Quite honestly I have no idea how you managed that in the time you did... I couldn't imagine how you felt when you finally got home. This is seriously impressive not only physically but also mentally. Some achievement 👏🏼
Ah hello again Vacoas - so I disagree with you on one comment, and you then systematically start making derogatory replies on several other comments… excellent work, very mature 👏
All respect to you for these trips. I have done a few similar journeys including a 4000 mile version of the round Britain on a 600 Bandit (I included the Western Isles and the IoM TT week). For me 500 miles is a very long day in the saddle and I do so identify with your description of exhaustion such that you just lie down on the ground next to your bike. I once fell asleep on a picnic table in France and awoke at 3am surrounded by a group of Frenchmen having a party. Keep up your adventures for as long as you can - it's inspiring for those who can't do it any more. I am now mid-70's and mainly ride a 125 Honda CB - it's an astonishing little bike which delivers 180mpg and has a tank range of about 400miles but I don't think I could cope with endless hours in the saddle anymore. Wishing you many more safe journeys.
Fair play Bruce, that was an epic journey. Well done to Electric motorcycle company for having the guts to help out, especially when it 'appears' that the indusrty was against the idea! This has to be, one of the most honest, consise and fairest, most balanced video i've seen about electric bikes. Like many, i'm no fan of electric bikes, but do understand that (at present), this is the alternative to petrol. Unfortunately, it does show the short comings of the 'currrent' infastructure, and the lack of facilties available, especially to bike riders. Maybe these companies will take note of your comments and improve things? Top job Bruce, you're an absolute legend!! Grumps.
It was an epic journey and very interesting indeed. But (and here's the but) electric bikes as with electric cars, are a retrograde step in personal transportation. I could go on a massive rant at this point but but I'll just say this..... A lot of people and in particular politicians have been mesmerized by the rantings of a tiny tiny minority who are selling us an idea that the end of the world is nigh with ever more deranged tales of the world ending if we don't change our ways. Trust me, I've been listening to the climate debate since the early 1970's and all the predictions of doom which have been made since then.... Not a single one of them has happened, not one! The world isn't going to end any time soon, despite what Greta and people of her ilk would like us believe.... And yet here we are?
Thanks Marc!!! Loving following your adventures so far bud, it’s going to be a fantastic trip ahead. I’d like to chat with you on my podcast if you’re up for it? Can I DM you on Instagram?
Found you Marc 🤣 you both will probably end up in the World Guiness book of records. Love your shows! Hope I will be able to meet you two legends one day! I know, for you Marc it will take some time as you are currently in Iran (still travelling around the world). All best both to you both, looking forward to see more of your exciting content. 😊
*Savage* documented proof that ‘lec-only is a non-starter. You can say “it’s coming” all you like, but if that experience is what is coming no UK gov would ever survive enforcing it on all motorists. The only use case that ‘works’ is the micro-trip where you won’t *need* to recharge that day/trip. The amount of time and distance burned in the name of finding/filling - maybe having to move on because of outages or no-end-in-sight use of chargers - is simply a waste. Who would build a trip around such lottery circumstances? Even if you did unicorn it so that you always had a charge … 5 mins versus waaaaay-more-than-that and with questionable facilities or cover while you wait. Nobody (aside from those glueing themselves to things) is up for this as the only option for travel. And that’s before we even have an honest discussion about costs to own and battery/power impact to environment. So thank you Bruce for putting yourself out on a limb and highlighting many significant problems with this proposition. As Mr Bannatyne was fond of saying “and for those reasons … I’m out”.
Heading "Sahhfff!" Love it. I went Sahhff years ago. Been on Corfu for 9 years. Wet winters, but hardly ever below zero. August is torture. 40+ every day. But there's no feeling of intimidation like there is in the uk. Its a safer, more friendly place to live.
Great around UK trip Bruce ... you are seriously raving mad buddy, a mega big round of applaus for doing it though.👏👏👏👍 you looked shattered. looking forward too the next Video. Regards Glenn.
I can't imagine taking a vacation on one of these. Half of your time would be wasted recharging or worrying about it. The demonization of petrol is way overstated. I enjoyed this series and congrats on taking on such an adventure. Great job!
Full respect to you Bruce. It was an exhausting challenge I believe . I did 1000 miles under 24h in the UK for IBA . When I got back to the camping site at Squeris Bar I fell asleep in my gear on . Back to electric vehicles , it will come in the future for sure however as you found it your self infrastructure is not ready for it now . I did not see here in Ireland charging station like those in your video with multiple points and some amenities and service. I can't see me here on electric bike doing WAW /Wild Atlantic Way / where you hardly see electric charging station if any. I don't own an electric vehicle and I don't think I will get one , I prefer petrol smell. All the best for you and health to ride .
I think this was a really good video. For those people hating on electric vehicles, remember these things. The first cars topped out at 10 mph, had a range of about 180 kms, were very expensive, and broke down often. People on horses laughed at them as they rode past, called them noisy, slow, expensive, and swore they would never catch on. Does this sound familiar? As said by our gracious host, electric is coming, and like with petrol vehicles, the technology will improve, the production costs will go down, and eventually, it will be normalized.
This was an absolutely brilliant series. The honesty, frustration, wins albeit small showed a candid and brutal ride. It really illustrated that the electric bikes are tops. Let down by infrastructure. While it seems there’s really enough places to stop and charge, the random availability, the ammenities considering the significant charge times compared to refuelling, and the random cases where you might arrive to a fully occupied chargers makes as you put it, a 4hr trip become significantly longer. At times, three to four times longer. On one hand this can make a trip more leisurely, but when progress needs to be made, it looks like you will be waiting. Or riding to a different charging station to wait there.
thanks for making this, really great info. Also the music and editing was on point! Brilliant little series. Fairplay to Electric motorcycle company for sticking there neck out. I understand that companies like Energica might find this negative as were highlighting the flaws, but lets face it, 4 corners is not the norm, you've show these bikes are more than capable of a fun weekend ride and kept it realistic. Theres no pulling the wool over peoples eyes, this is exactly the sort of content we need.
i absolutely loved following your journey on the Energica, what a machine!! fair play to you to sir!! iv'e been mulling over the idea of an electric bike for a while and the more of peoples experiences i see the more i want one! they are doable. looking forward to seeing your next adventure.
I just gotta say this, we all need a Bruce type a fellow as a friend in our lives. Honest, stubborn (in a good way, it's what gets him going I suppose), not afraid to speak his mind, down to earth... A true stand up guy. Really enjoying your videos, mate, keep doing what you do. Respect and best regards, from Serbia.
I’m not, it’s a scam, loads of channels are getting this at the moment. I posted about this around a month ago, please report them as a Scam - tap the 3 dots next to the thumbs/heart icon, then select report 👍
The problem with the number of chargers is you need 4 or 5 times the number of charge "pumps". You get to a petrol station even if it's full a pump will open up every 10 minutes or less. No one occupies a pump for hours. Going electric is more about controlling people than anything else. Edit to add. Still think this was a fun series of videos. Very informative AND entertaining. Good job Bruce!!!
I pop on and watch these videos out of interest, as I’m a lead engineer for one of the biggest providers of power stations in the UK. The “control” conspiracy really lacks any real foundation. The more accurate take, which I’ve seen first hand is that electric vehicles at present have used lithium as it’s cost effective. They know the limitations, but new nickel type and graphene type batteries are not economic for mass production. You aren’t being controlled, you are being charged the R&D cost to move us over to batteries that can deliver 5-6 times the capacity for their given size, and take much higher charging currents. It’s as usual, about money.
@@StereoFozzie I would say the truth is somewhere in the middle. Money is always the big reason but when there are mandates to have gps, speed limiters and so on being levied at every chance it does make you question why that is. Bikes don't need built in gps to work. They also don't need built in speed limiters (or capability I believe the wording was). Things like ABS I feel are an intrusion on a bike but I can see where the legislation comes from so fair enough and (good) modern systems aren't bad but there is no good reason I can think of that my bike needs the ability to be remotely shut down on me at someone's will. I've been a big proponent of ev's over the years but there really has to be some balance. They have largely been oversold on spec and overpriced for what they offer. I see no real reason for full battery ev's at the moment because a smaller battery and efficient engine work better as an overall package for most people's needs. Right now a realistic 50 miles ev then decent range on ice is pretty much the best compromise - with outliers who can make use of 70-odd miles per day or so. Once its much past that you have a vehicle with a large, heavy battery which took a load of resources to make that it will hardly ever use and is still limited on range and charge speed. Once batteries are large enough and fast charging enough to deal with whatever is thrown at them that may well change.
@@siraff4461 The control argument is as old as humanity itself, which is why I don’t believe it too much. Look at any video of when laws regarding things like seatbelts were brought in, it’s all comments around the nanny state, or “all about control”. And I’ve adjusted for it as I’ve seen how the higher rungs of government work, it’s chaotic and no one person gets the time to do much else than stuff their pockets. Corporate control is where the find elements of the problem that most often causes people to call out conspiracy. And I’ve met the type who is hell bent on an idea being “the future”. You point out a technical flaw and are met with a stare that is almost psychopathic. People lose their careers over it. But even these people are mostly obsessed with having their name on history for having brought something in. There’s too much narcissism in the way of you being controlled in effect. Things like built in GPS has been a feature on cars for decades now, and was seen as a premium commodity. Ultimately any smart phone can track you, or laptop, PC, hell even your smart thermostat knows your habits intricately. Online privacy will be a valuable thing in the future. As to the EV argument, the I3 has a 660cc range extender in its boot. I often felt it waiting until 30% charge to turn on was wrong, it should work alongside the battery to maximise efficiency, or at least have the option to do so. I think hybrids will pick up again, but perhaps with hydrogen rotaries, instead of fossil fuels. As I say, full lithium EV vehicles are just part of the mix, they will be phased out the moment graphene batteries are viable. As these will have 3-6 times the power density, meaning 3-6 times smaller, and don’t fatigue under high charge loads. You can see this in the charging infrastructure that is being rolled out, I’ve had a hand in a 220kW charge station, where the plan was to have 80 bays on a motorway services. This is far in excess of anything any lithium battery on the market can tolerate, because the future will be high speed charge batteries that don’t stress under the force of charging, and have 25 year life spans even if charged like that daily (making 50+ possible for casual use). The organisation I work for is fixated on hydrogen, or more specifically, owning the supply of it that is made into bio fuel, or supplied to industrial partners to fuel modern gas boilers or engines that produce a combination of heat and power.
@@StereoFozzie Sounds like we're on the same page there. I'm not saying people want to take control - just that they want the ability (as a body) to take control if it came to it. Its been sneaking in for a long time with cctv everywhere, anpr everywhere and so on. Gps was something I used as a pointer and as you say it's been around for phones for a long time but when it's mandatatory even in vehicles with no phone or need for connection it's hard to see what the reason could be apart from connectivity for someone else's purposes. I've said for ages a plug-in is currently probably the best use of resources until we can sort decent batteries out. I even drive one for that very reason. All my daily stuff is electric and any out of range stuff uses all the battery first then it behaves as a hybrid after. Its a great system with my only gripe being that it was only available in an suv - which I neither need or want but I'll take the efficiency and put up with.
@@siraff4461 You have to wonder what the real reasoning is behind the nanny state. If ubiquitous CCTV and obligatory gps trackers in cars are to combat street crime and car theft, why is the clear up rate for burglaries at an all time low? And how often do we hear of stolen cars being recovered thanks to their gps tracker chips? Despite all their tools, the police rarely show any interest in solving everyday crimes, so why are we all so willing to accept intrusions into our privacy in exchange for a broken promise to keep us safe?
This gave me flashbacks of a weekend away I had with a mate last year in his tesla. The range anxiety and similar problems with charging turned a lads trip into a nightmare. On top of it, our destination had a charger but another car was connected to it for the entire weekend. The next closest one, which was not close, turned out to be private. The 3rd closest was not as advertised. Electric has a long way to go before its not a ball ache to live with.
Next time... if there must be a next time... you want to take a lightweight campchair and a sleeping bag. Everytime you charge, pull out the chair and bag and have a kip! Top effort, Bruce. I'm reminded of the English Summers... very often bloody disappointing.
You sir, are a legend! My hat is off to you. I don’t think enough people appreciate what you’ve done here: apart from the massive effort involved in the ride itself (few bikers will know what it means to ride for 4 days straight), add to this being one of the first persons to even attempt to properly document what it means to ride electric on a long trip (you mention the German person trying a RWT plus the industry’s “resistence”/anger at someone poking at this), and to top it all off another huge effort in filming/editing all this …words are not enought to express how truly impressed I am. Top man!
I'm always amazed by your powers of endurance Bruce there's no way I could do it. Your tour highlights the pro's and cons of electric bikes perfectly. 👍👏
The guys a danger on the road when it comes to his "endurance". Woke up chatting to his mates, cold and not knowing where he was! Complete tosspot rather than teapot.
And here he is again. You’ve been busy this morning Vacoas, leaving little titbits of wisdom all over the place. Thank very much for all your comments, you’re doing wonders for the engagement levels - keep it up my man 👏👍
Something I hadn't thought about until watching this episode... if you wanted to bail on a trip, nothing would really change. On an ICE bike if I get sick of something, I can just go home albeit with the odd petrol stop, but plow through 250miles at a go. You can't escape the long charging times even if you wanted to just get home asap which is even worse! I'm all for electric and they are slowly getting there, but I still think its a plaster over the crack, rather than the solution. Kudos once again bud, very very solid effort!
We are on the cusp of of at least 2 major battery developments that will radically change the trail blazing journey you have just completed. By the time we have no choice but to switch to electric, the technology and the possibilities will be very different. Thank you TP1. You are a massive credit to our biking community, for the real world, meaningful and insightful content you produce.
Yep you definitely need to plan a lot more when riding electric, but there are chargers almost everywhere. You just need to allow more time for your journey as they will take longer.
Great series Bruce. Sadly it confirms the current issues with electric bikes... over priced and under range. Also the price of using the fast chargers is slowly closing on the cost of petrol. The technology needs to make a massive leap before it's realistic for touring. At £20k+ I just can't see them making any dent in the market with all its limitations. However 125cc equivalent bikes like the horwin cr6 or super soco tk max are actually a real choice as a city commuter... under £5k and 50-60 miles range.
I’m totally with you on thought bud. Sadly I think the whole ‘electric revolution’ is just a nice way to reduce traffic on the roads. As price of vehicles and electric skyrocket, all but the wealthy and businesses will be able to afford it, forcing lots of people to either take public transport of seek other means - which is exactly what ‘they’ want. That’s my tin foil hat wearing belief anyway 😉👍
It’s such a a shame I’ve a few smaller electric bikes which work fine for shorter local journeys. But some days I need to be able to 300 miles Probably with 5/6hrs to charge In between and there’s just nothing in the price/range bracket as of yet which is a shame. I look a semi specced Zero and it’s the same as the top of the range Ducati. I know what I would rather have
Fair play to you Bruce and to English electric it's only through endeavors like this that the short falls can be identified and then the technology and the infrastructure improved for the benefit of all hats off to you big fella
Bruce - you've heard ALL of this before, thousands of times (also from me) - but you are indeed a legend. When you set off on this trip - you already had the sympathy of every single one of your viewers - except Stig of the (low CO2 emissions) dump - who saw your mission as "Just a normal day out on the bike". I could be shot for that comment by my employer - trust me (Shhhhh). Like you mate - I am from the (but not quite so far) North, and we only just converted our HOUSE to electric 😲😲🤣
Well done that man. Marc has a very bold statement indeed. After watching several round the world videos on petrol bikes, I just can't see it being possible in countries like India, Pakistan,Mongolia and Africa.
You deserve a medal for trying this buddy electric bikes are a waste of time and money, this series proves this thanks for doing what I and many others would not do my friend 🏴👍
Nice one Bruce!! This is fascinating. Honestly i thought it would come out more expensive, taking the ancillary costs in to account too, but no!! Ok, so maybe this is extreme, it's really pushing the boundaries of electric bike riding, but that what you do. What you have shown is that it's not scarey to own an electric bike. 20-ish min charging is no great hardship. Very cool and thanks for put yourself through this for all of us.
Factor in the fact that energy prices are going up dramatically on 1st October then again in December I believe could well put the Electric on par with petrol regarding running costs. Thumbs up for the video Bruce.
Swappable battery consortium now has at least 20 OEMs. You should be able to roll up to a charging station, remove your nearly empty battery, and pay to unlock a full (or even partially) charged battery and carry on.
Hats off as that was an epic challenge! How you keep your concentration levels up is beyond me - little to no sleep, no decent meals for 4 days and you must have been frozen at times 👏🤯👍 I think they can work for local commuting (price aside) but that’s about it for now…
Brilliant conclusion to your long distance electric adventure. It will be interesting to see how your figures change with yesterdays changes in energy pricing - big respect mate
A really good series as usual Bruce. The limitations of the bike itself were known and expected beforehand. What the trip highlighted was the inadequacy of the charging network in general. The unreliability of the chargers themselves and the frustration caused by chargers being used by others. Add to that the absence of any facilities for motorcyclists. This appalling cliff edge policy of banning petrol bikes (which will achieve practically nothing environmentally) and I am sad for the future of our great love of motorcycling and touring. There will be enough petrol bikes to see me out I’m sure but I’m not happy.
What a trip! Really enjoyed that and after visiting the electric bikes at the nec recently I’m really interested now. The infrastructure isn’t there but I believe the bikes have their place. Thanks for sharing 👌🏼🏍 stay safe
You made a good point about charging and where you spend the time waiting. Your on a bike you sit on the ground. That is not right. Should have a place for folks to wait out of the weather. I said before and again I would have charged to 100% could have saved you 10+ hours.
Well done Bruce totally Epic ride! No way I could do or want to do what you've done. I have a Zero and rode from Highlands down to Edinburgh Saturday attended a bike rally in Edinburgh for a few hrs and then rode back. Clocked 410 miles but do like a bed after a day like that. Well done pal that looked gruelling.
That was ace to watch, I have no idea how you stay on the bike that long! I hope you do manage to manage to attempt the round the world trip on an electric bike, even if someone else beats you to it!
Hi Bruce, cracking effort buddy I honestly thought it would take a lot longer than it did so hats off to you for that fella. Love watching these challenges you do. My brothers and I are hoping to do the round UK next year for charity. We lost our younger sister to cancer nearly 2 years ago now age 38 and we want to do it over a few days in memory of her and hopefully raise some money for cancer research at the same time
This was an insane journey Bruce hats off to you for getting through this. I think you could have gone to the North Cape in the same time (except for the ferry) on your Tactor. I'm with you, electric is a thing and it will get better every year but for now I will stay with my trusty old Vmax, ok, this one will never left me anyway 😁. We will see what the next few years will bring. Now I'm curious what your next ride will be? Keep em coming Bruce and have a nice weekend.
Just been watching Stuart Fillingham's channel edition about batteries in EV's. He implied that using fast chargers or charging beyond 80% regularly wears out the batteries faster than standard charge speeds, or keeping max charge to less than 80%. Obviously, 80% charge means less range. Even more food for thought. Another issue was electric car dealers refusing to take eight year old electric cars in part exchange for replacement cars.
Great series. One item to add. When figuring out the cost you have to subtract the road tax from your petrol estimates for comparison. Electric vehicles right now are getting a free ride, and that will not last forever.
Well done Bruce. Very well done. Electric bikes have, by default, a major role to play. Two obvious issues: 1) Number of working charge points, and 2) Range of batteries. Commuting is a no brainer along with reasonable short distance trips. Questions: 1) What are the known plans for extending the charger network? How many, where and by when? 2) What are the known/realistic advances in usable battery life? Battery life is only useful if based on realistic riding styles, not 50 - 60mph to manage economy. Great research/video. Clearly not one for me to replicate. Just thought, in addition to the above two questions we need a realistic timescale for prices to align with current petrol bikes. Also consideration of iminent electricity price rises. Many thanks.
What a legend! Having just come back from a France/Spain tour, I can only imagine how spending time looking for a free/working charger would ruin the trip. With the 2035 end of ICE motorcycle sales, let's hope battery tech improves or we manage to maintain our ICE bikes indefinitely...
Well done Bruce I loved this journey plus give a big thanks to the guys who lent you the bike well done to them .....by the way you must be mad man an epic journey well done really loved it. ...
Epic adventure Bruce, well done, that certainly took some stamina. I’ve recently moved to an EV car and although 80% or more of my charging is from home, you don’t realise the incidental costs of EV ownership when using the public chargers. I reckon I’ve spent the difference between electric charge and diesel prices for a fill up, on coffee and snacks while waiting for a fast charge!!!!
Having driven umpteen varieties of EV(cars/vans)around the UK, I honestly feel for you Bruce. I rapidly discovered that sitting on a motorway @ no more than 50 MPH, without heating(increases range)was the way to truly maximise the range. This unfortunately seemed to antagonise trucks so they'd sit inches off the rear of my vehicle(so close their "bow-wave" was actually noticably pushing me)before eventually overtaking(@ 6 MPH faster took a little time, therefore other large vehicles would "gather" behind it)thus if I ever caught a slower vehicle I'd discover that no matter how long I sat with my indicator on, not one of the vehicles would allow me to change lane. Then,once the overtake had been accomplished I'd have to brake as they'd cut in almost ripping off my front-end. The only advantage to some of these vehicles I was in was adaptive cruise else I had to reset the cruise. A few had heated seats(strangely didn't affect the range in any way)which was handy as it was Dec/Jan. I also had the advantage of other members of my team who I could contact to enquire the available/best charge-points. It still was a ball-ache though as I had to deliver a hybrid from Carlisle to Oxford(about 2-3 hours)collect an entirely electric car(collected with only a few miles range left on it)straight to the nearest charge-point(2-3 miles away)then sit & wait for it to reach 100% (several bloody hours)as I wasn't certain if it could reach Wigan where there's a large bank of rapid chargers & services chargers are usually occupied/knackered. I left Oxford at about 4pm & finally reached our depot in Carlisle at about 1:30-2:00AM, & as I was frozen, tired & thirsty I didn't fancy the 50 miles commute on my bike so phoned my GF to drive up & collect me(I couldn't even get in the drivers canteen to shelter from the evil weather whilst I changed from "couriers gear" in to my bike gear)When we're all forced to change to E-bikes, if I'm still alive(unlikely)I'll stay home as it's a 50 mile drive to reach a motorway where I'd need to charge the vehicle before hitting the M6.
Facilities at normal services are not good for motorcycles. I would like to see undercover parking with somewhere to sit while you get out of wet gear and lockers to put said wet gear while you go into services. Having said that, electric charging for motorcycles has a long, long, long way to go. Well done for that, it's a hell of an achievement. 👏
Well done for seeing that through. I couldn't be doing with the charging times. People may find my 3 wheeler amusing, but 80mpg at.....cough 60mph.... ( honest ) does me just fine. I would however love to have a go on an electric bike and in an electric car, just to feel it. If your ever up around Huntly area, you're more than welcome to stop by for a cuppa or whatever you need.
Awesome effort, and series! Massive respect for stucking it through. Love EV’s, as a busdriver for public transport here in Belgium, we are just starting with an electric fleet and I love the way these beasts drive. My take on EV’s and full electric is that, while it has it’s place for daily commuting, like you said yourself for long distance it is not (yet) the be all and end all to replace petrol. However I do think there’s a market for the plug-in hybrid style of vehicles, and looking at the bigger touring/adventure bikes, they have the room to do the half-and-half approach of a plug-in hybrid.
Great series. Really enjoyed it. It shows that though the charging infrastructure is there it, in most cases seemed to be a bit barren around them. Just wonder what the experience will be like in a few years time. Respect to the company lending you the bike. I thought it did well being used as long distance tourer. Thanks Bruce you are a hero! Glad I didn’t have to do it!
Great idea, touring around GB and it was great you kept your spending's. I don't know if Australia is capable of full ride around on electric bike yet?!
Good on you Bruce epic performance. That is some mental strength to complete that. You did it so we didn’t have to. It doesn’t surprise me that people just plug their car in and naff off for hours.
Gotta admit I am following your videos for quite some time. Because of the fun you have on the bike and of course the lads that are riding with you. Marc is still fresh on the journey -Hope you meet him personally. He has some experience to share on the volts and amps....keep going!
Top respect for that epic ride Bruce. It looked extremely painful. You did that shortly before I did the NC500 from my home near Cambridge completely stress free on my V-Strom 1050XT (200 miles between fill ups), 2,100 miles in total and didn’t even have to think about where I would refuel. There needs to be a massive improvement in charging infrastructure before electric bikes are anywhere near suitable for touring. The price of electric bikes is also prohibitive for an awful lot of people. Then there’s the recent increase in public charging costs, so it’s certainly not for me. Keep up the great work 👍
I marvel at how many charging stations you have there. Here in America it's essentially California and then not so much anywhere else. Cheers on the ride.
Nice conclusion and final thoughts. I would like to add something, though, in regards to your claim of no one has tried such a long distance ride on electric. That might be true in the UK or Europe, but here in the States there's been a steady stream of bored/insane owners who have been crossing the US on electric bikes at almost the exact same distance figures. Current record for the ~2400 mile journey is, I believe, 79 hours for an owner on an Energica Ego.
Just binge watched all 3 episodes of this. You're a lunatic for doing it but I bet you thoroughly enjoyed every moment, absolutely subscribed! Good on you 👍😊
Well done, Bruce. Quite an achievement, you're made of hardier stuff than I. Regarding electric motorbikes, I think I am typical of the breed in that I see the momentum propelling the EV revolution. This is where things are going. I grew up with petrol bikes and cars and they are still what I enjoy most about motoring. The physical sensations, the bodily engagement associated with changing gears, listening to the engine sound, the differing response in each gear and, even kickstarting an old school engine into life. It's difficult for me to see where I will get those things from an EV or what compensations there are. It is this very fear of losing something so intrinsic to 'motoring' that drives the negative reactions, in my opinion. It's easy to find soft targets with present-days EVs - high capital cost, limited range, poor charging infrastructure, but that will all improve with time, no doubt. (I have posted this comment also on Marc Travels page, as it is relevant).
English electric in Redgrave is the place to buy an electric bike if your in the market. Alec & the team are a great bunch & know how to look after their customers. And obviously use a good bike delivery service.
![[PURE EXHAUST SOUND] JEKILL & HYDE ADJUSTABLE EXHAUST | BMW R 1250 GS | MOTO ASMR [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IJyI7BM0fEo/mqdefault.jpg)
I have a GS and a Honda ecub, the ecub is 40mile @ 35mph, but provides more smiles. Sometimes you just have to do it to set your own goals
Quite honestly I have no idea how you managed that in the time you did... I couldn't imagine how you felt when you finally got home. This is seriously impressive not only physically but also mentally. Some achievement 👏🏼
I'd love to have seen the insurer's, police and medics reports if he'd had an accident after 24 + hours in to the trip or at 72 + hours.
Ah hello again Vacoas - so I disagree with you on one comment, and you then systematically start making derogatory replies on several other comments… excellent work, very mature 👏
@@vacoasrebel6729 isn't everyone's life up to them ?
So long as you rest n eat everyone lives their lives each to there own
All respect to you for these trips. I have done a few similar journeys including a 4000 mile version of the round Britain on a 600 Bandit (I included the Western Isles and the IoM TT week). For me 500 miles is a very long day in the saddle and I do so identify with your description of exhaustion such that you just lie down on the ground next to your bike. I once fell asleep on a picnic table in France and awoke at 3am surrounded by a group of Frenchmen having a party.
Keep up your adventures for as long as you can - it's inspiring for those who can't do it any more.
I am now mid-70's and mainly ride a 125 Honda CB - it's an astonishing little bike which delivers 180mpg and has a tank range of about 400miles but I don't think I could cope with endless hours in the saddle anymore.
Wishing you many more safe journeys.
Fair play Bruce, that was an epic journey. Well done to Electric motorcycle company for having the guts to help out, especially when it 'appears' that the indusrty was against the idea!
This has to be, one of the most honest, consise and fairest, most balanced video i've seen about electric bikes.
Like many, i'm no fan of electric bikes, but do understand that (at present), this is the alternative to petrol.
Unfortunately, it does show the short comings of the 'currrent' infastructure, and the lack of facilties available, especially to bike riders. Maybe these companies will take note of your comments and improve things?
Top job Bruce, you're an absolute legend!!
Grumps.
Thanks Grumps 👍
It was an epic journey and very interesting indeed. But (and here's the but) electric bikes as with electric cars, are a retrograde step in personal transportation. I could go on a massive rant at this point but but I'll just say this..... A lot of people and in particular politicians have been mesmerized by the rantings of a tiny tiny minority who are selling us an idea that the end of the world is nigh with ever more deranged tales of the world ending if we don't change our ways. Trust me, I've been listening to the climate debate since the early 1970's and all the predictions of doom which have been made since then.... Not a single one of them has happened, not one! The world isn't going to end any time soon, despite what Greta and people of her ilk would like us believe.... And yet here we are?
Grumps - or should I say "Twin - clearly snatched at birth" - Could not change a word of your comments. Spot on mate
You should do it too, you’ll be way faster than me for sure!🙌🏼🌏 cheers from Scotland 🏴
Thanks Marc!!!
Loving following your adventures so far bud, it’s going to be a fantastic trip ahead.
I’d like to chat with you on my podcast if you’re up for it? Can I DM you on Instagram?
@@teapotone yeah sure, sounds fun 🤙🏼
Found you Marc 🤣 you both will probably end up in the World Guiness book of records. Love your shows! Hope I will be able to meet you two legends one day! I know, for you Marc it will take some time as you are currently in Iran (still travelling around the world). All best both to you both, looking forward to see more of your exciting content. 😊
*Savage* documented proof that ‘lec-only is a non-starter. You can say “it’s coming” all you like, but if that experience is what is coming no UK gov would ever survive enforcing it on all motorists. The only use case that ‘works’ is the micro-trip where you won’t *need* to recharge that day/trip. The amount of time and distance burned in the name of finding/filling - maybe having to move on because of outages or no-end-in-sight use of chargers - is simply a waste. Who would build a trip around such lottery circumstances? Even if you did unicorn it so that you always had a charge … 5 mins versus waaaaay-more-than-that and with questionable facilities or cover while you wait. Nobody (aside from those glueing themselves to things) is up for this as the only option for travel. And that’s before we even have an honest discussion about costs to own and battery/power impact to environment.
So thank you Bruce for putting yourself out on a limb and highlighting many significant problems with this proposition. As Mr Bannatyne was fond of saying “and for those reasons … I’m out”.
Heading "Sahhfff!" Love it. I went Sahhff years ago. Been on Corfu for 9 years. Wet winters, but hardly ever below zero. August is torture. 40+ every day. But there's no feeling of intimidation like there is in the uk. Its a safer, more friendly place to live.
Great around UK trip Bruce ... you are seriously raving mad buddy, a mega big round of applaus for doing it though.👏👏👏👍 you looked shattered. looking forward too the next Video.
Regards Glenn.
Loved that the dead bird was next to the advert for starling bank.... perhaps someone was trying to make a deposit :)
11:30 Charge place has enough chargers, but it could use a roof for all chargers, place to sit, vending machines and facilities. Another great video!
I can't imagine taking a vacation on one of these. Half of your time would be wasted recharging or worrying about it. The demonization of petrol is way overstated. I enjoyed this series and congrats on taking on such an adventure. Great job!
Full respect to you Bruce. It was an exhausting challenge I believe . I did 1000 miles under 24h in the UK for IBA . When I got back to the camping site at Squeris Bar I fell asleep in my gear on .
Back to electric vehicles , it will come in the future for sure however as you found it your self infrastructure is not ready for it now . I did not see here in Ireland charging station like those in your video with multiple points and some amenities and service. I can't see me here on electric bike doing WAW /Wild Atlantic Way / where you hardly see electric charging station if any.
I don't own an electric vehicle and I don't think I will get one , I prefer petrol smell.
All the best for you and health to ride .
Hats off to you Bruce for sticking with it and completing the challenge! The lack of sleep would have done me in!
I think this was a really good video. For those people hating on electric vehicles, remember these things. The first cars topped out at 10 mph, had a range of about 180 kms, were very expensive, and broke down often. People on horses laughed at them as they rode past, called them noisy, slow, expensive, and swore they would never catch on. Does this sound familiar? As said by our gracious host, electric is coming, and like with petrol vehicles, the technology will improve, the production costs will go down, and eventually, it will be normalized.
This was an absolutely brilliant series. The honesty, frustration, wins albeit small showed a candid and brutal ride. It really illustrated that the electric bikes are tops. Let down by infrastructure. While it seems there’s really enough places to stop and charge, the random availability, the ammenities considering the significant charge times compared to refuelling, and the random cases where you might arrive to a fully occupied chargers makes as you put it, a 4hr trip become significantly longer. At times, three to four times longer.
On one hand this can make a trip more leisurely, but when progress needs to be made, it looks like you will be waiting. Or riding to a different charging station to wait there.
thanks for making this, really great info. Also the music and editing was on point! Brilliant little series. Fairplay to Electric motorcycle company for sticking there neck out. I understand that companies like Energica might find this negative as were highlighting the flaws, but lets face it, 4 corners is not the norm, you've show these bikes are more than capable of a fun weekend ride and kept it realistic. Theres no pulling the wool over peoples eyes, this is exactly the sort of content we need.
i absolutely loved following your journey on the Energica, what a machine!! fair play to you to sir!! iv'e been mulling over the idea of an electric bike for a while and the more of peoples experiences i see the more i want one! they are doable. looking forward to seeing your next adventure.
I just gotta say this, we all need a Bruce type a fellow as a friend in our lives.
Honest, stubborn (in a good way, it's what gets him going I suppose), not afraid to speak his mind, down to earth... A true stand up guy.
Really enjoying your videos, mate, keep doing what you do.
Respect and best regards, from Serbia.
🤣👍 - Thank you bud
@@teapotone How are you trying to get a in touch with people on telegram app
I’m not, it’s a scam, loads of channels are getting this at the moment.
I posted about this around a month ago, please report them as a Scam - tap the 3 dots next to the thumbs/heart icon, then select report 👍
The problem with the number of chargers is you need 4 or 5 times the number of charge "pumps". You get to a petrol station even if it's full a pump will open up every 10 minutes or less. No one occupies a pump for hours. Going electric is more about controlling people than anything else.
Edit to add. Still think this was a fun series of videos. Very informative AND entertaining. Good job Bruce!!!
I pop on and watch these videos out of interest, as I’m a lead engineer for one of the biggest providers of power stations in the UK. The “control” conspiracy really lacks any real foundation.
The more accurate take, which I’ve seen first hand is that electric vehicles at present have used lithium as it’s cost effective. They know the limitations, but new nickel type and graphene type batteries are not economic for mass production.
You aren’t being controlled, you are being charged the R&D cost to move us over to batteries that can deliver 5-6 times the capacity for their given size, and take much higher charging currents. It’s as usual, about money.
@@StereoFozzie I would say the truth is somewhere in the middle. Money is always the big reason but when there are mandates to have gps, speed limiters and so on being levied at every chance it does make you question why that is.
Bikes don't need built in gps to work. They also don't need built in speed limiters (or capability I believe the wording was). Things like ABS I feel are an intrusion on a bike but I can see where the legislation comes from so fair enough and (good) modern systems aren't bad but there is no good reason I can think of that my bike needs the ability to be remotely shut down on me at someone's will.
I've been a big proponent of ev's over the years but there really has to be some balance. They have largely been oversold on spec and overpriced for what they offer.
I see no real reason for full battery ev's at the moment because a smaller battery and efficient engine work better as an overall package for most people's needs. Right now a realistic 50 miles ev then decent range on ice is pretty much the best compromise - with outliers who can make use of 70-odd miles per day or so. Once its much past that you have a vehicle with a large, heavy battery which took a load of resources to make that it will hardly ever use and is still limited on range and charge speed.
Once batteries are large enough and fast charging enough to deal with whatever is thrown at them that may well change.
@@siraff4461 The control argument is as old as humanity itself, which is why I don’t believe it too much. Look at any video of when laws regarding things like seatbelts were brought in, it’s all comments around the nanny state, or “all about control”. And I’ve adjusted for it as I’ve seen how the higher rungs of government work, it’s chaotic and no one person gets the time to do much else than stuff their pockets.
Corporate control is where the find elements of the problem that most often causes people to call out conspiracy. And I’ve met the type who is hell bent on an idea being “the future”. You point out a technical flaw and are met with a stare that is almost psychopathic. People lose their careers over it. But even these people are mostly obsessed with having their name on history for having brought something in. There’s too much narcissism in the way of you being controlled in effect. Things like built in GPS has been a feature on cars for decades now, and was seen as a premium commodity. Ultimately any smart phone can track you, or laptop, PC, hell even your smart thermostat knows your habits intricately. Online privacy will be a valuable thing in the future.
As to the EV argument, the I3 has a 660cc range extender in its boot. I often felt it waiting until 30% charge to turn on was wrong, it should work alongside the battery to maximise efficiency, or at least have the option to do so. I think hybrids will pick up again, but perhaps with hydrogen rotaries, instead of fossil fuels. As I say, full lithium EV vehicles are just part of the mix, they will be phased out the moment graphene batteries are viable. As these will have 3-6 times the power density, meaning 3-6 times smaller, and don’t fatigue under high charge loads. You can see this in the charging infrastructure that is being rolled out, I’ve had a hand in a 220kW charge station, where the plan was to have 80 bays on a motorway services. This is far in excess of anything any lithium battery on the market can tolerate, because the future will be high speed charge batteries that don’t stress under the force of charging, and have 25 year life spans even if charged like that daily (making 50+ possible for casual use). The organisation I work for is fixated on hydrogen, or more specifically, owning the supply of it that is made into bio fuel, or supplied to industrial partners to fuel modern gas boilers or engines that produce a combination of heat and power.
@@StereoFozzie Sounds like we're on the same page there. I'm not saying people want to take control - just that they want the ability (as a body) to take control if it came to it.
Its been sneaking in for a long time with cctv everywhere, anpr everywhere and so on.
Gps was something I used as a pointer and as you say it's been around for phones for a long time but when it's mandatatory even in vehicles with no phone or need for connection it's hard to see what the reason could be apart from connectivity for someone else's purposes.
I've said for ages a plug-in is currently probably the best use of resources until we can sort decent batteries out. I even drive one for that very reason. All my daily stuff is electric and any out of range stuff uses all the battery first then it behaves as a hybrid after. Its a great system with my only gripe being that it was only available in an suv - which I neither need or want but I'll take the efficiency and put up with.
@@siraff4461 You have to wonder what the real reasoning is behind the nanny state. If ubiquitous CCTV and obligatory gps trackers in cars are to combat street crime and car theft, why is the clear up rate for burglaries at an all time low? And how often do we hear of stolen cars being recovered thanks to their gps tracker chips? Despite all their tools, the police rarely show any interest in solving everyday crimes, so why are we all so willing to accept intrusions into our privacy in exchange for a broken promise to keep us safe?
This gave me flashbacks of a weekend away I had with a mate last year in his tesla. The range anxiety and similar problems with charging turned a lads trip into a nightmare. On top of it, our destination had a charger but another car was connected to it for the entire weekend. The next closest one, which was not close, turned out to be private. The 3rd closest was not as advertised. Electric has a long way to go before its not a ball ache to live with.
Next time... if there must be a next time... you want to take a lightweight campchair and a sleeping bag. Everytime you charge, pull out the chair and bag and have a kip!
Top effort, Bruce. I'm reminded of the English Summers... very often bloody disappointing.
You sir, are a legend! My hat is off to you. I don’t think enough people appreciate what you’ve done here: apart from the massive effort involved in the ride itself (few bikers will know what it means to ride for 4 days straight), add to this being one of the first persons to even attempt to properly document what it means to ride electric on a long trip (you mention the German person trying a RWT plus the industry’s “resistence”/anger at someone poking at this), and to top it all off another huge effort in filming/editing all this …words are not enought to express how truly impressed I am. Top man!
Thanks you very much Alexandru, that’s very kind and very much appreciated 🙏👍
Great feet of endurance and top marks for English Electric Motor Co, allowing you to properly test their product.
I'm always amazed by your powers of endurance Bruce there's no way I could do it. Your tour highlights the pro's and cons of electric bikes perfectly. 👍👏
Thanks Neil 👍
The guys a danger on the road when it comes to his "endurance".
Woke up chatting to his mates, cold and not knowing where he was! Complete tosspot rather than teapot.
And here he is again. You’ve been busy this morning Vacoas, leaving little titbits of wisdom all over the place.
Thank very much for all your comments, you’re doing wonders for the engagement levels - keep it up my man 👏👍
Well done Bruce there's no worse feeling than being wet cold and tired ,amazing achievement
Something I hadn't thought about until watching this episode... if you wanted to bail on a trip, nothing would really change. On an ICE bike if I get sick of something, I can just go home albeit with the odd petrol stop, but plow through 250miles at a go. You can't escape the long charging times even if you wanted to just get home asap which is even worse! I'm all for electric and they are slowly getting there, but I still think its a plaster over the crack, rather than the solution. Kudos once again bud, very very solid effort!
brilliant Bruce! looking forward to the brutime now.
Hats off to you Bruce. These days 11.00pm is a late night for me😝
We are on the cusp of of at least 2 major battery developments that will radically change the trail blazing journey you have just completed. By the time we have no choice but to switch to electric, the technology and the possibilities will be very different.
Thank you TP1. You are a massive credit to our biking community, for the real world, meaningful and insightful content you produce.
Would it be quicker on a Honda Grom Bruce? & cheaper.
I did it on a 125cc last year, was certainly quicker, can’t remember how many tanks it took though
The anxiety of trying to find a charger available while traveling would drive me crazy.... bring a good book to read I guess.........
Pre-planning goes a long way when touring on electrics. Eventually it won't be an issue as charging stations pop up more frequently.
Yep you definitely need to plan a lot more when riding electric, but there are chargers almost everywhere. You just need to allow more time for your journey as they will take longer.
@@teapotone Right on ! Thanks....
Great series Bruce. Sadly it confirms the current issues with electric bikes... over priced and under range. Also the price of using the fast chargers is slowly closing on the cost of petrol. The technology needs to make a massive leap before it's realistic for touring. At £20k+ I just can't see them making any dent in the market with all its limitations. However 125cc equivalent bikes like the horwin cr6 or super soco tk max are actually a real choice as a city commuter... under £5k and 50-60 miles range.
I’m totally with you on thought bud.
Sadly I think the whole ‘electric revolution’ is just a nice way to reduce traffic on the roads. As price of vehicles and electric skyrocket, all but the wealthy and businesses will be able to afford it, forcing lots of people to either take public transport of seek other means - which is exactly what ‘they’ want.
That’s my tin foil hat wearing belief anyway 😉👍
@@teapotone Correct.
He proved it’s possible to do something they weren’t designed to do! We’re getting ever closer to the tipping point like we have with cars.
Spot on Darren 👍
It’s such a a shame I’ve a few smaller electric bikes which work fine for shorter local journeys. But some days I need to be able to 300 miles Probably with 5/6hrs to charge In between and there’s just nothing in the price/range bracket as of yet which is a shame. I look a semi specced Zero and it’s the same as the top of the range Ducati. I know what I would rather have
Fair play to you Bruce and to English electric it's only through endeavors like this that the short falls can be identified and then the technology and the infrastructure improved for the benefit of all hats off to you big fella
Thanks bud 👍
Fantastic stuff Bruce, this was an incredible adventure. Am def looking forward to watching the chat with The English Electric Motor Co
Thanks bud 👍
Bruce - you've heard ALL of this before, thousands of times (also from me) - but you are indeed a legend. When you set off on this trip - you already had the sympathy of every single one of your viewers - except Stig of the (low CO2 emissions) dump - who saw your mission as "Just a normal day out on the bike". I could be shot for that comment by my employer - trust me (Shhhhh). Like you mate - I am from the (but not quite so far) North, and we only just converted our HOUSE to electric 😲😲🤣
Ha Ha cheers bud 👍
Thanks love these types of rides
Well done that man.
Marc has a very bold statement indeed. After watching several round the world videos on petrol bikes, I just can't see it being possible in countries like India, Pakistan,Mongolia and Africa.
You deserve a medal for trying this buddy electric bikes are a waste of time and money, this series proves this thanks for doing what I and many others would not do my friend 🏴👍
Good on you mate,great to see a proper real world perspective using that bike.
Nice one Bruce!! This is fascinating.
Honestly i thought it would come out more expensive, taking the ancillary costs in to account too, but no!!
Ok, so maybe this is extreme, it's really pushing the boundaries of electric bike riding, but that what you do. What you have shown is that it's not scarey to own an electric bike. 20-ish min charging is no great hardship. Very cool and thanks for put yourself through this for all of us.
Cheers man 👍🙏
Factor in the fact that energy prices are going up dramatically on 1st October then again in December I believe could well put the Electric on par with petrol regarding running costs. Thumbs up for the video Bruce.
Hats off “Bigun” I’d still be asleep now, brilliant effort mate really enjoyed that one 👏👍
Ride Safe Mr B 😎🤘
Thanks bud 👍
That Frapachino is the only free charge you enjoyed on the trip, probably the quickest too🤔😉👍👍
Swappable battery consortium now has at least 20 OEMs. You should be able to roll up to a charging station, remove your nearly empty battery, and pay to unlock a full (or even partially) charged battery and carry on.
What a monumental ball ache.
That's some achievement Bruce,well done 👍
Cheers Mike 👍
Hats off as that was an epic challenge! How you keep your concentration levels up is beyond me - little to no sleep, no decent meals for 4 days and you must have been frozen at times 👏🤯👍 I think they can work for local commuting (price aside) but that’s about it for now…
What a Top bloke, Dave
Brilliant conclusion to your long distance electric adventure. It will be interesting to see how your figures change with yesterdays changes in energy pricing - big respect mate
Thanks Jon 👍
A really good series as usual Bruce. The limitations of the bike itself were known and expected beforehand. What the trip highlighted was the inadequacy of the charging network in general. The unreliability of the chargers themselves and the frustration caused by chargers being used by others.
Add to that the absence of any facilities for motorcyclists.
This appalling cliff edge policy of banning petrol bikes (which will achieve practically nothing environmentally) and I am sad for the future of our great love of motorcycling and touring.
There will be enough petrol bikes to see me out I’m sure but I’m not happy.
Well done Bruce 👏🏻👏🏻. One hell of an punishing trip.
Cheers bud, aye it took a few days to get over 🤦♂️🤣
What a trip! Really enjoyed that and after visiting the electric bikes at the nec recently I’m really interested now. The infrastructure isn’t there but I believe the bikes have their place. Thanks for sharing 👌🏼🏍 stay safe
You made a good point about charging and where you spend the time waiting. Your on a bike you sit on the ground.
That is not right.
Should have a place for folks to wait out of the weather.
I said before and again I would have charged to 100% could have saved you 10+ hours.
Charging to 100 percent is not recommended by the manufacturer and could void your warranty, as is draining it.
Fair play to ya Bruce. You’ve answered the question of e bikes we’ve all been wondering! Respect!
Cracking effort! I was watching the first episode wondering what sort of hotel you’d be staying in😅. Well done mate, loved it!
Well done Bruce 👏 good job amd big hands down doing it all on a electric.
Well done Bruce totally Epic ride! No way I could do or want to do what you've done. I have a Zero and rode from Highlands down to Edinburgh Saturday attended a bike rally in Edinburgh for a few hrs and then rode back. Clocked 410 miles but do like a bed after a day like that. Well done pal that looked gruelling.
That was ace to watch, I have no idea how you stay on the bike that long! I hope you do manage to manage to attempt the round the world trip on an electric bike, even if someone else beats you to it!
Hi Bruce, cracking effort buddy I honestly thought it would take a lot longer than it did so hats off to you for that fella. Love watching these challenges you do. My brothers and I are hoping to do the round UK next year for charity. We lost our younger sister to cancer nearly 2 years ago now age 38 and we want to do it over a few days in memory of her and hopefully raise some money for cancer research at the same time
Sorry to hear about your sister bud, and thank you for your kind words about the vid, glad you enjoyed it 👍
This was an insane journey Bruce hats off to you for getting through this. I think you could have gone to the North Cape in the same time (except for the ferry) on your Tactor.
I'm with you, electric is a thing and it will get better every year but for now I will stay with my trusty old Vmax, ok, this one will never left me anyway 😁. We will see what the next few years will bring.
Now I'm curious what your next ride will be? Keep em coming Bruce and have a nice weekend.
Thanks Thomas, glad you enjoyed it.
Have a great weekend too 👍
Hopefully Energica are reconsidering their reluctance now, you praised the bike and showed it to be faultless throughout the trip.
Wow, what an epic journey! Well done you. 👏
Cheers Murt 👍
Just been watching Stuart Fillingham's channel edition about batteries in EV's. He implied that using fast chargers or charging beyond 80% regularly wears out the batteries faster than standard charge speeds, or keeping max charge to less than 80%. Obviously, 80% charge means less range. Even more food for thought. Another issue was electric car dealers refusing to take eight year old electric cars in part exchange for replacement cars.
Excellent series Bruce, intelligent and objective analysis.
Great series. One item to add. When figuring out the cost you have to subtract the road tax from your petrol estimates for comparison. Electric vehicles right now are getting a free ride, and that will not last forever.
Well done Bruce. Very well done.
Electric bikes have, by default, a major role to play. Two obvious issues:
1) Number of working charge points, and
2) Range of batteries.
Commuting is a no brainer along with reasonable short distance trips.
Questions:
1) What are the known plans for extending the charger network? How many, where and by when?
2) What are the known/realistic advances in usable battery life?
Battery life is only useful if based on realistic riding styles, not 50 - 60mph to manage economy.
Great research/video. Clearly not one for me to replicate.
Just thought, in addition to the above two questions we need a realistic timescale for prices to align with current petrol bikes. Also consideration of iminent electricity price rises.
Many thanks.
What a legend! Having just come back from a France/Spain tour, I can only imagine how spending time looking for a free/working charger would ruin the trip. With the 2035 end of ICE motorcycle sales, let's hope battery tech improves or we manage to maintain our ICE bikes indefinitely...
Bruce you know pressure on the pin always works
Somebody tell Men's Health Magazine that THIS is what the peak of male endurance athleticism looks like 😂
Nice one Brucey 💪
Well done Bruce I loved this journey plus give a big thanks to the guys who lent you the bike well done to them .....by the way you must be mad man an epic journey well done really loved it. ...
Epic adventure Bruce, well done, that certainly took some stamina. I’ve recently moved to an EV car and although 80% or more of my charging is from home, you don’t realise the incidental costs of EV ownership when using the public chargers. I reckon I’ve spent the difference between electric charge and diesel prices for a fill up, on coffee and snacks while waiting for a fast charge!!!!
Thanks 🙏
Having driven umpteen varieties of EV(cars/vans)around the UK, I honestly feel for you Bruce. I rapidly discovered that sitting on a motorway @ no more than 50 MPH, without heating(increases range)was the way to truly maximise the range. This unfortunately seemed to antagonise trucks so they'd sit inches off the rear of my vehicle(so close their "bow-wave" was actually noticably pushing me)before eventually overtaking(@ 6 MPH faster took a little time, therefore other large vehicles would "gather" behind it)thus if I ever caught a slower vehicle I'd discover that no matter how long I sat with my indicator on, not one of the vehicles would allow me to change lane. Then,once the overtake had been accomplished I'd have to brake as they'd cut in almost ripping off my front-end. The only advantage to some of these vehicles I was in was adaptive cruise else I had to reset the cruise. A few had heated seats(strangely didn't affect the range in any way)which was handy as it was Dec/Jan. I also had the advantage of other members of my team who I could contact to enquire the available/best charge-points. It still was a ball-ache though as I had to deliver a hybrid from Carlisle to Oxford(about 2-3 hours)collect an entirely electric car(collected with only a few miles range left on it)straight to the nearest charge-point(2-3 miles away)then sit & wait for it to reach 100% (several bloody hours)as I wasn't certain if it could reach Wigan where there's a large bank of rapid chargers & services chargers are usually occupied/knackered. I left Oxford at about 4pm & finally reached our depot in Carlisle at about 1:30-2:00AM, & as I was frozen, tired & thirsty I didn't fancy the 50 miles commute on my bike so phoned my GF to drive up & collect me(I couldn't even get in the drivers canteen to shelter from the evil weather whilst I changed from "couriers gear" in to my bike gear)When we're all forced to change to E-bikes, if I'm still alive(unlikely)I'll stay home as it's a 50 mile drive to reach a motorway where I'd need to charge the vehicle before hitting the M6.
Facilities at normal services are not good for motorcycles.
I would like to see undercover parking with somewhere to sit while you get out of wet gear and lockers to put said wet gear while you go into services.
Having said that, electric charging for motorcycles has a long, long, long way to go.
Well done for that, it's a hell of an achievement. 👏
Power to you for staying the course we appreciate your commitment/content,
Thanks bud 👍
Well done for seeing that through. I couldn't be doing with the charging times. People may find my 3 wheeler amusing, but 80mpg at.....cough 60mph.... ( honest ) does me just fine. I would however love to have a go on an electric bike and in an electric car, just to feel it. If your ever up around Huntly area, you're more than welcome to stop by for a cuppa or whatever you need.
Thanks Ian 👍
Awesome effort, and series! Massive respect for stucking it through. Love EV’s, as a busdriver for public transport here in Belgium, we are just starting with an electric fleet and I love the way these beasts drive. My take on EV’s and full electric is that, while it has it’s place for daily commuting, like you said yourself for long distance it is not (yet) the be all and end all to replace petrol. However I do think there’s a market for the plug-in hybrid style of vehicles, and looking at the bigger touring/adventure bikes, they have the room to do the half-and-half approach of a plug-in hybrid.
Outstanding effort 👏 👌 👍
Loved this trip! It was very interesting
Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it 👍
Great series. Really enjoyed it. It shows that though the charging infrastructure is there it, in most cases seemed to be a bit barren around them. Just wonder what the experience will be like in a few years time. Respect to the company lending you the bike. I thought it did well being used as long distance tourer. Thanks Bruce you are a hero! Glad I didn’t have to do it!
Thanks Peter 👍
Great idea, touring around GB and it was great you kept your spending's. I don't know if Australia is capable of full ride around on electric bike yet?!
I love these challenge videos you do, fair play and well done bud 👍🏼
Cheers Rob 👍
Good on you Bruce epic performance. That is some mental strength to complete that. You did it so we didn’t have to. It doesn’t surprise me that people just plug their car in and naff off for hours.
Gotta admit I am following your videos for quite some time. Because of the fun you have on the bike and of course the lads that are riding with you. Marc is still fresh on the journey -Hope you meet him personally. He has some experience to share on the volts and amps....keep going!
Well done Bruce good effort
Cheers 👍
Top respect for that epic ride Bruce. It looked extremely painful. You did that shortly before I did the NC500 from my home near Cambridge completely stress free on my V-Strom 1050XT (200 miles between fill ups), 2,100 miles in total and didn’t even have to think about where I would refuel. There needs to be a massive improvement in charging infrastructure before electric bikes are anywhere near suitable for touring. The price of electric bikes is also prohibitive for an awful lot of people. Then there’s the recent increase in public charging costs, so it’s certainly not for me. Keep up the great work 👍
A very informative series, thank you.
My pleasure 👍
I marvel at how many charging stations you have there. Here in America it's essentially California and then not so much anywhere else. Cheers on the ride.
Great stuff, mate. Big hand.
Great one Bruce, your bonkers! But anything for a free coffee aye 👍
Ha Ha absolutely - Starbucks too 💸💸💸💸💸🤣👍
Great work Bruce the future looks like you need a good book when doing a long trip life will slow down waiting for chargers
Congratulations, it all really came together nicely!
Love from DeKalb Mississippi USA 🇺🇸
Nice conclusion and final thoughts. I would like to add something, though, in regards to your claim of no one has tried such a long distance ride on electric. That might be true in the UK or Europe, but here in the States there's been a steady stream of bored/insane owners who have been crossing the US on electric bikes at almost the exact same distance figures. Current record for the ~2400 mile journey is, I believe, 79 hours for an owner on an Energica Ego.
Just binge watched all 3 episodes of this. You're a lunatic for doing it but I bet you thoroughly enjoyed every moment, absolutely subscribed! Good on you 👍😊
Well done Bruce 👏
Well done, Bruce. Quite an achievement, you're made of hardier stuff than I. Regarding electric motorbikes, I think I am typical of the breed in that I see the momentum propelling the EV revolution. This is where things are going. I grew up with petrol bikes and cars and they are still what I enjoy most about motoring. The physical sensations, the bodily engagement associated with changing gears, listening to the engine sound, the differing response in each gear and, even kickstarting an old school engine into life. It's difficult for me to see where I will get those things from an EV or what compensations there are. It is this very fear of losing something so intrinsic to 'motoring' that drives the negative reactions, in my opinion. It's easy to find soft targets with present-days EVs - high capital cost, limited range, poor charging infrastructure, but that will all improve with time, no doubt. (I have posted this comment also on Marc Travels page, as it is relevant).
Oh... and the beard looks sublime in the cost summary! From one folically endowed to another, it's admired. (Got to be endowed somewhere)
Fair play Bruce
Good effort
English electric in Redgrave is the place to buy an electric bike if your in the market. Alec & the team are a great bunch & know how to look after their customers. And obviously use a good bike delivery service.
Incredible journey 😲looking forward for Tesla to open up their chargers to CCS !