Go Electric

[ClassicBiker]

He is just as objective as any of the other talking heads. I think all media has its bias and slants the story to suit personal agenda. I think all concerned have an agenda and it is all monetary. All concerned want to keep the money coming in. But the things I am certain of are electric vehicles are not the panacea they are being made out to be, they are being forced upon consumers, and they are ridiculously expensive.
We've been hearing about how oil is going to dry up any minute now since the Arab oil embargo of '73. Will it eventually run out? Probably, but not tomorrow. Do we need to consider our options? We do. Does it need to be in this hyperbolic doomsday drama queen fashion? No. Do people need to have their lives made miserable as we figure out what our options are and how to implement those we choose? No. Those that scream and carry on about how the world will end in ten or less years if we don't do something right now, as they jet around in their Gulf Streams or run about in big motorcades, have as much credibility with me as a teenager desperate for the latest shiny object. Do I think there might even be some ulterior motive beyond just lining someone's pocket. It wouldn't surprise me.
Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get me.

 

[Magnetoman]

He is just as objective as any of the other talking heads.

If you believe that, then why would you accept anything he says over that of actual unbiased experts?

Turning from Fox News commentators to something factual, a major factor in our process for deciding on machines for the exhibition "The Motorcycle, Design, Art, Desire" that was in Brisbane from November 2020 through April 2021, was making sure we covered the past, present, and future of motorcycle design in ways that were intellectually sound.

Amazon.com

For several very good reasons we had the steam-powered 1871 Perreaux Velocipede in the exhibition, which would have made our cut for no other reason than it was the earliest motorcycle of any kind ever made. Although, if we had we had looked hard enough, we might have found someone making a steam-powered motorcycle today, there was no reason to look hard because for thermodynamic reasons we know that steam was a dead end.

However, unlike steam, the situation is different with electric. Because of this, in addition to having the first mass-produced electric motorcycle, the Socovel from 1936–1948, we selected eleven 21st-Century electric machines to represent the possible future of motorcycling. We also had eleven gasoline-powered motorcycles from this century, a few of which were customs based on older engines.

We had these electric motorcycles, not because we were too naïve to see past pro-electric propaganda, or because anyone paid us directly or indirectly to have them, but because we have the technical expertise to examine and understand the best relevant information available today. Had we concluded for thermodynamic, electrical, or environmental reasons that electric motorcycles aren't a realistic part of the future, we would not have had them in the exhibition.

Again, none of the above means I'm arguing for, or against, the overall case for electric vehicles, only that an informed decision on the topic requires more, much more, than the opinions expressed in this thread.

 

[vibrac]

I doubt since I am in a rural location I will ever have an electric motorcycle, however if I did just like my modern GS BMW I would use it and renew it as needed. Frankly I dont really give a damn about what powers 'white goods' vehicles so long as they are viable and effective (or at least till their software is no longer supported).
Its old vehicles I am interested in.
So what is much more concerning is the attitude of our umbrella organisations like the VMCC and the ACU and perhaps the BMF to the governments direction of environmental legislation. The ACU half heartedly thinks they will plant trees to off set the local scrambles and a ban on tear off visors will do the trick, the VMCC thinks sticking an electric motor in a Royal Enfield frame is laudable, yes it is a pathetic response. They need to look at the car world for good examples. F1 will be using synthetic non fossil fuel in 23 and Porche is putting millions into zero net carbon fuel. At least our organisations should be making sure that a synthetic fuel is widely available and used for events and runs, because soon once brainwashed urban man starts running round in electric silent cars the misguided militant groups will start hitting on petrol vehicles and barricading filling stations. we need an excuse and using a zero CO2 Vincent with a quiet exhaust will be essential

 

[ray vinmad]

I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, but as far as I can see, no country can protect itself without oil!

 

[Magnetoman]

I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, but as far as I can see, no country can protect itself without oil!

Discussions of this topic by experts, as well as predictions of climate models developed by experts, assumes a future with an appropriate mix of hydro, solar, wind, nuclear and hydrocarbon.

However, there's no lack of people who push their own agendas by taking predictions out of context, quoting results not accepted by the vast majority of scientists, or simply making up "facts." Two years ago, in dismissing a slander lawsuit against Tucker Carlson, the judge wrote "Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson's reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrives with an appropriate amount of skepticism' about the statement he makes," and that "Whether the Court frames Mr. Carlson's statements as 'exaggeration,' 'non-literal commentary,' or simply bloviating for his audience, the conclusion remains the same — the statements are not actionable."

Unfortunately for society there is an ongoing war on experts, which has successfully managed to convince quite a few gullible people that there's a false equivalence between actual experts and the bloviating and factually-unsupported opinions of others.

 

[timetraveller]

'bloviating' nice word not often come across over here. I had to look it up.

 

[Gary Gittleson]

'bloviating' nice word not often come across over here. I had to look it up.

Unfortunately more common here in the US.

 

[Magnetoman]

'bloviating' nice word not often come across over here.

'Bespoke' is a nice word that you have, which doesn't have an equivalent over here, but should. 'Custom' is our closest equivalent, but it doesn't convey quite the same thing. A custom paint job is bespoke, but not necessarily vice versa.

 

[mercurycrest]

Since we moved from the US to the UK 4 years ago, I can't count how many times I've asked "Where the Hell did you learn to speak English?!" Boris is the perfect example of a Bloviator.

 

[vibrac]

The end of one of the best biking roads in east of England starts at Higham Ferrers ('HI-ham-Ferris') I have heard a US rider call it HIG HAM FER RARS, you know they could be right!
Certainly when riding in France and elsewhere its better to agree a name that everyone will remember and not get confused by inacurate pronunciation or forget. For instance Bagnères de Luchon in the Pyrenees will always be stuck in my mind as 'Bury your luncheon meat'