Awesome video series, I really like the honesty of your experience with the charging and how it compares to the petrol bike. It is great to see someone out there showing that this can be done. Watching this series and the South Island trip (I live in the South Island) helped motivate me to get a motorcycle license, and I now have a bike. I look forward to seeing your next adventure.
I think we absolutely need videos like this Sam. They help get over all the hate mail from opinionated ICE riders who speak with no experience of riding an electric bike. Keep riding, preserve those Kiwis, and keep charging!
Thanks man! As much as I love EVs, I'm trying to stay unbiased and keep bringing up ways they need to improve. Constructive criticism. Also gotta inspire gas bikers to ride to all the places an electric bike has been ;D
i can so much confirm - range anxiety & infant charging infrastructure are the biggest gripes people (coming from a world of gas station all over) have... Riding a BMW C Evolution since 2019, having 20 clicks to work and doing all my small shopping errands with it, as well as nature/astro photography tours around the neighbourhood has proven this to be the right choice. And I'm keeping my old 1000 ccm Varadero alive only until I can switch to a Experia for travels. THX for sharing your insights, as well as those wonderful impressions!
Thanks for sharing your experience! I've heard great things about the BMW C Evolution. They look so futuristic. Commuting on electric is already better, so I hope road tripping becomes easier soon! The Experia is perfect for it.
Oh, don't beat yourself up for the time it takes to edit. Your production values are amazing and anyone who does even the occasional video knows the pain! A cover over charge points and just let us pay… I endorse this message! 😂 Nice of them to provide an earthquake to provide you with the authentic "at sea" feel on the boat motel. I secretly kind of look forward to the initial reaction of EV drivers when we pull up to charge and then seeing their expression change to one of wonderment. I like your honest and objective approach to the drawbacks of EV biking in terms of time to charge, but in the grand scheme of things, we know that most touring on interesting roads will involve distances which require one or two stops a day. Ten stops sound a lot if you think of them back to back, but over a trip, it's not too bad really. Though those occasions where you're stuck somewhere charging with no facilities and nothing else to do are less fun. Hell, the one time I did do ten charge stops back to back, I was grateful! 😊 Good point actually. How did you fair with battery temp on multiple charges? I note you had the charge rate on max, but I guess that was on the basis of doing one or two stops a day.
Thanks man! I appreciate it 😁 Finishing this series felt like a huge weight lifted. There was way too much footage and I felt overwhelmed, which is probably why it took so long to do. I definitely experienced yellow batteries on this trip, especially on warmer days. After 20min the battery would go yellow and it wouldn't go back to green for 40min of riding. I saw the charge rate drop to 14kW once but never single digits. We reeeeeally need liquid-cooled packs. That would make such a huge difference! I'm writing up a review now that we've put so many miles on the bikes, and so far charging is my only gripe.. which is crazy because these are still the fastest charging bikes you can get!
To Sam and all Aotearoa EV users. The poor charging infrastructure is also a safety risk. You don't want to be caught out by a faulty charger at night if you're a solo female traveller for example. If anyone has experienced something like that here in Aotearoa I recommend emailing Stuff reporter Olivia Wannan, she wouldn't be shy about putting some pressure on the right people to get things moving quicker. Also I know Nikki Mandow at Newsroom NZ is pro EV too, she'd write up a good story if you had one to share. My only bad experience is the Supercharger at Mangaweka is a bit rubbish to access and is muddy with potholes. Anyone know who is responsible for that mess, where/who do we complain to?
That's a really great point. I've had some sketchy experiences at charging stations in Porirua and Upper Hutt just because of their locations. At night, who knows what could happen? Some kind of mobile EV charging rescue service would be cool in situations like that. I agree about the Mangaweka superchargers. Those are really hard to get into!
Brilliant narrative for a great trip. Enjoy the hassle and planning and the challenge. You are trailblazing and showing everyone what is possible. Soon it will all be normal and where's the fun in that?
Awesome videos both north an south, enjoyed your experience following you both, very jealous, done a similar trip both north an south but by camper, would love to tear up the south island on a bike an camp wild, look forward to ya next bike trip! ( p.s wouldn't mind doing a quick vid on ya bike on day maybe) cheers!
@@NewZeroland Hey, sounds like a plan, I live in wellington region out the hutt valley, when would be a good time to check out the bike's? by the way you should get your youtube channel logo put on the under side of your beat's bonnet! let me know when would suit, cheers!
Thanks guys I have thoroughly enjoyed this trip. Beautiful scenery providing a stunning backdrop to the journey and some stuffed Kiwis.. I notice that you moved rapidly away from Jen before mentioning the Kiwis mortal enemy, the frying pan 🤣 Thanks for sharing, I can't wait for the next one. Ride safe guys.
I'll be the first to admit I still love watching videos about car repair and upgrades on some of the channels I'm subscribed to, but "petrol forever?" That's literally not even possible. The bikes are ready, they're probably more efficient than a whole car, it's the charging infrastructure and mindset that's the problem. Well, that and taking 10 hours to charge but I think that's also a mindset problem. Electrons take their sweet time, so we need either even bigger batteries or more patience. This trip might have had less drama, but it was still equally beautiful... wet, but beautiful. (drama: no kiwis!?)
Haha thanks! That was so well said. The infrastructure and political walls are out of our control, but the bikes could and should charge faster. Liquid cooling, man. We need actively cooled batteries and at least a 50kW charge rate. Get it down to 10min per charge and most of these problems would be gone!
Thanks for bringing us along, great to get out vicariously. 😊 Also appreciate you not sugar-coating the struggles. The bike seems very capable, but hamstrung by the infrastructure.
Thanks! I'm trying to stay unbiased even though I love the bikes. Sometimes engineers can't see how things could be better, so I'll keep telling them haha.
Love these videos. Glad you're taking the time to capture and edit them. Thank you! BTW: I sold my Tesla Plaid and bought a gas car to daily. If I commuted every day I would have kept it. I don't and I want a more exiting car that has emotion and feel to drive around.
Hey guys, I've really enjoyed watching your trip around the North Island. Riding around the Coromandel must be an awesome experience, I hope to do it myself one day. Thanks for all the effort you put into your videos. It was a pleasant surprise to see one of my postcards make a brief appearance in your video too, 9:26.
@@NewZeroland I can't take credit for that one, my business partner designed the Tiki Tour postcard. It kinda sums up a lot the journeys you take in New Zealand. We were lucky enough to go inside the enclosure at Otorohanga kiwi house to photograph the kiwi. The Great Spotted kiwi kept biting us, so I can confirm that they exist and are definitely in there somewhere! Thanks for buying our postcards 👍
Wow, what an incredible adventure from both of you! Ahh, you went to Auckland, you went to the waterfront & looked like the pub on the corner opposite the wharf! When were you actually there? Before the floods? You can do the same on an electric bike, just not in a hurry. Plan your holidays and take the time to enjoy 🌈 Great stuff Sam, thanks for sharing your journey 🤙
Yeah! Wait, is that pub not there anymore? This was way back in early January. You're right about trips. Taking time to explore and see everything you can is the best way to do it. I shouldn't rush as much.
I can see a kiwi bird sanctuary from my lounge! Kāpiti Island has kiwis and you can stay overnight and rangers will show you them :-) It's interesting, even though we only have a few chargers in NZ, their reliability is the envy of Britain and the US; their reliable charger per EV ratio is terrible! But NZ's network is a tenth of what we need if you travel at busy times, and bank holidays are absolute hell apparently. I just realised that your bike has roughly the same battery size as my campervan! At least I can jump in the back and make coffee while I'm waiting to charge :-) I'm seeing the beginnings of a second wave of more and faster chargers here, but it's currently too little and too slow because so many kiwis are buying EVs so quickly - which is obviously a good thing. If most weren't Teslas then electric trips would be nigh on impossible.
Too true man! Too true. Opening up the Tesla superchargers to everyone would help for a week, and then Tesla people wouldn't be able to charge anywhere. It's like we've been in this limbo of being early adopters for too many years. The wave of new charging stations is suuuper exciting! It'll make trips like this way easier, but the bikes need to charge faster, too. EVs in general still charge too slowly to cover this much distance comfortably.
Kentucky Fried Kiwi! Yeah all that dirt-road riding filled the swingarm bolt area and rear shock with dust and it's started squeaking like crazy. These are not off-road bikes!
Chicken and egg scenario. I feel like the charging situation will only improve if there is demand for it. So gotta keep using it, can't wait until it's better.
Sam a Kiwi burger is a real thing at McD's. Or sometimes found as a gourmet burger in cafes or such. No actual Kiwis tho.😅😂 I've lived here all my life, been to many Kiwi enclosures, never seen a live Kiwi. Wellington has the Capital Kiwi Project, you guys are more likely to see (probably only hear... and only at night) them in the wild, for free, in Wellington.
Wow, no way! A few months ago we went to the Wellington Zoo only to find their kiwis had died.. and then we drove up to Mt Bruce to the Pukaha Wildlife Centre, and still didn't see any kiwis. I'm going with this conspiracy theory haha.
Considering the amount of hours and other charging issues, yes you can go far, but the farther you go the less practical electric is. The ideal scenario is charging at home and avoiding stations altogether. For the price of an excellent tourer you can get 4 Ribelles, so it makes sense to use gas in long trips.
Yep, I agree 100%. EVs are perfect for commuting already. I just want the next step to be here already. If charging times drop to 10-15min, that's good enough for me.
@@NewZeroland we are fairly new to the charging with the EV car and are already having like three different apps we need around Wellington. After starting to follow @MarcTravels, he is on a roll with his EV m'cycle around the world, it is crazy to see how many apps he has to download in each country.
@11:16 happened to me last week the same thing, he shouted angrily from his VW ID3 to move my SS9 because he needed to charge; when I told him I will move it when I'm done charging he was super confused. 😂 Ps nice video as always
Loved the series..! Here in India, we finally got a lonh awaited F77 BUT they annoyingly ditched on board charger and hence no DC fast charging & no long leisure rides. 😞
Yeah man, I feel ya. The infrastructure needs to get better, and it sounds like with this new standard (using the Tesla plug) will help a lot. These bikes also need to charge faster though. These 30-40min stops are too long.
For charging time we need to actively cool the batteries, and allow faster charging. Cars easily charge 350 kW, Energica (and Harley) charge at 21 kW. I am not saying we need 210 kW to reduce the time 10 times, but at least 100 kW can be achieved to reduce charging time by a fifth, from 30 minutes 20%-80% to 6 minutes.
Give it another 2-4 years and I think you will see hopefully more and more improvements. I am sticking to my Talaria & Vespa Elettrica for the moment which are awesome for short stints but for all the longer stuff the ice bikes are still king for the moment. Just ordered a Moto Guzzi V100, one last hurrah for the ice bikes ... lol. Same with the cars, my Chevy Bolt is the perfect electric commuter car but for fun, my Mazda Miata will stick around for now. How is the Energicar coming along?
Well said! Different vehicles for different desires. I don't know if I'll take my Energica back on the track because the R3 is so lightweight and fun. The Beat project will get some love soon! I took a break to figure some stuff out and talk with fabricator friends (and edit this series) but I'll get back to it very soon. Lots of fun stuff to come!
Hi Sam just watching part 6 and you were talking about time and cost well my wife said it might be free for charging but when you think about it if its a work vehicle and you are having to sit for charging the boss has to pay you for your time so there is a cost that one needs to think about compared to filling up with gas lol anyway keep up the good work we look forward to the next youtube
Real adventure rides are one where you overcome adversity. If it was smooth and easy to do, you might as well take a car. Riding distance takes commitment, even with ICE bikes, I remember the rough days, the cold weather, the crazy things on my last long distance ride. The easy chill stuff, well it was forgettable.
That was so well said! Great points man. I totally agree. The struggle is memorable, and even the bad experiences were some of the best. Hopefully this series inspires gas bikers to ride to all the places an electric bike went bwahaha!
That open loop charger, we had the same issue with the app, then we managed to get it working, it was no longer free. :( Ended up charging in Bombay they were faster charges, but then found half the chargers were broken, cry cry.
Oh wow!! That's so sad. We used another Open Loop station near Waitomo and it cost money, so maybe they changed it the same day haha. Bombay's hyperchargers are awesome. It would be sad if they were broken!
THANK YOU for bringing up that disgraceful New Plymouth council meeting. Many New Zealanders are completely unaware about that horrible circus act. Not to be smug or anything, but I visited NZ in 2010 and we did see multiple kiwi birds. It was in a kiwi refuge, but near Rotorua. So I can confirm they were still very much alive and kicking back in 2010. Where they have gone since? KFC? Cat food factories? vAxXeEn iNjErD? Who knows?
Thanks man! Haha yeah we've seen some before.. but not for many years. The Wellington Zoo's kiwis died, the Pukaha Wildlife Centre had no kiwis either, and the Otorohanga Kiwi House supposedly had a few but they must have been sleeping when we went. Conspiracy, I say!
Fantastic series... loved every minute of it. Yeah, the whole charging station stuff needs to be re-thought out in my opinion. Needing apps and registration is just dumb to me... if it isn't necessary for petrol cars, then why to electric need it. Also, why do they just stand a charger somewhere like they do. Why not make it like a petrol station, .... and here's the crazy idea, ... with a roof, a little shop and a coffee bar with toilets available.... and so on, especially as electro drivers are going to be there on average longer than petrol car owners.. So, lots of cash to be made, eh? Standardize plugs, standardize paying (credit/debit card - or cash if there's a shop with an employee!). Sounds like a business plan!
Right?? An EV cafe! I love this idea. That's definitely a hidden cost of EVs that nobody talks about though. You're paying way less for "fuel" but more on snacks and drinks because you're waiting around so long haha.
Energicas might not be ready for massive 400+km road trips, however everything under that is fair game in my opinion, and unless the charging infrastructure is particularly lacking, I have found 0 downsides of riding electric versus gas.
Agreed! The days where we only rode 250-300km were the most fun. More than that and you're missing a lot, rushing by it all. I'd still like the infrastructure and charge times to come down though. It's only a matter of time!
It's amazing to still see companies not take Teslas examples with "how to" make better infrastructure for EVs. I guess it is hard when petrol will always be the winner (money maker) for now. I still want to get myself an EV motorcycle in the future once the kids are old enough. By then I hope the infrastructure has gotten better to be able to travel across Canada. I don't think the Tesla super chargers take other EVs here yet. But maybe that'll be the alternative instead of soooo many different types of chargers with their apps. It'll be everyone using Tesla chargers because it just makes more sense. And they're all fast chargers too (not including destination chargers). Again though Great video brother! I was feeling your struggle through the screen over here and I can totally understand not wanting to go for a long distance trip anytime soon.
Thanks man! Yeah Canada is such a vast country with not a lot in between cities. Riding across would be super fun though. And North!! I would love to attempt an electric ride up to the Yukon and all the way to Alaska. Charging overnight at motels might be the only way for a while.
Thinking more about what you were saying about long distance trips. I've got a few 800 km days under my belt on an electric bike that charges at 6 kW. Man, it's not easy! Now I take the petrol bike. But Tesla are fine for road tripping. They charge at >1000 km/h because they have low drag, and big batteries. Electric bikes will always have small batteries, but we could do something about the drag. If we cut the drag to half with a good fairing designed for low drag, we'd have 400 km range and charge at 400 km/h. That's practical. Most days on this trip your hotel charge would do the whole day. On a 600 km day you'd only need a half hour of charging. You'd probably charge a bit more than that, but that's all you'd *need*. So yeah, infrastructure is lacking, but I really think some simple changes to the bikes would make them practical. Sadly no manufacturer seems interested in practical bikes. They think we only ever ride a few km on sunny days and buy them as shiny toys rather than transport. I guess mostly they are right.
You're totally right! Aerodynamics is so important. I'm ok with a small battery pack (21.5kWh is big enough for me!) but it needs to charge faster. Once they get liquid-cooled packs, and charge times are down to 10-15min.. gas will be dead.
on behalf of kiwis...this is offensive lol. but i'll skip that and just assume u meant the classic maccas kiwiburger (that's our tucker)! as for 'the struggle', charging isn't as fast as re-fueling...but it's 10x more environmentally friendly (i made the 10x part up, but it's a lot). u may not care much about that, but i do. our bikes allow us to have fun and at the same time promote and support a more sustainable future. since when does it have to be better in EVERY way to ICE? I mean its better in mostly EVERY way currently, and likely where it isn't, it will be soon. the fact that they are amazing, but will become more amazing is exciting, and i'm happy to help that along as an early adopter. video was good as ever, but feel like this point was overlooked.
Yeah I agree, and definitely should have mentioned that. The sustainability of it is huge, especially because the electricity is powered renewably and locally, instead of having to import the gas for Jenn's bike. You're right that 90% of the time, commuting and stuff, electric is way more convenient. Hopefully soon we won't have to compromise as much on long trips.
Hi , I am coming to New Zealand for 2 weeks in 1 month on a solo motorcycle trip. I am planning to camp with a tent , is it hard to find spots were to camp for free? Cheers.
Hey awesome! I'm not sure actually.. but check out "freedom camping" and there might be a map somewhere of places that allow it. Otherwise normal campsites are pretty cheap I think, like $10 a night or something. Have fun!
@@NewZeroland I Will! I am also planning to move there if I'll have good vibe. I am Italian but I live in Tasmania, pretty similar I think. I cannot wait! Thanks, I'll have a look.
@@cerico76 oh yeah, very similar to Tasmania! 2 weeks is a pretty tight schedule, but if you ride fast you can see it all. I definitely suggest going to the South Island. That's where all the NZ postcards are from. The roads and scenery are mind blowing.
@@NewZeroland I think so! I am going North to South. I know it is going to be tight, I'll try to do all I can. Then I see. Maybe next year living there I'll have all the time I need to see it all. 😁
Tbf, being able to eat or do things while you charge negates the time imo, so when we can charge and not worry about it, that will subtract nearly all of the time, i did that on my 7000mi roadtrip and charging was 100% nonfactor
Only when eating or doing things matches the charge time exactly. Otherwise you're rushing back to unplug so someone else can charge. Leaving your vehicle for too long gets pretty stressful, so I'd prefer 10-15min charging stops. I think we're almost there.
@@NewZeroland that’s what i mean, once you don’t have to worry about rushing out to unplug because chargers are everywhere, we also have a lot of midspeed chargers here in the US.
Thanks for this honest summary. For me (and this is just me) we are not there yet. Not the EV bikes but infrastructure. I believe this will not happen any time soon either as with the development of infrastructure there will be more EVs to charge...
Cheers man! As long as they set some standards (no apps to download + minimum of 100kW stations) and our vehicles get charging times down to 10-15min at least, these problems will hopefully be solved. We'll see! It's still early days.
Great perspective. Charging will only get better. Filling up a gas tank won't. That being said, I just bought a jeep wrangler Willys. It's a fun convertible date car and snowy day work car. I'd rather wreck a jeep than a tesla. Not getting rid of the teslas or ribelle.
Well said man. Pumping gas will always be a smelly, toxic experience. I had hopes that synthetic fuel might be the savior of the combustion engine, but the exhaust is just as bad as it is now, so nope. It's electric or nothing.
@@NewZeroland agreed. Synthetic fuel won't end well for Porsche. It may end Porsche if they invest too much into it. I hope jeep makes a wrangler EV 2 door that's reasonably priced.
There's a big argument for EV's in NZ that I never hear, and it's not the free charging. 81% of NZ's electricity is from renewables, and on the South Island it's 99%. That means when you charge a battery and have to pay, the money stays in the Country. When you fill an ICE vehicle, then most of the money you spend leaves the country. Last year, NZ$1.72B left the country to buy crude oil. Imagine that amount staying in the NZ economy year for year.
Right?? Wow, thanks for those numbers. That's insane to hear. The way I see it, if all vehicles have to be imported, why not import electric vehicles? Then at least the fuel is already here :)
The electric powered vehicles are ready and what's stopping some of the people from buying one is range and charging anxiety but that is about to change. Someday, and that is very near, electric vehicles like your motorcycle will no longer need any charger nor need to stop solely for charging because an over unity free energy generator has been discovered. That means the electricity that the generator can produce far exceeds that of the electricity needed to run the electric motor of the generator. The prototype made is small and very light and produces an excess of around 20 Kw of usable electricity aside from that used to run it's electric motor. It's creating quite an excitement around the world. Here's the video of the Liberty Engine free energy generator. ruclips.net/video/nnAE0hqgH6Y/видео.html
Sorry man.. free energy isn't a thing. You can't run a motor off of nothing. It goes against the laws of physics. Also our motorcycles have 126kW so we'd need a lot more power haha.
@@NewZeroland There has been a lot of disinformation regarding the free energy generators by the giant oil industry and electric grid companies because that will certainly destroy their business and that is the main reason. But more and more people around the world are discovering it and are already using it. This technology cannot be kept away from the people forever. Regarding the power, this is just a prototype and the design will improve and produce more and more power while growing smaller and lighter in size as time goes by. This thing is real. Here's the news about this technology: ruclips.net/video/pT_LxiKCuSo/видео.html
With my EV with a range of about 360km ( battery has done 360.000km ) I leave with no breakfast and do 2.5 hr sections interrupted with pee/snack/charge stops. In 4 years doing 30.000km/a inland Australia I had to wait about 10mins a few times for someone to finish. But I never sat in or next to the car waiting. Tesla style Plug&Charge will happen eventually. Here in Straya Ampol has Autocharge, where you need the app once for the network to get to know your vehicle (MAC address of vehicle's communication chip) and all following sessions happen automatically. Google Seed&Greet Ladepark Hilden. It has everything you asked for.
That's amazing! Man there are way too many EVs in NZ now. They're installing way more stations but I'm worried the infrastructure will never catch up to how popular the vehicles are.
Oh so I feel less alone seeing the hurdles of charging with the massive number of apps, RFID cards and personal accounts you need to create so it seems like an international conspiracy 🤥But we're resilient! 🦾 This whole series should be a documentary about NZ. Too bad it's on the other side of the planet 😥
Awesome video series, I really like the honesty of your experience with the charging and how it compares to the petrol bike. It is great to see someone out there showing that this can be done.
Watching this series and the South Island trip (I live in the South Island) helped motivate me to get a motorcycle license, and I now have a bike.
I look forward to seeing your next adventure.
Wow, awesome!! I'm so glad these videos inspired you to start riding. Thanks for watching. Have fun out there man!
Free power!!!! Dude. That was awesome. 3400kms all up. What a trip! And so lucky with the timing. Absolutely cracker!
Thanks man! It was a tough one, but looking back, we both really enjoyed it. The exploration part of it was really fun :D
Celebrate what you accomplished 👌
Cheers to that!
I think we absolutely need videos like this Sam. They help get over all the hate mail from opinionated ICE riders who speak with no experience of riding an electric bike. Keep riding, preserve those Kiwis, and keep charging!
Thanks man! As much as I love EVs, I'm trying to stay unbiased and keep bringing up ways they need to improve. Constructive criticism. Also gotta inspire gas bikers to ride to all the places an electric bike has been ;D
i can so much confirm - range anxiety & infant charging infrastructure are the biggest gripes people (coming from a world of gas station all over) have...
Riding a BMW C Evolution since 2019, having 20 clicks to work and doing all my small shopping errands with it, as well as nature/astro photography tours around the neighbourhood has proven this to be the right choice. And I'm keeping my old 1000 ccm Varadero alive only until I can switch to a Experia for travels.
THX for sharing your insights, as well as those wonderful impressions!
Thanks for sharing your experience! I've heard great things about the BMW C Evolution. They look so futuristic. Commuting on electric is already better, so I hope road tripping becomes easier soon! The Experia is perfect for it.
Good ending to the series
Thanks for watching!
Oh.... and that was amazing, thank you. Thank you very much. :)
Thank YOU! Glad ya liked it :D
Oh, don't beat yourself up for the time it takes to edit. Your production values are amazing and anyone who does even the occasional video knows the pain!
A cover over charge points and just let us pay… I endorse this message! 😂
Nice of them to provide an earthquake to provide you with the authentic "at sea" feel on the boat motel.
I secretly kind of look forward to the initial reaction of EV drivers when we pull up to charge and then seeing their expression change to one of wonderment.
I like your honest and objective approach to the drawbacks of EV biking in terms of time to charge, but in the grand scheme of things, we know that most touring on interesting roads will involve distances which require one or two stops a day. Ten stops sound a lot if you think of them back to back, but over a trip, it's not too bad really. Though those occasions where you're stuck somewhere charging with no facilities and nothing else to do are less fun.
Hell, the one time I did do ten charge stops back to back, I was grateful! 😊
Good point actually. How did you fair with battery temp on multiple charges? I note you had the charge rate on max, but I guess that was on the basis of doing one or two stops a day.
Thanks man! I appreciate it 😁 Finishing this series felt like a huge weight lifted. There was way too much footage and I felt overwhelmed, which is probably why it took so long to do. I definitely experienced yellow batteries on this trip, especially on warmer days. After 20min the battery would go yellow and it wouldn't go back to green for 40min of riding. I saw the charge rate drop to 14kW once but never single digits. We reeeeeally need liquid-cooled packs. That would make such a huge difference! I'm writing up a review now that we've put so many miles on the bikes, and so far charging is my only gripe.. which is crazy because these are still the fastest charging bikes you can get!
To Sam and all Aotearoa EV users.
The poor charging infrastructure is also a safety risk. You don't want to be caught out by a faulty charger at night if you're a solo female traveller for example. If anyone has experienced something like that here in Aotearoa I recommend emailing Stuff reporter Olivia Wannan, she wouldn't be shy about putting some pressure on the right people to get things moving quicker. Also I know Nikki Mandow at Newsroom NZ is pro EV too, she'd write up a good story if you had one to share.
My only bad experience is the Supercharger at Mangaweka is a bit rubbish to access and is muddy with potholes. Anyone know who is responsible for that mess, where/who do we complain to?
That's a really great point. I've had some sketchy experiences at charging stations in Porirua and Upper Hutt just because of their locations. At night, who knows what could happen? Some kind of mobile EV charging rescue service would be cool in situations like that. I agree about the Mangaweka superchargers. Those are really hard to get into!
Brilliant narrative for a great trip. Enjoy the hassle and planning and the challenge. You are trailblazing and showing everyone what is possible. Soon it will all be normal and where's the fun in that?
Thanks, Ed! You're right. Hopefully this inspires gas bikers to go to all the places an electric bike went haha.
Awesome videos both north an south, enjoyed your experience following you both, very jealous, done a similar trip both north an south but by camper, would love to tear up the south island on a bike an camp wild, look forward to ya next bike trip! ( p.s wouldn't mind doing a quick vid on ya bike on day maybe) cheers!
Thanks man! Glad ya liked it. If you're ever in Wellington let me know and I'll show you the bike(s).
@@NewZeroland Hey, sounds like a plan, I live in wellington region out the hutt valley, when would be a good time to check out the bike's? by the way you should get your youtube channel logo put on the under side of your beat's bonnet! let me know when would suit, cheers!
@@steelsteeds that's a great idea 😂 I'll be around all weekend if you want to check them out - mistasam@gmail.com
Thanks guys I have thoroughly enjoyed this trip. Beautiful scenery providing a stunning backdrop to the journey and some stuffed Kiwis.. I notice that you moved rapidly away from Jen before mentioning the Kiwis mortal enemy, the frying pan 🤣
Thanks for sharing, I can't wait for the next one. Ride safe guys.
Haha thanks man! Glad you liked it. There's still so much of NZ we haven't seen, believe it or not. So it'll be time for another road trip soon!
I'll be the first to admit I still love watching videos about car repair and upgrades on some of the channels I'm subscribed to, but "petrol forever?" That's literally not even possible. The bikes are ready, they're probably more efficient than a whole car, it's the charging infrastructure and mindset that's the problem. Well, that and taking 10 hours to charge but I think that's also a mindset problem. Electrons take their sweet time, so we need either even bigger batteries or more patience. This trip might have had less drama, but it was still equally beautiful... wet, but beautiful. (drama: no kiwis!?)
Haha thanks! That was so well said. The infrastructure and political walls are out of our control, but the bikes could and should charge faster. Liquid cooling, man. We need actively cooled batteries and at least a 50kW charge rate. Get it down to 10min per charge and most of these problems would be gone!
Thanks for bringing us along, great to get out vicariously. 😊
Also appreciate you not sugar-coating the struggles. The bike seems very capable, but hamstrung by the infrastructure.
Thanks! I'm trying to stay unbiased even though I love the bikes. Sometimes engineers can't see how things could be better, so I'll keep telling them haha.
Love these videos. Glad you're taking the time to capture and edit them. Thank you!
BTW: I sold my Tesla Plaid and bought a gas car to daily. If I commuted every day I would have kept it. I don't and I want a more exiting car that has emotion and feel to drive around.
Yep, I feel ya man. Even if they're slower, gas cars definitely have more character.
I envy the chargers in Norway with covers and facilities. One day hopefully things will change.
Seriously! Only a matter of time, for sure. I'll keep bugging them anyway haha
Great series. Thanks so much.
Thank YOU!
Thanks to share!!!
Thank you for watching!
Hey guys, I've really enjoyed watching your trip around the North Island. Riding around the Coromandel must be an awesome experience, I hope to do it myself one day. Thanks for all the effort you put into your videos. It was a pleasant surprise to see one of my postcards make a brief appearance in your video too, 9:26.
No way! You designed that postcard?? We bought a bunch from the Kiwi House :) Awesome stuff! Thanks for watching. I'm glad you liked the series!
@@NewZeroland I can't take credit for that one, my business partner designed the Tiki Tour postcard. It kinda sums up a lot the journeys you take in New Zealand. We were lucky enough to go inside the enclosure at Otorohanga kiwi house to photograph the kiwi. The Great Spotted kiwi kept biting us, so I can confirm that they exist and are definitely in there somewhere! Thanks for buying our postcards 👍
@@philjones3067 ok that's a relief! Haha I'll keep going to these places until I see another one XD
great series!
Thanks man!
Wow, what an incredible adventure from both of you! Ahh, you went to Auckland, you went to the waterfront & looked like the pub on the corner opposite the wharf! When were you actually there? Before the floods? You can do the same on an electric bike, just not in a hurry. Plan your holidays and take the time to enjoy 🌈 Great stuff Sam, thanks for sharing your journey 🤙
Yeah! Wait, is that pub not there anymore? This was way back in early January. You're right about trips. Taking time to explore and see everything you can is the best way to do it. I shouldn't rush as much.
I can see a kiwi bird sanctuary from my lounge! Kāpiti Island has kiwis and you can stay overnight and rangers will show you them :-) It's interesting, even though we only have a few chargers in NZ, their reliability is the envy of Britain and the US; their reliable charger per EV ratio is terrible! But NZ's network is a tenth of what we need if you travel at busy times, and bank holidays are absolute hell apparently. I just realised that your bike has roughly the same battery size as my campervan! At least I can jump in the back and make coffee while I'm waiting to charge :-) I'm seeing the beginnings of a second wave of more and faster chargers here, but it's currently too little and too slow because so many kiwis are buying EVs so quickly - which is obviously a good thing. If most weren't Teslas then electric trips would be nigh on impossible.
Too true man! Too true. Opening up the Tesla superchargers to everyone would help for a week, and then Tesla people wouldn't be able to charge anywhere. It's like we've been in this limbo of being early adopters for too many years. The wave of new charging stations is suuuper exciting! It'll make trips like this way easier, but the bikes need to charge faster, too. EVs in general still charge too slowly to cover this much distance comfortably.
Taco Bell, I got that one! 😂 When you mentioned suspension sounds I thought you were going to have a Triumph moment. Oh, KFC comment, awesomeness sir.
Kentucky Fried Kiwi! Yeah all that dirt-road riding filled the swingarm bolt area and rear shock with dust and it's started squeaking like crazy. These are not off-road bikes!
Chicken and egg scenario. I feel like the charging situation will only improve if there is demand for it. So gotta keep using it, can't wait until it's better.
Soooo true man! Well said. If we keep demanding it, they'll eventually supply it. More road trips hahaha!
Sam a Kiwi burger is a real thing at McD's. Or sometimes found as a gourmet burger in cafes or such. No actual Kiwis tho.😅😂
I've lived here all my life, been to many Kiwi enclosures, never seen a live Kiwi. Wellington has the Capital Kiwi Project, you guys are more likely to see (probably only hear... and only at night) them in the wild, for free, in Wellington.
Wow, no way! A few months ago we went to the Wellington Zoo only to find their kiwis had died.. and then we drove up to Mt Bruce to the Pukaha Wildlife Centre, and still didn't see any kiwis. I'm going with this conspiracy theory haha.
Considering the amount of hours and other charging issues, yes you can go far, but the farther you go the less practical electric is. The ideal scenario is charging at home and avoiding stations altogether. For the price of an excellent tourer you can get 4 Ribelles, so it makes sense to use gas in long trips.
Yep, I agree 100%. EVs are perfect for commuting already. I just want the next step to be here already. If charging times drop to 10-15min, that's good enough for me.
Awesome summary. Like it. The charging should be done via card payments as you say, 100%!
Thanks! Yep.. they need to make it as easy as pumping gas. The amount of apps we need is getting ridiculous.
@@NewZeroland we are fairly new to the charging with the EV car and are already having like three different apps we need around Wellington. After starting to follow @MarcTravels, he is on a roll with his EV m'cycle around the world, it is crazy to see how many apps he has to download in each country.
@11:16 happened to me last week the same thing, he shouted angrily from his VW ID3 to move my SS9 because he needed to charge; when I told him I will move it when I'm done charging he was super confused. 😂
Ps nice video as always
HAHA yes! That's hilarious. I can't wait to charge my Honda Beat at a public station and wait for people to get angry at me :D
Loved the series..! Here in India, we finally got a lonh awaited F77 BUT they annoyingly ditched on board charger and hence no DC fast charging & no long leisure rides. 😞
No DC charging?? Aw man!! What's the point of it then??
When the charging infrastructure matures, I"ll be back. But I'm LOVING my Multistrada V4S. Tech on it that would be very welcome on 2 wheel EVs.
Yeah man, I feel ya. The infrastructure needs to get better, and it sounds like with this new standard (using the Tesla plug) will help a lot. These bikes also need to charge faster though. These 30-40min stops are too long.
For charging time we need to actively cool the batteries, and allow faster charging.
Cars easily charge 350 kW, Energica (and Harley) charge at 21 kW.
I am not saying we need 210 kW to reduce the time 10 times, but at least 100 kW can be achieved to reduce charging time by a fifth, from 30 minutes 20%-80% to 6 minutes.
I agree 100% man. Liquid-cooled packs and 100kW would solve 90% of our road trip issues.
Give it another 2-4 years and I think you will see hopefully more and more improvements. I am sticking to my Talaria & Vespa Elettrica for the moment which are awesome for short stints but for all the longer stuff the ice bikes are still king for the moment. Just ordered a Moto Guzzi V100, one last hurrah for the ice bikes ... lol. Same with the cars, my Chevy Bolt is the perfect electric commuter car but for fun, my Mazda Miata will stick around for now. How is the Energicar coming along?
Well said! Different vehicles for different desires. I don't know if I'll take my Energica back on the track because the R3 is so lightweight and fun. The Beat project will get some love soon! I took a break to figure some stuff out and talk with fabricator friends (and edit this series) but I'll get back to it very soon. Lots of fun stuff to come!
Hi Sam just watching part 6 and you were talking about time and cost well my wife said it might be free for charging but when you think about it if its a work vehicle and you are having to sit for charging the boss has to pay you for your time so there is a cost that one needs to think about compared to filling up with gas lol anyway keep up the good work we look forward to the next youtube
True! That's a great point. I wonder if the cost of fuel outweighs the cost of charging time. On a bike, no.. but maybe in a car.
Real adventure rides are one where you overcome adversity. If it was smooth and easy to do, you might as well take a car. Riding distance takes commitment, even with ICE bikes, I remember the rough days, the cold weather, the crazy things on my last long distance ride. The easy chill stuff, well it was forgettable.
That was so well said! Great points man. I totally agree. The struggle is memorable, and even the bad experiences were some of the best. Hopefully this series inspires gas bikers to ride to all the places an electric bike went bwahaha!
That open loop charger, we had the same issue with the app, then we managed to get it working, it was no longer free. :( Ended up charging in Bombay they were faster charges, but then found half the chargers were broken, cry cry.
Oh wow!! That's so sad. We used another Open Loop station near Waitomo and it cost money, so maybe they changed it the same day haha. Bombay's hyperchargers are awesome. It would be sad if they were broken!
THANK YOU for bringing up that disgraceful New Plymouth council meeting. Many New Zealanders are completely unaware about that horrible circus act.
Not to be smug or anything, but I visited NZ in 2010 and we did see multiple kiwi birds. It was in a kiwi refuge, but near Rotorua. So I can confirm they were still very much alive and kicking back in 2010. Where they have gone since? KFC? Cat food factories? vAxXeEn iNjErD? Who knows?
Thanks man! Haha yeah we've seen some before.. but not for many years. The Wellington Zoo's kiwis died, the Pukaha Wildlife Centre had no kiwis either, and the Otorohanga Kiwi House supposedly had a few but they must have been sleeping when we went. Conspiracy, I say!
europe roadtrip next?
THAT would be cool!
The national dish 🙂🐔🧑🍳🥝🍰
Bwahaha so tasty
Oh, right... it was not finished! XD
Haha it is now!
Fantastic series... loved every minute of it. Yeah, the whole charging station stuff needs to be re-thought out in my opinion. Needing apps and registration is just dumb to me... if it isn't necessary for petrol cars, then why to electric need it. Also, why do they just stand a charger somewhere like they do. Why not make it like a petrol station, .... and here's the crazy idea, ... with a roof, a little shop and a coffee bar with toilets available.... and so on, especially as electro drivers are going to be there on average longer than petrol car owners.. So, lots of cash to be made, eh? Standardize plugs, standardize paying (credit/debit card - or cash if there's a shop with an employee!). Sounds like a business plan!
Right?? An EV cafe! I love this idea. That's definitely a hidden cost of EVs that nobody talks about though. You're paying way less for "fuel" but more on snacks and drinks because you're waiting around so long haha.
Energicas might not be ready for massive 400+km road trips, however everything under that is fair game in my opinion, and unless the charging infrastructure is particularly lacking, I have found 0 downsides of riding electric versus gas.
Agreed! The days where we only rode 250-300km were the most fun. More than that and you're missing a lot, rushing by it all. I'd still like the infrastructure and charge times to come down though. It's only a matter of time!
It's amazing to still see companies not take Teslas examples with "how to" make better infrastructure for EVs. I guess it is hard when petrol will always be the winner (money maker) for now.
I still want to get myself an EV motorcycle in the future once the kids are old enough. By then I hope the infrastructure has gotten better to be able to travel across Canada. I don't think the Tesla super chargers take other EVs here yet. But maybe that'll be the alternative instead of soooo many different types of chargers with their apps. It'll be everyone using Tesla chargers because it just makes more sense. And they're all fast chargers too (not including destination chargers).
Again though Great video brother! I was feeling your struggle through the screen over here and I can totally understand not wanting to go for a long distance trip anytime soon.
Thanks man! Yeah Canada is such a vast country with not a lot in between cities. Riding across would be super fun though. And North!! I would love to attempt an electric ride up to the Yukon and all the way to Alaska. Charging overnight at motels might be the only way for a while.
Thinking more about what you were saying about long distance trips.
I've got a few 800 km days under my belt on an electric bike that charges at 6 kW.
Man, it's not easy! Now I take the petrol bike.
But Tesla are fine for road tripping. They charge at >1000 km/h because they have low drag, and big batteries.
Electric bikes will always have small batteries, but we could do something about the drag. If we cut the drag to half with a good fairing designed for low drag, we'd have 400 km range and charge at 400 km/h.
That's practical. Most days on this trip your hotel charge would do the whole day. On a 600 km day you'd only need a half hour of charging. You'd probably charge a bit more than that, but that's all you'd *need*.
So yeah, infrastructure is lacking, but I really think some simple changes to the bikes would make them practical.
Sadly no manufacturer seems interested in practical bikes. They think we only ever ride a few km on sunny days and buy them as shiny toys rather than transport. I guess mostly they are right.
You're totally right! Aerodynamics is so important. I'm ok with a small battery pack (21.5kWh is big enough for me!) but it needs to charge faster. Once they get liquid-cooled packs, and charge times are down to 10-15min.. gas will be dead.
Hai sam i an in the new zeroland come because summer vecation to which place is best for piknik and journey
Queenstown! The South Island is the best 😎
on behalf of kiwis...this is offensive lol. but i'll skip that and just assume u meant the classic maccas kiwiburger (that's our tucker)! as for 'the struggle', charging isn't as fast as re-fueling...but it's 10x more environmentally friendly (i made the 10x part up, but it's a lot). u may not care much about that, but i do. our bikes allow us to have fun and at the same time promote and support a more sustainable future. since when does it have to be better in EVERY way to ICE? I mean its better in mostly EVERY way currently, and likely where it isn't, it will be soon. the fact that they are amazing, but will become more amazing is exciting, and i'm happy to help that along as an early adopter. video was good as ever, but feel like this point was overlooked.
Yeah I agree, and definitely should have mentioned that. The sustainability of it is huge, especially because the electricity is powered renewably and locally, instead of having to import the gas for Jenn's bike. You're right that 90% of the time, commuting and stuff, electric is way more convenient. Hopefully soon we won't have to compromise as much on long trips.
Watching from Nepal
Really like your content
Which electric motorcycle?
Whoa awesome! Thank you :) This is an Energica Eva Ribelle from Italy.
Hi , I am coming to New Zealand for 2 weeks in 1 month on a solo motorcycle trip. I am planning to camp with a tent , is it hard to find spots were to camp for free? Cheers.
Hey awesome! I'm not sure actually.. but check out "freedom camping" and there might be a map somewhere of places that allow it. Otherwise normal campsites are pretty cheap I think, like $10 a night or something. Have fun!
@@NewZeroland I Will! I am also planning to move there if I'll have good vibe. I am Italian but I live in Tasmania, pretty similar I think. I cannot wait! Thanks, I'll have a look.
@@cerico76 oh yeah, very similar to Tasmania! 2 weeks is a pretty tight schedule, but if you ride fast you can see it all. I definitely suggest going to the South Island. That's where all the NZ postcards are from. The roads and scenery are mind blowing.
@@NewZeroland I think so! I am going North to South. I know it is going to be tight, I'll try to do all I can. Then I see. Maybe next year living there I'll have all the time I need to see it all. 😁
So is Energica still the go to for around town?
Absolutely! More fun going fast on twisty roads, but also fun commuting around town :D
Tbf, being able to eat or do things while you charge negates the time imo, so when we can charge and not worry about it, that will subtract nearly all of the time, i did that on my 7000mi roadtrip and charging was 100% nonfactor
Only when eating or doing things matches the charge time exactly. Otherwise you're rushing back to unplug so someone else can charge. Leaving your vehicle for too long gets pretty stressful, so I'd prefer 10-15min charging stops. I think we're almost there.
@@NewZeroland that’s what i mean, once you don’t have to worry about rushing out to unplug because chargers are everywhere, we also have a lot of midspeed chargers here in the US.
woo first
Thanks for this honest summary. For me (and this is just me) we are not there yet. Not the EV bikes but infrastructure. I believe this will not happen any time soon either as with the development of infrastructure there will be more EVs to charge...
Cheers man! As long as they set some standards (no apps to download + minimum of 100kW stations) and our vehicles get charging times down to 10-15min at least, these problems will hopefully be solved. We'll see! It's still early days.
Great perspective. Charging will only get better. Filling up a gas tank won't. That being said, I just bought a jeep wrangler Willys. It's a fun convertible date car and snowy day work car. I'd rather wreck a jeep than a tesla. Not getting rid of the teslas or ribelle.
Well said man. Pumping gas will always be a smelly, toxic experience. I had hopes that synthetic fuel might be the savior of the combustion engine, but the exhaust is just as bad as it is now, so nope. It's electric or nothing.
@@NewZeroland agreed. Synthetic fuel won't end well for Porsche. It may end Porsche if they invest too much into it. I hope jeep makes a wrangler EV 2 door that's reasonably priced.
25th! Does that count?
100% hahaha
Thanks for sharing , your vidéos are realy interesting but m'y cat don't want i see thé end ...
Hahaha thank you! Your cat likes these videos too??
@@NewZeroland always, it comes between the screen and me and again now 😁 yes hé must likee this vidéo too but he has no Google account 😁
Hate the apps!!!
Whaaat! Marc commenting on my video?? You're a legend! When you get to NZ, hit me up 😁
There's a big argument for EV's in NZ that I never hear, and it's not the free charging. 81% of NZ's electricity is from renewables, and on the South Island it's 99%. That means when you charge a battery and have to pay, the money stays in the Country. When you fill an ICE vehicle, then most of the money you spend leaves the country. Last year, NZ$1.72B left the country to buy crude oil. Imagine that amount staying in the NZ economy year for year.
Right?? Wow, thanks for those numbers. That's insane to hear. The way I see it, if all vehicles have to be imported, why not import electric vehicles? Then at least the fuel is already here :)
The electric powered vehicles are ready and what's stopping some of the people from buying one is range and charging anxiety but that is about to change. Someday, and that is very near, electric vehicles like your motorcycle will no longer need any charger nor need to stop solely for charging because an over unity free energy generator has been discovered. That means the electricity that the generator can produce far exceeds that of the electricity needed to run the electric motor of the generator. The prototype made is small and very light and produces an excess of around 20 Kw of usable electricity aside from that used to run it's electric motor. It's creating quite an excitement around the world. Here's the video of the Liberty Engine free energy generator. ruclips.net/video/nnAE0hqgH6Y/видео.html
Sorry man.. free energy isn't a thing. You can't run a motor off of nothing. It goes against the laws of physics. Also our motorcycles have 126kW so we'd need a lot more power haha.
@@NewZeroland There has been a lot of disinformation regarding the free energy generators by the giant oil industry and electric grid companies because that will certainly destroy their business and that is the main reason. But more and more people around the world are discovering it and are already using it. This technology cannot be kept away from the people forever. Regarding the power, this is just a prototype and the design will improve and produce more and more power while growing smaller and lighter in size as time goes by. This thing is real. Here's the news about this technology: ruclips.net/video/pT_LxiKCuSo/видео.html
firsty and thirsty
For the life of me, I still don't understand why chargers need an app.
Meeee neither
@@NewZeroland I can see the reason why if they're free chargers. But if you've going to pay it should be as easy as possible to charge.
Once again conspiracy by Big Kiwi (conspiwicy?)
Open your eyes, sheeple!!
@@NewZeroland and exactly where are all the sheep grown these days? That's right. New Zealand. Check and mate.
@@mvetter dude! Remember those old milk commercials "happy cows come from California"? Those were shot in New Zealand. We've been living a lie!!
With my EV with a range of about 360km ( battery has done 360.000km ) I leave with no breakfast and do 2.5 hr sections interrupted with pee/snack/charge stops. In 4 years doing 30.000km/a inland Australia I had to wait about 10mins a few times for someone to finish. But I never sat in or next to the car waiting. Tesla style Plug&Charge will happen eventually. Here in Straya Ampol has Autocharge, where you need the app once for the network to get to know your vehicle (MAC address of vehicle's communication chip) and all following sessions happen automatically. Google Seed&Greet Ladepark Hilden. It has everything you asked for.
That's amazing! Man there are way too many EVs in NZ now. They're installing way more stations but I'm worried the infrastructure will never catch up to how popular the vehicles are.
Oh so I feel less alone seeing the hurdles of charging with the massive number of apps, RFID cards and personal accounts you need to create so it seems like an international conspiracy 🤥But we're resilient! 🦾
This whole series should be a documentary about NZ. Too bad it's on the other side of the planet 😥
Thanks man! I'm glad you liked it. That means a lot :) Hopefully the charging situation improves soon!