Update: Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki test shared swappable electric motorcycle batteries

stillwelding
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stillwelding
Edited Date/Time 9/6/2020 12:28am
Batery consortium


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Johnny Depp
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Johnny Depp 9/4/2020 8:54am
9/4/2020 8:54am
Thanks for the report, good progress but likely a few more years before we see any. The concept makes sense.
ktmdan
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ktmdan 9/4/2020 9:10am
9/4/2020 9:10am
Nice find.

I find it interesting that they would attempt to develop their own batteries rather than work with a supplier on that front. I recently did EV battery testing for a consortium and it's a great way for companies to save money on R&D.
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Falcon
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Falcon 9/4/2020 12:17pm
9/4/2020 12:17pm
They may simply be agreeing on a standard set of dimensions and connections; not necessarily producing the batteries themselves. Either way, I like it. It will be good for the industry to have a standard.
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ProKawi24
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ProKawi24 9/4/2020 2:11pm
9/4/2020 2:11pm
I for one hope I don't live to see the day when e-bikes take over the pro ranks. It was bad enough growing up and seeing 4 strokes take over but this....please no.
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Dirty Points 9/4/2020 2:16pm
9/4/2020 2:16pm Edited Date/Time 9/4/2020 2:18pm
Falcon wrote:
They may simply be agreeing on a standard set of dimensions and connections; not necessarily producing the batteries themselves. Either way, I like it. It will...
They may simply be agreeing on a standard set of dimensions and connections; not necessarily producing the batteries themselves. Either way, I like it. It will be good for the industry to have a standard.
"Consortium hits first snag Friday, as Yamaha requests battery be placed backwards, Honda insists on twice the battery connectors, Kawasaki specs battery made of butter-soft plastic, and Suzuki complains that batteries were already just fine 10 years ago."
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APLMAN99
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APLMAN99 9/4/2020 2:21pm
9/4/2020 2:21pm
Sounds a little bit like the equivalent of being able to use your DeWALT batter in your Makita cordless drill......

Also there has to some sort of consistent measurement of output or something in order to have racing that is "fair". Outside of the 2T vs 4F differences, the manufacturers have always been able to use CCs as their class structures. With electric bikes, that isn't quite so natural.
GrapeApe
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GrapeApe 9/4/2020 2:27pm
9/4/2020 2:27pm
Falcon wrote:
They may simply be agreeing on a standard set of dimensions and connections; not necessarily producing the batteries themselves. Either way, I like it. It will...
They may simply be agreeing on a standard set of dimensions and connections; not necessarily producing the batteries themselves. Either way, I like it. It will be good for the industry to have a standard.
Dirty Points wrote:
"Consortium hits first snag Friday, as Yamaha requests battery be placed backwards, Honda insists on twice the battery connectors, Kawasaki specs battery made of butter-soft plastic...
"Consortium hits first snag Friday, as Yamaha requests battery be placed backwards, Honda insists on twice the battery connectors, Kawasaki specs battery made of butter-soft plastic, and Suzuki complains that batteries were already just fine 10 years ago."
Suzuki's engineers walk out of the consortium finding it impossible to kick start a battery
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ktmdan
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ktmdan 9/4/2020 3:32pm
9/4/2020 3:32pm
APLMAN99 wrote:
Sounds a little bit like the equivalent of being able to use your DeWALT batter in your Makita cordless drill...... Also there has to some sort...
Sounds a little bit like the equivalent of being able to use your DeWALT batter in your Makita cordless drill......

Also there has to some sort of consistent measurement of output or something in order to have racing that is "fair". Outside of the 2T vs 4F differences, the manufacturers have always been able to use CCs as their class structures. With electric bikes, that isn't quite so natural.
Perhaps they could have a set of battery safety standards that must be met. Flame propagation, short circuit, compression, penetration, etc tests that must be approved and then it's run what ya brung.
tcannon521
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tcannon521 9/4/2020 3:47pm
9/4/2020 3:47pm
ProKawi24 wrote:
I for one hope I don't live to see the day when e-bikes take over the pro ranks. It was bad enough growing up and seeing...
I for one hope I don't live to see the day when e-bikes take over the pro ranks. It was bad enough growing up and seeing 4 strokes take over but this....please no.
I would guess you have about 5 years....
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wardy
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wardy 9/4/2020 9:54pm
9/4/2020 9:54pm
all i want is a clutch and a transmission on these new e bikes.

call me old fashion but like to disengage that bottle of lightning in case it doesn't want to whoa when i want it to whoa.

plus having a clutch would allow the bike to raise the front wheel in the same fashion as the normal riding habits of today.
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wardy
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wardy 9/4/2020 9:55pm
9/4/2020 9:55pm
Oh.

and the bike should last at least 3-4 hours on a charge with good acceleration and speed.
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downard254
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downard254 9/5/2020 3:56am
9/5/2020 3:56am
Next thing you know teams will be hiding capacitors in the frame rails to cheat on starts.
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Philly215
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Philly215 9/5/2020 4:16am
9/5/2020 4:16am
As weird as it sounds, a good ebike motor will blow away any gas engine. Instant torque. Instant response. Perfectly flat power and or it could be tuned for whatever characteristics you want.
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MudPup545
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MudPup545 9/5/2020 4:39am
9/5/2020 4:39am
wardy wrote:
all i want is a clutch and a transmission on these new e bikes. call me old fashion but like to disengage that bottle of lightning...
all i want is a clutch and a transmission on these new e bikes.

call me old fashion but like to disengage that bottle of lightning in case it doesn't want to whoa when i want it to whoa.

plus having a clutch would allow the bike to raise the front wheel in the same fashion as the normal riding habits of today.
https://youtu.be/hBhlQgvHmQ0
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BikePilot
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BikePilot 9/5/2020 4:45am
9/5/2020 4:45am
I'm looking forward to it, these could be really good I suspect that we have a long way to go before it's viable for long distance off road riding, but MX and SX should be doable and I think the bikes will be awesome to ride. I'd buy one. But I'm not sure my 300 or 650R are going away anytime soon..
sandtrack315
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sandtrack315 9/5/2020 4:49am
9/5/2020 4:49am
wardy wrote:
all i want is a clutch and a transmission on these new e bikes. call me old fashion but like to disengage that bottle of lightning...
all i want is a clutch and a transmission on these new e bikes.

call me old fashion but like to disengage that bottle of lightning in case it doesn't want to whoa when i want it to whoa.

plus having a clutch would allow the bike to raise the front wheel in the same fashion as the normal riding habits of today.
Well, depending on the power delivery, you might not need a clutch to get the bike to stand up when you need it to.
gt80rider
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gt80rider 9/5/2020 6:49am
9/5/2020 6:49am
ktmdan wrote:
Nice find. I find it interesting that they would attempt to develop their own batteries rather than work with a supplier on that front. I recently...
Nice find.

I find it interesting that they would attempt to develop their own batteries rather than work with a supplier on that front. I recently did EV battery testing for a consortium and it's a great way for companies to save money on R&D.
It is not great for performance, nor for privacy.... These are not commuter type bikes we are talking about here, we are talking race bikes...
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gt80rider
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gt80rider 9/5/2020 6:50am
9/5/2020 6:50am
downard254 wrote:
Next thing you know teams will be hiding capacitors in the frame rails to cheat on starts.
You've never ridden electric have u? Lol... Seriously no need...
malachi177
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malachi177 9/5/2020 8:59am
9/5/2020 8:59am
Philly215 wrote:
As weird as it sounds, a good ebike motor will blow away any gas engine. Instant torque. Instant response. Perfectly flat power and or it could...
As weird as it sounds, a good ebike motor will blow away any gas engine. Instant torque. Instant response. Perfectly flat power and or it could be tuned for whatever characteristics you want.
There’s a guy that rides an Alta at Popkum MX park. That bike flat out rips!!! I can only imagine how much better the big four versions will be.
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rbspecial138
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rbspecial138 9/5/2020 1:03pm
9/5/2020 1:03pm
I’m glad that the OEM’s are collaborating to some extent on this. I’m nervous that whoever is first to market with a competitive E-bike will garner the bulk of the market share, have the most money for R&D and have a large advantage with this new tech.
JM485
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JM485 9/5/2020 5:08pm
9/5/2020 5:08pm
wardy wrote:
all i want is a clutch and a transmission on these new e bikes. call me old fashion but like to disengage that bottle of lightning...
all i want is a clutch and a transmission on these new e bikes.

call me old fashion but like to disengage that bottle of lightning in case it doesn't want to whoa when i want it to whoa.

plus having a clutch would allow the bike to raise the front wheel in the same fashion as the normal riding habits of today.
Why would you want to add cost, complexity, and weight all while reducing efficiency just for good measure? None of those things are necessary on an E Bike.
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just James
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just James 9/5/2020 8:07pm
9/5/2020 8:07pm
When the big manufacturers commit to e-bikes, you can rest assured that they will insist on favorable racing rules for said bikes.
Since many people want to have the latest trend, I figure that they will sell really well until the novelty wears off.
Long term, I see them killing spectator interest.
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Thisusernameisavailable 9/6/2020 12:13am
9/6/2020 12:13am
Could be because the batteries are going to be on a rental contract. A brand new company owned and funded by all the big 4, produces and rents the batteries to us. As tech evolves we send the old battery back and get the new one. Its a good way to get this thing off the ground and the OEMs won't be waiting around to see what the others do first.
Phillip_Lamb
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Phillip_Lamb 9/6/2020 12:28am
9/6/2020 12:28am
Philly215 wrote:
As weird as it sounds, a good ebike motor will blow away any gas engine. Instant torque. Instant response. Perfectly flat power and or it could...
As weird as it sounds, a good ebike motor will blow away any gas engine. Instant torque. Instant response. Perfectly flat power and or it could be tuned for whatever characteristics you want.
i get lb for lb an e bike will perform better,....


but honestly that sound boring. everyone bike will pretty much be the same aside from chassis spec and susp spec.

when every thing was two stroke every one had their own design, own setup. now with 4 strokes, everyone pretty much gets a standard engine package


not to mention the lack of sound
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