OCC builds electric chopper Other Motorcycle Manufacturers Discuss OCC builds electric chopper in the Motorcycles forums; Well alternate energy research funding is nothing new, started at least back with President Reagan, might go even farther back, I don’t have time to research it, if anyone has ...

[HarleyCruiser]

Well alternate energy research funding is nothing new, started at least back with President Reagan, might go even farther back, I don’t have time to research it, if anyone has better info please speak up.
It was greatly expanded with the Bush Jr administration and again with Obama.
This type of research development is expensive; the results will not be seen for years in advance.
Yes right now electric cars are just getting practical and in all honesty need more development especially to get the cost factor down where they can be justified.
This is where the government funding come into play, this is just to costly for even a large corporation to bare.
This is not a green issue, it is just good sense, for the future of our country.

• As for global warming, not sure if I agree with it or not, I have heard people a lot smarter than me argue both ways.
• Drill baby drill, yea I don’t have a problem with that, but CHEAP oil is running out.
• The chart that you posted is for fossil fuels, this would included coal and oil shale. This type of fuels need a lot more development to be of value when it comes to using it for transportation.

I didn’t want this thread to be a political debate.
Yes we have some real problems, but not all of these problems are from the current administration, a lot of these problems have been inherited.

• As far as the health care issue, my wife and I pay close to nine hundred dollars a month for health care, with a real high deductible and we are healthy.
• Something needs to be done.
• There are a lot of half truths from both sides.
• I will wait after it is passed to pass judgment on this plan.

Pisssed yea So am I, but this is not the first time, not the first President that has pissed me off.

Originally Posted by sgtcowboyusmc

Steve, I am all for you building one if that is what YOU want. What bothers me is these knuckleheads wanting to tell me what I can and cannot buy,eat, drink or ride. Or using my tax dollars on bribes, I mean rebates so they can get their political agenda in place. One of my best-est friends just put solar panels on his house. But like the Obamacare debacle it does the job half a$$ and costs me more money. You see it will only run part of his electricity off of solar and the other is still coming from the electric company. It cost him over $50,000 initially, but don't worry because mine and your tax dollars are picking up half with Obamabribes, I mean rebates. With Obamacare they only cover part of these so called uninsured at what will be more than 2 trillion tax dollars. That's what bothers me about this, not that they made an electric bike. But they are using our money to enslave us and we sit idly by and let them do it. I know this thread was about Electric Bike that OCC Built but this is where all of this is leading. Sorry for the rant Steve. I will try to keep my politics in the political Section.


Cowboy

[sgtcowboyusmc]

Steve I understand that the issue of Bribes/ incentives have been going on since at least the Carter yrs. Believe you me the Progressive Republicans are not any better than the Progressive Democrats. We need to restore the Regan Revolution. As for waiting for a final bill on Health care, none of the Bills currently being considers will fix the "Uninsured" Problem nor will it lower costs with out drastic reductions in care especially in Elder Care. Not to mention it is unconstitutional for the Federal Government to require anyone to buy Health Insurance or go to jail. Competition in Health insurance as well as Tort reform will cut costs down a lot and make insurance more affordable. As for the Coal and Shale oil you are partially right. Shale oil provides 90% of Estonia's energy. I know it is a small country but it is feasible to refine and with oil prices around $80 a barrel it is economically profitable. Wind and Solar are not proven to work on a larger scale and are infinitely more expensive. Nuclear power and drilling in Alaska and the Continental shelf is the short term fix (Next 75 to 100 yrs fix) and by that time hopefully we have found ways to make Solar and wind work. The last time they tried to refine shale oil in the US, Oil prices were $28-$35 dollars a barrel and it was all good then. Exxon and Chevron stopped the research when oil dropped to $9.50-$12.00 a barrel. We will see another World War if we do not do something and the proven Technology is in Oil, Nuclear and Coal. Once we have secured our Energy future for the time being we can go off on a lark for the holy grail of wind and solar.

This will be my last post about this as I have hijacked a thread on OCC's Electric bike and turned it into an Energy/Health Care/Political thread. Sorry for the hijack and maybe I will later start one in the off topic thread.

Cowboy

[jimkelley]

I used to be a regular viewer of the show. I started losing interest when Vinnie pulled the plug. I think the episodes where Rick built his own bike were pretty interesting. I gotta say that most of the guys at OCC put up with more than I would from an employer. The episode where Vinnie suffered the wrath of Senior because the shop was a mess would have been the last straw for me if I were in his shoes. I'm sure a lot of what went on was for "dramatic" effect as they say. Now-a-days I rarely watch the show. I think their days are numbered as a show. While the bikes were very innovative and more works of art as much as anything else, they never looked very rideable or practical. Based on their price I bet the company is hurting right now.

[street bob]

I agree, rolling works of art.
Not practical at all and definitely not for serious riding.
They were built to sit in the corporate foyer and not to be on the road.
There quality was in the toilet...

[grampadac]

Call me crazy, uninformed or just curious but, wouldn't you have to charge these bikes longer than you can drive them? Doesn't seem viable to me.

[Whopper]

Thirty+ years ago I worked as a project engineer with a lead engineer on an electric vehicle. We modified a postal delivery vehicle to be fully electric. The range = 50 miles depending on how hard you pushed it. Not much progress in three decades eh Basic problem: the power density of batteries Vs gasoline or diesel is pittiful. Battery charging rates that are necessary to charge the battery without damaging it mean like 8 hours of charge to get 50 miles. There are new batteries out there but the cost is high and they still won't get you as far as a 3.3 gallon Sporty tank.

One of the things that concerned us was safety. Ever have a batter blow up? The result is pretty ugly - an internal short in a lift truck battery on the charger made a mess in our plant. So if you have a wreck will you get a shock? Will rescue workers? The materials used in many batteries are not "green", what do we do with that stuff?

Government funding is too political to be of any benefit. The money goes to the district where the largest political dog lives in spite of the fact that it may be the wrong place. And nobody holds the recipient accountable.

Government money distorts the economy - private industry can do the job when the incentive is there.