Discussion The Death of Motorcycles?

Robo Cop with wheels.

 

now that is the definition of ugly ... even its own designer would find it hard to love

 

Yes, I guess it’s a challenge to infiltrate the motorcycling community . As much as we know we are forward thinking, switched on hipsters most radical new motorcycle designes die the death pretty quickly in the market place. ( my most modern vehicle was built in 1990) and except for my old 85 gsxr 750 race bike, all are v twins.
I hope Savic succeed , but sure hope they hire an Italian or Japanese designer for the next model run. I’ve heard the first run is already sold out.

 

Yes, having almost been killed at Oran Park when a tiny cap screw vibrated loose inside my gsxr750 carbs, jamming the throttle on full while entering turn one, I understand the horror of the machine taking over. The world of totally computer chip controlled vehicles is going to open up a whole new world of disasters and catastrophes as yet just a figment of sci fi authors…. Sadly, continuing on the path industrialisation is leading us has its own grab bag of catastrophes we are only just beginning to experience.

 

Like all new technologies, electric vehicles will take time to perfect (100+ yrs into I.C.E. & progress is STILL being made) and there will always be holdouts insisting the past was better....opinions on climate, humanities ability to affect his environment, our responsibility towards our childrens future, & whatever science you wish to assign legitimacy to, are all debatable. (I hope we dont go that route here LOL)
I am reminded of two very profound pictures from NYC in the early 1900s. In the first image there are thousands of people, hundreds of horses, & ONE CAR....the second image taken just 5 yrs later from the same viewpoint & the difference is profound. Thousands of people, hundreds of cars, & just a few horses.
If you had asked any of the thousands of men involved in the industry of horses, be they stableboys, manure collectors, even the teams of men that removed dozens of dead horses from the city daily, they would have laughed had you told them their industry was on the verge of collapse. They would have told you horses have been THE form of transports for thousands of years & you must be high or drunk to think such crazy futures exist. Yet nearly every single one was without a job within months or yrs.
I have a feeling whether we like it or not, for better or worse, electric is here to stay.

To be a Luddite will do no good

Technology WILL pass you by. Digital/electronic CAN be safe & reliable, i have stereos from the 70s that work great still (better than new ones IMO) I also have poorly made junk 6 months old that has failed. As others here have said, I.C.E. cars can be deadly too, ask Jay Leno if the electronics are what burnt him, How about those deadly toyota floormats that wedged accelerators or jam brakes
It is sad solar panels & lithium batteries can do no better for the planet but sure work for "virtue signaling" it is a shame we are possibly consuming our resources at a rate that may leave future offspring resenting our "excessive decadence". For what seems perfectly normal to us now, may be deplorable to them then. (For example i would LOVE to see virgin timber that was greedily decimated 100+ yrs ago. There are many buildings in my area with HUGE timbers & boards up to a meter wide, that could never be replicated today unless built from glued together sawdust & scrap, but that one generation sure had it good for timber)

THE BEST THING WE CAN DO FOR THE ENVIRONMENT FOR NOW, IS REPAIR & MAINTAIN OUR OLD I.C.E. MACHINES !!

Far less impact on the planet, saves energy to smelt the metal/make the plastic/ship the product. Continuing to ride our old 250cc gas burners will have far less impact on the planets resources than buying a new e-bike. Just do the math.
I do actuallyfalso look forward to electric machines...the instant torque, the silent travel, possibilities for traction/launch control, there are some real perks for sure. And I sure dont want to be that luddite riding a horse insisting "horseless cart is work of the devil" circa 1927 LOL
If we could put all opinions aside & seek a good future for our children, be it maintaining old I.C.E. stuff & making it run clean as (realistically) possible, or transitioning to newer better methods once we find an environmentally conscious way of doing so. We may go down in history not as the generations whom selfishly doomed the future, but those who stepped up to the challenges, set emotions aside, & paid whatever costs were necessary to ensure our childrens children could still fire up a 250cc, even if only for nostalgia (or a madmax run to the nearest fuel tanker truck LOL)

 

As you can see, horses are STILL a part of NYC traffic (mostly right around central park) and it is sure a sight to see (& hear the clop clop of hooves in busy traffic) even 100 yrs into I.C.E. so theres good hope our 250cc will still have at least novelty use in 100yrs. But also note the new fangled technology is not always the one causing the deadly accidents either !
If horse transport still has not died after 100 yrs in one of the busiest urban centers on earth, i think it bodes well for our bikes. But also portends a future many of us may not be currently ready to accept as coming

 

Good point you guys make about electric vehicles being nothing new ! Its funny to think just how old some modern tech truly is, the internet & mobile phones back in the 60s i think,, the first vacuum tube was in the mid 1800s !
It is obvious we are all perfectly happy with electric motors powering our washing machines, electric fans etc. Yet many still have an aversion to the "new" electric transport. Perhaps this is more an indication we have some affection or loyalty to I.C.E. ? ( gas engines sure do seem much more explosively ALIVE compared to the whir of electrons in a motor) (& if you really want to feel the soul of an engine that feels ALIVE, get up close & personal with a steam engine, you can FEEL it breathe
Personally for me, I think part of my reluctance to welcome electric cars (in addition to the previously mentioned downsides like economics, actual real world ecology, & those using it as a virtue signal vs actually caring about the numbers) the greatest concern I have about the electric future is really the removal of humans from the process of driving. We are at the cusp of a paradigm shift where A.I. & machines are fast replacing humanity in all areas & that is something we have no experience with to know its all safe. The tesla auto-pilot incidences are a new concern even if the car they drive is literal 100+ year old tech.
I think it will take a long time before a computer can think like a human, like how long would it take to get an A.I. to handle a rowdy horse as well as a seasoned cowboy ? But for driving, auto pilot may fast replace us hoomans !
I am not concerned our 250cc bikes will be immediate relics of the past the minute a ban is put on I.C.E. sales, But i do wonder a bit when do we as drivers becomes relics ? Deemed too random, unpredictable & unsafe by insurance companies, to navigate roads full of self driving electric cars ?

 

Like so much of what pops up on FB, it probably isn't that simple or may even be out of date or misleading.
This article and several others cast serious doubt on that claim.
https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.328N2RY

 

Yeah we all have our own opinions on the whole thing, i miss the days of true news & facts without agenda, & open minded discussions where both parties can disagree yet still go home friends willing to work on the same team. Life is so polarizing these days it seems.
After I wrote my "fears" were not of electric cars, buy autopilot replacing us & used that cowboy example it dawned on me, it will be a LONG time, if ever, before we see autopilot on a bike LOL ! I mean really whats the point ? Kinda funny to imagine !
. Where we are from a bike is typically a leisure sport chosen specifically for the enjoyment of driving. Makes me wonder if in countries like say india where a bike is often just basic transportation, do you guys think there would be a demand for an auto pilot bike ? (In light of issues like potholes like Frankster mentioned, that could be TERRIFYING Lol)

 

Watch Westworld Season 3.
Delores has a very cool electric bike that she calls to her assistance and then sends to wipe out the baddies in their big SUV that are trying to kill her.