Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Richard230]

Just for fun I calculated what the cost is to ride my Zero 45 miles, compared with going the same distance on my 70-mpg Royal Enfield. Here in California I am paying PG&E 42.5 cents per kWh during "non-peak" hours ( 49.5 kWh during "peak" hours). Right now my local gas station is selling 87 octane fuel for $5.38 per gallon. Running the calculations, traveling that 45 miles cost me $2.20 and the same distance on my RE would cost $3.46. But the way my electric rates keep increasing each month and with gas prices dropping, it might not be too long until the Zero and the Royal Enfield end up costing about the same per mile.    Riding the same distance on my 50-mph BMW R1200RS, would set me back about $6.42. Of course that doesn't take in the periodic service costs for an ICE motorcycle, which would really up the per mile cost.

I should add that the 45 mile ride was at about 1/3 65 mph and the other 2/3 at around 35 mph.

[Moto7575]

One answer : nuclear. In Europe you pay 13 cents/kwh (off peak) and 7€/gallon

Just for fun I calculated what the cost is to ride my Zero 45 miles, compared with going the same distance on my 70-mpg Royal Enfield. Here in California I am paying PG&E 42.5 cents per kWh during "non-peak" hours ( 49.5 kWh during "peak" hours). Right now my local gas station is selling 87 octane fuel for $5.38 per gallon. Running the calculations, traveling that 45 miles cost me $2.20 and the same distance on my RE would cost $3.46. But the way my electric rates keep increasing each month and with gas prices dropping, it might not be too long until the Zero and the Royal Enfield end up costing about the same per mile.    Riding the same distance on my 50-mph BMW R1200RS, would set me back about $6.42. Of course that doesn't take in the periodic service costs for an ICE motorcycle, which would really up the per mile cost.

[Richard230]

One answer : nuclear. In Europe you pay 13 cents/kwh (off peak) and 7€/gallon

Just for fun I calculated what the cost is to ride my Zero 45 miles, compared with going the same distance on my 70-mpg Royal Enfield. Here in California I am paying PG&E 42.5 cents per kWh during "non-peak" hours ( 49.5 kWh during "peak" hours). Right now my local gas station is selling 87 octane fuel for $5.38 per gallon. Running the calculations, traveling that 45 miles cost me $2.20 and the same distance on my RE would cost $3.46. But the way my electric rates keep increasing each month and with gas prices dropping, it might not be too long until the Zero and the Royal Enfield end up costing about the same per mile.    Riding the same distance on my 50-mph BMW R1200RS, would set me back about $6.42. Of course that doesn't take in the periodic service costs for an ICE motorcycle, which would really up the per mile cost.

California has one nuclear power plant still operating. I think it produces about 9% of the state's electrical power. We used to have several others but they were shut down over the years. The Diablo Canyon plant is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2025 due to it sitting on a earthquake fault and being located right at the Pacific Ocean shore in the direct path of any tidal wave. However, yesterday the state legislature approved it to remain functioning until 2030, but it still has to get its operating license renewed by the federal government, which some experts say is unlikely. This was kind of a last minute backroom deal and the environmentalists and the anti-nuke crowd are screaming bloody murder.

[sharagan]

You would have to add the initial purchase cost of the EV, or even factor in the cost of parts like the battery, the charger, the DC-DC converter, the motor controller if you would add the periodic service cost of an ICE motorcycle.  In the big picture, the cost of owning the EV will be higher in my opinion. If I would want to save money with my ride, I would buy a small Japanese ICE bike. The electric motorcycle has other big advantages like no noise, no heat, no stalling and instant torque.

[Richard230]

You would have to add the initial purchase cost of the EV, or even factor in the cost of parts like the battery, the charger, the DC-DC converter, the motor controller if you would add the periodic service cost of an ICE motorcycle.  In the big picture, the cost of owning the EV will be higher in my opinion. If I would want to save money with my ride, I would buy a small Japanese ICE bike. The electric motorcycle has other big advantages like no noise, no heat, no stalling and instant torque.

I thought about that, but it was just too complicated for me. I was just trying to compare the cost of electric power with the cost of gasoline over a similar distance.

[DonTom]

Just for fun I calculated what the cost is to ride my Zero 45 miles, compared with going the same distance on my 70-mpg Royal Enfield. Here in California I am paying PG&E 42.5 cents per kWh during "non-peak" hours ( 49.5 kWh during "peak" hours). Right now my local gas station is selling 87 octane fuel for $5.38 per gallon. Running the calculations, traveling that 45 miles cost me $2.20 and the same distance on my RE would cost $3.46. But the way my electric rates keep increasing each month and with gas prices dropping, it might not be too long until the Zero and the Royal Enfield end up costing about the same per mile.    Riding the same distance on my 50-mph BMW R1200RS, would set me back about $6.42. Of course that doesn't take in the periodic service costs for an ICE motorcycle, which would really up the per mile cost.

I should add that the 45 mile ride was at about 1/3 65 mph and the other 2/3 at around 35 mph.

Move to Reno and get much of your AC charging for free. J-1772 everywhere. And at home, pay 11.7 cents per KWH at the peak time! Even less on an EV plan.


-Don-  Reno, NV

[T.S. Zarathustra]

Thank you for sharing. These things are always interesting.
Direct comparison is bound to be effectected by local prices. Both electricity and gas vary wildly in price over the world.
 
If prices were the same for similar bikes I would probably go with electric bike. I like the quiet, the powercurve. For ICE I like the convenience of fast and widely available refueling. Even if there is line at the gas station you know your turn will come in few minutes.

[mdjak1]

Go solar.   At those rates your system would be paid off in 2-3 years tops.   In FL we are paying 13 cents/kWh.   We added solar 4 years ago.  We are 2/3rds of the way to being paid off.   And if the electric rates go up, the pay off will be even quicker.

[JaimeC]

In my case, thanks to the solar panels on my roof, I pay a fixed price for electricity except for those EXTREMELY hot summers when I run my air conditioner more than usual.  Charging my Zero doesn't even put a dent in the electricity I use vs. electricity I put back into the grid.  Plus, most of the public L2 charging stations around here are free (including the stations installed at my office by my company; the ones I use the most as I use the Zero for commuting).  Those places that do have an associated cost are still WAY cheaper "per mile" than gasoline, even in my 70mpg XMAX (which, unfortunately, does require 91 Octane minimum).

Contributing to the cost is also the far less maintenance required on the Zero compared to my Yamaha and BMW.  In fact, by riding the Zero more often than the other two means I'm putting far less wear and tear on them so they don't have to go in for service as often.

Yes, I do own a car.  I use it primarily on those days I'd have to be out of my ever-lovin' mind to be on two wheels.  I bought it brand new in the late winter of 2018 and it still has less than 19,000 miles on the odometer.

[Starpower]

In CA you should be using solar for your power. A loan will have a lower monthly cost than PG&E, for day one savings and your cost of power will be under $.10/kWh and the increase to your property value will be higher than the installed cost and is tax exempt. Do it before the PUC screws it all up!

[Bodo]

One answer : nuclear. In Europe you pay 13 cents/kwh (off peak) and 7€/gallon

That's man maths - travel cost is energy cost plus deperecation, insurance, maintenance and possible downtime. That said, I pay 0.29€/kWh at all times, and that's plus a monthly fixed sum, which I write off for my calculation, since I pay that anyway for my mains connection.

I expect the kWh price to triple soon though.

[TheRan]

I did some very rough math and once our electricity goes up to 50p/kW/h here in the UK (maybe it already has, I don't pay the bill myself) it would take like 50k miles to break even with the cost of a 2kW solar install. Or at my current rate of mileage about 20 years. Of course with the power also being used for other things it would be much shorter (I'll have to check our bill and see what our usage is like) but I found it interesting.

[Richard230]

My daughter wants to install solar on her roof plus a battery backup system. She received a bid of $50K and would have to install a new solar-ready electrical panel, which was done last week at a cost of $7,500. But for me, I don't use enough electric power each month to make solar panels pencil-out. Plus, during the winter my home is shaded by the surrounding hills during all hours except for the middle of the day.  Finally, I have heard that PG&E has a plan to charge people using solar panels $75 a month to compensate them for the lack of income. So I will live without them.

[Skidz]

Not all of Europe is the same I'm afraid. In NL a kWh is about €0,60 and gas is at €2,15. My ICE bike does 25km/l so is at 8,6 cents/km while the electric runs at 10km/kWh so comes in at 6 cents/km. I still have a contract for €0,21/kWh so my price is a bit lower.

Why take the power train into account? You'd only need to fix stuff there when it breaks, and if an electric survives the warranty period without breaking then chances are it'll run maintenance free until the end-of-life. Not much wear on an electric, especially the simpler ones, than bearings and a belt, brake pads and tires.

[Richard230]

Not all of Europe is the same I'm afraid. In NL a kWh is about €0,60 and gas is at €2,15. My ICE bike does 25km/l so is at 8,6 cents/km while the electric runs at 10km/kWh so comes in at 6 cents/km. I still have a contract for €0,21/kWh so my price is a bit lower.

Why take the power train into account? You'd only need to fix stuff there when it breaks, and if an electric survives the warranty period without breaking then chances are it'll run maintenance free until the end-of-life. Not much wear on an electric, especially the simpler ones, than bearings and a belt, brake pads and tires.

 

To me, that is the big advantage to riding an electric motorcycle. Unfortunately for my dealer, I haven't been back to them since the initial 600-mile servicing, which consisted of just a visual inspection and motor "commissioning". I perform all of the chassis work myself, including replacing the OBC when it failed a couple of years ago. I have no doubt that I am saving money in the long run by riding an EV, compared with ICE.