ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
General Category => Electric Motorcycle News => Topic started by: Richard230 on February 09, 2020, 04:25:32 AM
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Here is the latest: https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/all-we-know-about-the-upcoming-fuell-fllow
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^^
Two minor comments I have are:
- 55mph cruising speed seems a tad low -- people who need to commute at least part way via freeway really need to be able to cruise at 65mph.
- A good commuter bike should already have as standard a rear carrier & bungee hooks, to either tie a bag onto or install a top box. Over here, about 100% of bikes used for commuting have a top box, irrespective of bike type.
Backpacks are a no-no safety wise, and that "frunk" looks to be an odd shape.
Erik Buell has a pretty good track record of developing bikes, including successful and profitable production bikes, and being very innovative without wasting money, so IMO very likely Fuell will do a good job there.
What I'm wondering about is whether they have enough financial backing for volume manufacturing, servicing etc.
As of April last year, they had $1.2M of investment, and were looking at raising another $5-6M to get to production, which doesn't seem enough to me.
Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2019/04/26/electric-motorcycle-startup-being-courted-to-put.html (https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2019/04/26/electric-motorcycle-startup-being-courted-to-put.html)
Some of the competition (NIU, Evoke etc. -- even Hero in India is launching a (smaller) e-motorcycle) have pretty deep pockets, so a startup won't have it easy. I do hope they make it -- Buell deserves to.
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It won't need a top box. Do you know how BIG 50 liters is? I'm thinking a lot of that forward area is luggage space, NOT battery. With the motor in the wheel, there's no need to make room for the motor in the center of the bike.
50 liters locked away and out of sight is just what you want in an urban commuter bike. It's not designed for prolonged highway use, probably just an exit or two. If I lived and worked in New York City, it'd be perfect. Unfortunately, I live and work in the suburbs, and my commute is 17 miles one way, all highway. The Fllow in its current iteration wouldn't work for me but my S is perfect (with the 35 liter top box).
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The reason the top speed is so low is because the hub motor is geared for a silly amount of torque, to put it into perspective it's 750Nm compared to 657Nm from an SR. That's why it can theoretically do 0-100km/h in 2.7 seconds, but probably won't be able to in the real world because it won't have the traction for it (luckily it has traction control). It'd be alright if it was belt or chain drive, just change out the sprockets and you'll have usable torque and a higher top speed, but with a hub motor you're stuck with what you get.
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After starting this thread I noticed that the article had already been posted under "Other Motorcycles". :-[ So I tried to "remove" it but had no success. ??? Apparently, I am not the only one who didn't notice that. But it is nice that this thread has attracted some discussion.
Frankly, I am not quite sure where the market is for the Fuell Fllow with that performance and at that price. Plus, the article seems to hint that the bike will be purchased via the internet and shipped to your home in a crate. To me that would appear to leave a lot of loose ends for the customer. Such as how will the bike get repaired if something goes wrong, who will service it and what is the parts situation if something wears out or the bike has an accident? They seem to be following in the footsteps of the CSC City Slicker, only at 5 times the cost for twice the performance. ::)
I might add that the styling of the Fllow reminds me of the Brammo Enertia. ???