Not all electric vehicles have four wheels

Our look at an electric motorcycle

An article caught our eye about the founder of an electric motorcycle company leaving to pursue his dream – building the first human powered helicopter to win the Sikorsky Prize. We had to know more.

Neil Saiki founded California based Zero Motorcycles in 2006. But he tried to fly a human-powered helicopter as far back as 1989 as a student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Mr. Saiki’s team lays claim to be the first officially witnessed human-powered helicopter to take flight. It achieved an altitude of 8″. With his motorcycle company now producing three models of electric motorcycle, and a team of over 60 employees, Mr. Saiki has decided to pursue the Sikorsky Competition one more time. So why are we even writing about this? Because advancements in technology can come from any research venue.

The Zero S can achieve a top speed of 67 miles per hour, has a range of 58 miles (48 according to the EPA UDDS – proving that LEAF is not the only vehicle to have its range truncated by EPA measurements), while costing $9,995 (with a 10% federal tax credit to net approximately $8,995 after rebate). The Zero S can scoot from o to 30 miles per hour in under 2 seconds (which would have most of us flat on our back wondering what happened). With its 4.4 kilowatt hour battery pack, we could charge it on our super off peak electric vehicle rate in San Diego for around $.28 to travel that 58 miles. The pack will recharge in four hours at 120 volts and in two hours at 240 volts. Projected life of the pack is 70,000 miles.

Not many will be interested in an electric motorcycle perhaps. Yet the company has grown from a garage based outfit to providing employment for 60 employees in five short years. Not many will be interested in an electric vehicle perhaps. Let’s take another look five years out and see where we are.