 miles a day, or more is common. I used to work with one guy who had a 110 mile commute one way. The charge will be problematic as the power grid isn't that great in some rural areas. We as a nation just don't have the infrastructure to support total electric vehicles.

 

Correct. We don't have the distribution capacity, or the generation capacity. If you live near a large city, your chances are better, (but, not in California, with rolling brownouts.....) Of course, the only folks that know this are the power companies, and maybe one or two politicians, but, they don't talk about that. It's the elephant in the room.