New Bikes

[red750]

[spacesailor]

Antone wanting a " mobility scooter " project , mine is ' bog  ' standard original,  two lead acid batteries & ' tuned  ',

To " buraerocracy ". !.

Id,e like just a little more speed .

AND WINGS.LoL

spacesailor

[facthunter]

Speed is bad for you and you'll get your wings later, you little angel.  Nev

[Marty_d]

7 hours ago, facthunter said:

Speed is bad for you and you'll get your wings later, you little angel.  Nev

He might get them sooner if he soups up the scooter.

[facthunter]

 They can call him POPPA Mono.  The one who's always on your toes. Nev

[Old Koreelah]

Another sort of New Bike; like all new technology, it has teething troubles: an amazing number have caught fire.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-22/motorinas-offer-fun-remedy-against-shortages-in/13984366

 

https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/electric-vehicles/cuba-chronicles-electric-motorcycles-flood-havana-amid-diesel-shortages-41658199112252.html

[facthunter]

TOO high an amperage in the gearbox?? Nev

[Bruce Tuncks]

I reckon it must be LiPO batteries. I have lost 2 radio planes due to those batteries. The last one just went off the air and crashed into a tall gum tree. As I approached the tree I saw burning bits of model plane falling down.

LiFePO4 batteries apparently don't catch fire, but they contain so much energy that a fully charged one, if short-circuited, would make some nasty fumes I reckon.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Interesting about how petrol shortages are driving Cubans to electric bikes. That may happen here too.

[Old Koreelah]

1 hour ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

Interesting about how petrol shortages are driving Cubans to electric bikes. That may happen here too.

The sooner the better!

[spacesailor]

WHY

The economics don,t work for me, or anyone around the that OLD era.

New EV car $ 70,000 

NEW IC car forty grand 

$ 30,000  of fuel 15000 litres 

14 litres per 100 kmtrs.

I,ll let you finnish this maths to see how long l get to drive my IC car.

Same with solar roof panels , Looong time . To have No return of investment.

That $ outlay will pay my power bill untill they put me in a home for ' doddering old buggers '.

spacesailor

 

 

[octave]

3 minutes ago, spacesailor said:

New EV car $ 70,000 

BYD Atto 2 EV hatch due late 2022, targeting circa $35K price

[facthunter]

Fuel and maintenance are low cost too.. . Nev

[onetrack]

I have yet to see a good all-up cost comparison between current EV's and current petrol and diesel vehicles. The motoring clubs and various other groups are always producing the substantial weekly or monthly motoring costs related to owning the various makes and models of IC vehicles - including allowing for some horrendous maintenance/repair costs - but I've seen nothing in comparison for the various EV's. The low maintenance costs of EV's are certainly attractive, but the initial purchase costs are still way out of reach for 95% of buyers.

 

We took the Missus' Camry Atara (2012, 2.5L 4 cyl) to Bunbury about 10 days ago (350kms return), and we got 6.5L/100kms for fuel consumption. It's a pretty flat highway of magnificent construction, so that is a big help - but the cost of running this Camry is minimal, only oil and filter changes and a couple of new tyres, in nearly 70,000kms over the last almost 8 years.

The EV's still require tyres, and I believe their tyres are quite expensive, as they're special tyres designed for the increased kerb weight of the EV's.

 

Then, that increased kerb weight must mean a more limited load capacity for EV's. I've carried 350kgs of parts in the boot of the Camry with ease, I'm not sure an EV would cope with that level of weight carrying.

I'm afraid it will be several years at least, before I can be convinced that EV's are the way to go. We'd also like to upgrade to a SUV for more country touring in the future, and I'm not sure how an EV SUV would pan out for distance touring.

 

As a city car - yes, the EV has some major advantages. But a vehicle needs to have flexibility in useability. I'm guessing that the proposal to tax emission levels in the near future will be the main driver to force people into buying EV's.

 

Edited July 23, 2022 by onetrack

[red750]

6 hours ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

Interesting about how petrol shortages are driving Cubans to electric bikes. That may happen here too.

Some Melbourne drivers are turning to motorbikes, with deadly results. A few fatalities today. Inexperience and impatience according to the news.

[red750]

I'm looking for a low cost used runabout. I need a bit more than a mobility scooter, but not much. Most of my driving is within a 5 km radius, but our temporary Men's Shed for probably the next 12 months is nearly 15 km. A guy at the shed suggested I consider a hybrid, charging the battery on the IC on longer trips, electric locally. No plug-in charging and reduced petrol.

[Jerry_Atrick]

What's youir budget, Red? Did a quick look on carsales.com.au, and there are runabouts with c. 150,000 on the clock for about $5K, which seems a little on the expensive side. most were aged around the mid-2000's. If there's an o0ld school mechanic nearby, they often get cars for sale from their customers that they have serviced over the years and you can get something OK.

 

 

 

 

[red750]

Jerry, along with everything else in the land downunder, prices are going through the roof, including used cars. I've seen what appear to be a few nice cars as you describe in the $4,500-$5,500 bracket, but hybrids are aboout twice that. The way things are going, when the petrol tax is reinstated, we will probably be paying $2.50 or more per litre for petrol, particularly 95 octane which many cars require.

[facthunter]

 Most modern cars DIE effectively when the head gasket or EG valve fails. This is more likely to relate to use cycles than high miles. Any coolant leak and the motor risks overheating and IF you are moving along fast that will be a matter of seconds  not minutes.. Exhaust systems, turbos, Radiator and water pumps hoses and rive belts transmissions don't happen with electric.   Nev

[onetrack]

Peter, keep your eye open for an older Honda CR-V on the likes of Grays or Pickles auctions. Find a good runner, don't worry too much about high kms (I've seen them still purring at 370,000kms), and you'll get a good little runabout.

 

https://www.grays.com/search.aspx?q=Honda+CR-V

[facthunter]

Older Hybrids are very complex and can run into very costly repairs. IF you built any car out of parts the cost would be something like 20x or more of normal price. Any Time any car needs work assess what else might be coming up (or likely to) and what New spares are available for the make and model. Why not SH parts? Well often what's wrong with yours will be a problem  with many of them and that SH part will be fetching a higher price OR hard to get.. Labour is a high% of repair costs.. Toyota Yaris WAS a good vehicle for cheap near new engines.  No one needed them and many  were just sold for scrap metal.. Young LADIES were pranging them and provided a good supply of wrecks. The ones who learn to drive on Play Station. Nev

[Old Koreelah]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

 Most modern cars DIE effectively when the head gasket or EG valve fails..

Often heard from those who have installed Subaru engines in their gyros or little aeroplanes: the ones that have never been “improved” go forever, but the ones that break down have all been opened before.

[facthunter]

Most aero engines avoid having the head/barrel Join. It's always a weak point Threaded and shrunk at the same time is common but failure at the shrink band is not unknown. With some kinds of abuse  Backfiring  at starts etc something has to give. . IF you made a bulletproof aero engine is would be too heavy. You can't sell heavy engines except for a Prawn trawler.. Nev

[Old Koreelah]

4 hours ago, facthunter said:

Most aero engines avoid having the head/barrel Join. It's always a weak point Threaded and shrunk at the same time is common but failure at the shrink band is not unknown…

When I had to replace a cam drive shaft on my Ducati I discovered it had no head gaskets; they were recessed into the barrel a tad. Sure made working on them easier.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Back to bikes, My electric bike cost less than $900 and a new battery pack is about half of that.

It will go from the farm to the town and back home again without a recharge. ( about 28km )

Of course, if I were selling electric cars, I would charge the buyer as much as possible.