Quote:
Originally Posted by CZroe
Yeah, the braces at the top do appear to double as handles.
The early prototypes were shown with a 2018+ Ninja 250/400 frame which they now seem to have modified so that the Z EV battery can hang out the bottom. The Ninja EV is presumably the fully-faired version of the same bike. It’s possible that it comes out through the top or both ways but it’s heavy and already hanging so far out the bottom it seems counter-intuitive for the Z EV. I wish it could split between the two layers of cells for easier handling as two packs.
It’d be great to have more specifics but I don’t expect the “quick” change to be for convenience purposes… like having a second battery for extending range or reducing/distributing battery wear. It’s probably more for maintenance, recycling, salvage/recovery, or replacement… in which case the fairings will be largely irrelevant since they already have to come off for most major services.
They are still calling these “prototypes” with barely any new info so it’s hard to get excited yet. I expected to hear things like range, prices, performance numbers, and a launch date by now, and it’s hard to get excited without knowing some of those important details. If it’s going to cost $10k I’ll just get an eBike and a traditional motorcycle. Any cagers who would be attracted to it as a value-option EV would be better served with a used Chevy Bolt EV. That’s just the market reality so I really hope they aim to undercut that price.
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These appear to be using the non-US
Ninja/
Z125 as the basis now. It also mentioned the A1 license class (15hp), which matches that. The stated 3kWh battery is 1/5 the size of a Zero's. These really seem to be small (like "mini", as opposed to "Ninjette") bikes meant for in-town commuting, not much above a scooter.
The renders should at least look somewhat like the real thing, but obviously they're not videos of a real bike. They seem to imply the battery pack dropping in and making connection at the bottom, for whatever that CGI is worth. That seems to me like a simpler solution (basically a bucket) than having some sort of opening at the bottom which also has to support the battery. They also mentioned the batteries being 12kg/26lb, and there being up to 2 of them. That seems like a bit of random info if they're not meant to be removed except for servicing (though I suppose people are in general concerned with how much batteries weigh in an EV). If it's not meant for the user to access, it just kinda feels like saying how much the engine case weighs - while I guess it can help provide some info on the bike's weight and balance, it just seems like info the average rider wouldn't really care about. At least in theory, I do like the idea of being able to have a spare battery ready to just drop in (just like with RC cars when you were a kid).
I'd say this is a Grom/Z125 replacement. It could be great in some cases, but for most people it's not going to replace their Ninjette. If they could do this same ICE→EV conversion on a 400 without making it insanely heavy/expensive, I think I'd be interested. I was just thinking that while I don't like the idea of limited range and long recharge times, my pleasure rides around here are rarely more than a single tank of gas. As long as you have a garage or whatever to charge in, one nice thing about EVs is that you're always leaving the house with a "full tank", rather than having to put in 1 gallon now or plan a stop halfway through your ride.
FYI, I've filled up my Volt's 9 gallon tank twice this year. I've used about 1 gallon since my 9/1 fillup. At the beginning of the pandemic, one tank lasted me 14 months and 5,761 miles. I know how usable "short" EV ranges can be in the real world, though it definitely depends on your driving patterns. Back in Precedented Times, I was filling up every month or two with a ~50mi/day commute.