Electric Motorcycle Touring Down Under – CleanTechnica

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By Nigel Morris, as told to David Waterworth

Nigel and his three friends, Ed, John and Thomas, set out for an electric motorcycle ride down the south coast of New South Wales recently. CleanTechnica readers may remember Ed from his Nullarbor trip. Here is how Nigel describes this recent ride:

Motorcycle touring is a bit of a strange pastime, truth be told.

It combines the adventure of motorcycling with a battle of will, especially as you age. Riders expose themselves to harsh elements over long distances, balancing a few hundred kilos between their thighs and cajoling a hundred horses of power by finely adjusting wrist and forearm muscles for hours on end.

Some riders are “iron butt” aficionados, willing and able to cover perhaps 1,000 km a day or more in ultimate endurance tests. For mere mortals, 300–400 km per day with a fuel stop and stretch every 1.5 to 2 hours is more achievable and pretty typical of a great day out, reliving your youth.

Australians are particularly good at long distance motorcycle touring because, fcuk it, we’re tough as shit and love overcoming big odds.

I don’t get away as often as I used to, but on a recent trip with four friends, I was reminded how bloody fantastic it is and how discomfort will fade away quickly with stunning scenery, winding roads and good friends. [You can watch Nigel’s video here.]

And guess what? Our recent overnight trip of around 600 km was 100% electric.

Tom and I own Harley Livewires (there are around 80 in Australia). Ed has a near new Energica Experia and John has a brand new Energica Ribelle RS, making them part of an elite crew down under.

Together we try and get away on rides a few times a year, and despite the vast distances Australia is renowned for, charging infrastructure has dramatically improved in the decade or so we’ve been riding electric.

Back in 2017, we did a tour with a gaggle of nine Zeros and Brammos and the ONLY way we could charge was at 240V single-phase or 415V 3-phase outlets at showgrounds and unsecured utility boards. We needed around 20kg of chargers, cables, adaptors, and phase splitters. It was slow, it was sketchy, but we did it.

Fast forward to our recent trip and all our bikes are now able to fast charge at 20kW+ at almost any one of 2,000 conveniently located fast charging stations. The battery capacity of the Energicas is now double what I had in my 2015 Zero DS back then.

Our recent weekend followed a well-travelled route for Sydney riders. Fight your way through the big smoke, ride 20 km or so through the Royal National Park, and pop out the other end at an epic scenic lookout for coffee and bragging with hundreds of other riders.

Then, follow the cliff-edged road along the coast and take any number of epic winding mountain roads that climb and descend the mountain range. Like many scenic tourist routes, the speed limits are low and great care and timing must be taken to (ahem) enjoy those horses.

We covered around 250 km on our first day, with one charging stop around 120 km in — much like any obligatory fuel stop before a trip up the mountains. Having toured a lot on ICE bikes, I get that refuelling can be done in a few minutes, but the reality is you’ll often spend 20–30 minutes talking shit, screwing around, and someone always needs to take a dump, so call it 30 minutes.

Charging our bikes took 10 minutes longer.

We then hit the mountains and flogged our bikes senseless, trying to keep up with a ring-in mate on a delicious new Ducati Panigale. We covered more than a hundred km on epic winding backroads thanks to our local Ducatisti guide and were not embarrassed with our prodigious and seamless torque.

We finished the day with a pub meal, some more shit talking, and some well-earned beers.

At our cheap hotel ready for a good snore, the only difference to ICE bike riders was that we were conspicuous for all having extension cords hanging out the windows, slow charging our bikes.

Topped up and breakfasted, we hit the road and did more laps of glorious mountain roads. We had, of course, identified the local charging stops and had a route for our second day morning ride of around 100 km, which is frankly ideal for cutting sick on Livewires (particularly). Those damn Energicas really do benefit from the extra 10–15% range their batteries offer, but that’s offset by the fact that they (bewilderingly) can’t use Tesla chargers — which Livewires can.

We arrived at our mid-morning stop with plenty in reserve, shortening our charge times. We revelled in a four-charger station, lining up all our bikes in a row and smacking them with electrons as fast as they could gulp them. By the time we dealt with the wide-eyed locals, EV enthusiasts who wanted to share their joy, and sorted our ablutions, we were ready to roll. None of us charged to 100% at this stop because we knew the final leg was lower speed and chargers abounded.

So, what have we learned touring electric motorcycles?

We all have different riding styles and energy consumptions. I’m a bit wider, heavier, and “judicious on the throttle” so I tend to go like a cut snake on the fast stuff then switch to eco mode and conserve energy on the boring bits. Works for me.

You have to plan. Charging stops are critical and somewhat unreliable, so plan A and plan B and using lots of apps reduces the risk of issues. It’s essential. However, it’s also getting better and easier by the day and has yet to actually cause us a problem.

Slow down. This may not suit you if you’re full of reckless youthful abandon, but if you’re older, slowing down a bit and taking the slower speed, the more scenic routes, is actually a joy. We have learned to revel in the ride and accept a slower pace makes it a longer ride.

Get creative. We’ve all tweaked our rides to maximise efficiency; be its screens, compact luggage, or whatever, and that all helps. Personally, I also use a trick where I senselessly flog fast downhill sections but go a lot easier on energy sapping uphill sections, if I need to, to arrive.

I honestly say to everyone who’ll listen that “electric motorcycles aren’t high-speed long-range tourers yet” (in Australia). It’s doable, but it’s a pain in the ass that few would accept. If you want to do huge distances fast, get an ICE bike.

Even at extortionate peak charging rates, electric riders will have more beer money. My Livewire will cost $10 Elon Dollars to charge, which is the worst case, and more typically $3 or $4. Your ICE bike with 15 litres of Premium unleaded in Australia will cost you around $35, so it sucks to be you.

John is a new convert on his Ribelle, and for him, learning some of these tricks riding with other electric owners was huge. Perhaps the biggest lesson is that electric motorcycle riders are best suited to touring with other electric motorcycle owners because we’re in the same groove. Short rides with your ICE buddies are fine, but touring will get you out of synch, because they can fuel almost anywhere with zero planning but you have to think ahead and divert and pry windows open to get charging cords out while your mates drink beer.

So, get some nerdier friends.

Electric motorcycle touring for average humans is undoubtedly a thing if you are prepared to make some tweaks. It’s totally doable, sensation enveloping, challenging, and unmistakably rewarding all at once.

Thank you Nigel!