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[protomech]

So for 2018 .. sport bike performance rivaling anything on the planet .. similar touring capabilities as today's ICE bikes .. priced competitively against similar ICE sport bikes .. and hopefully launched into an environment with a well-established single-standard DC charging network.

I believe we'll see full-sized electric competition from the established ICE bike manufacturers at that time. And not before.

We already have a sport bike rivaling anything on the planet. The lightning bike holds the ground speed record as fastest production motorcycle and it is electric

The Lightning superbike is very fast, no mistake. It's proven that at Pikes Peak and Bonneville, although usually any claims of "fastest" require some qualifiers.

However, of the electric superbikes that rival the best ICE sportbikes: either they're unavailable to purchase (Brammo Empulse RR, MotoCzysz, Mugen Shinden), noises have been made about production intent but none have been sold (Lightning SB, Munch TTE02), or they're planned for near release but priced far above comparable ICE bikes (Mission R, maybe CRP Energica).

[Richard230]

Last fall Lightning told me that they had sold one "production" street model (a low-power version about equivalent to a Brammo Enertia Plus, although looking like a conventional motorcycle).  At that time they were in discussions with a fellow from Europe about buying eight of the racers for track use, but I don't know if that deal ever went through.

[NoiseBoy]

I have been told by more than one person at Zero that they have no intention of bringing prices down significantly. They intend to innovate and produce a premium product because they know they can't compete with the big players in terms of volume and price. More like Ducati than Honda.

[Richard230]

I have been told by more than one person at Zero that they have no intention of bringing prices down significantly. They intend to innovate and produce a premium product because they know they can't compete with the big players in terms of volume and price. More like Ducati than Honda.

I am not surprised.  That is the only way you can make money in a low-volume market.  And unless gasoline supplies disappear as they did during the "gas crisis" of the 1970's, I see the electric motorcycle market in the U.S. being a small one for quite some time that will not attract much attention from the major manufacturers - unless they need to play around with "carbon credits" to support their IC vehicle sales.

[peter]

More like Ducati than Honda?

I owned a 900GTS (a non-desmo bevel Duke) for several years. Great engineering ideas and wonderful handling let down by poor quality control in manufacture. That's a fair description of our Zero.

Peter

[trikester]

I have a nice 1967 Ducati Sebring 350 original paint. Good design, good quality back in those days.

Check it out.

Trikester

[Richard230]

Very nice Trikester.  I always liked those 1960's Ducati 250 and 350 singles, but at the time I was riding and buying Japanese, mostly because their prices were less, dealers were more numerous, their reliability seemed better and they were easier for me to maintain.

[LiveandLetDrive]

Nice old Duc, hope it doesn't disassemble itself as quickly as my '70 Daytona!

No particular opinion to share here but a couple facts.  Firstly, the Model S, Leaf, and Volt sold in nearly the same numbers in 2013.  That's the first full year for the S, not sure if Leaf and Volt will continue to ramp like the S has.  Now what the logic is to the formation of the various niches of cars (luxury vs. GT vs.  sportscar vs. cheap sportscar vs. economy sedan, etc.) I couldn't say but there is an established luxury/GT sector that the S was designed to slot right into.  The X of course will aim for the luxury "crossover"/SUV crowd.  The Leaf and Volt are competing in a much more price-sensitive space, and one could ask whether they make sense if you aren't the early-adopter sort.

Secondly, the Panigale is $30k and it seems clear the Mission R is aimed directly at that market down to identical suspension components.  BMW HP2 is similar.  So I wouldn't say it's "priced far above comparable ICE bikes," though certainly Ducati and BMW are not making their core profits off these flagships.  Zero has put themselves in a weird place of high-ish end sportbike price, but without competitive suspension and other quibbles that don't quite make them on par with the competition.  Not sure how that's going to work out for them.  I don't think Tesla would have much impact on the future of EV's if not for the 3rd gen ~$35k car with 100k's production volume.  If no motorcycle maker forces the issue like Tesla has (and Zero and the others won't unless they push to mass volume) then I think it's right to say we wouldn't see anything but compliance bikes anytime soon.  However I think the tech will improve fast enough that someone will have to make the jump before too many more years.  If it's a major manufacturer then noone will have the jump on the competition that Tesla does, but it'll happen.  It may be the cages that push the advancements that make e-bikes flourish.

[Marshm]

I was thinking that ICE bikes are very difficult for a small company due to the engine being such a costly thing to develop.  Plus, if the engine doesn't pan out for performance and reliability then that company would have some problems to compete.  However, with electric it seems the batteries competing companies use might be the same, and electric motors are more simple.  So maybe a smaller company can compete better in the e-bike market as compared to gas market.  Of course smaller company doesn't have the ability to buy in mass quantity to drive cost down, but they might be able to compete well on the bike itself.   Smaller company might be competitive with more features, like Zero did with allowing rider to program regen and things like that. 

[Richard230]

I think the two biggest problems for anyone wanting to manufacturer electric motorcycles is acquiring the money to start a manufacturing plant and keep it running for years before it can start generating a profit and the difficulty of developing a worldwide dealer, distribution, parts supply and service network.  Not easy things to do, for sure.