Ubco 2x2 electric motorcycle?

[Martinjmpr]

I'd seen photos of these on line but yesterday at the International Sportsman's Expo in Denver I go to see one "in the flesh."

Very interesting, comfortable bike. Suprisingly lightweight - I was able to pick it off the ground without too much trouble.

One thing I haven't been able to determine is whether it is street legal and can be registered for on-road use in any state. Because otherwise, it seems to occupy the same portion of the market as an electric bicycle, and those are quite a bit less expensive (and have the option of being able to be pedaled if they run out of juice.)

Anyone know anything else about them? I'm thinking that if the technology "matures" a little the idea of a road-legal lightweight electric motorcycle will really catch on in the RV world. I could easily strap the Ubco to the back of our travel trailer and it would be a neat accessory that would get lots of use. But unless it's street legal and capable of highway speeds, an electric bicycle would make just as much sense.

 

[GHI]

Their website says off road use only. I like the stated 6 hour charge time. They have two different ranges that I saw, 60 miles and 75. Not sure which is accurate. It does look cool though. I don't see myself getting one at $6k. My TW200 I think cost me around $4k when I bought it. Different machine I know, but I don't need to worry about charging it out in the woods.

The thing that turns me off most about these electric bikes and motorcycles is you never really know when your battery pack is going to go. The house battery in my van can be babied and well taken care of, but at the worst opportune time it takes a dump and won't hold a charge. What if you strategically plan a 55 mile round trip with your electric scooter or whatever and it's on that trip the battery stops being able to utilize its charge past 45 miles. Who wants to push an electric scooter 10 miles. I know it can happen to any vehicle. Just stating my fear about having one of these electric motorcycles.

Now with all that out of the way I did buy my 6 yr old an electric dirt bike. It cost a couple hundred dollars and is supposed to hold a charge for 30 minutes. It definitely does at least that. I'm about 50 lbs over the max rating but I'll be darned if that stopped me from cruising it around the block. So much fun. I thought about picking up a bigger model, Razor MX 650, for about $399. Max weight is 220 lbs with 40 minute run time and 17 mph. Basically just so I could ride next to my kid to keep an eye on him.

 

[Grenadiers]

We looked at scooters, motorcycles, and electric bikes. We’re older and the first two didn’t fit our ‘logistics ‘ of hauling them around. Two Radrover bikes delivered for 1500 a piece with a high-end 1up-USA dual bike rack did! We don’t ride more than 10-20 miles at a time, and the battery rarely drops to the 3/4 level. Going 20 mph is quite fun! For exercise you drop the pedal assist down a notch or two.

 

[waveslider]

^^^ We did the same thing. But for different reasons. We fish via drift boat/raft a lot. Most of the places we fish have local shuttle services that will move your vehicle from the put-in to the take-out which is really convenient.

It was a little unnerving letting them do that with the SMB van, but after we got to know the people we kind of got comfortable. However, I just don't think I can get there with the Kenworth/GXV so we bought an electric bike that I can take back to the put-in and shuttle myself back to the boat with minimal effort. Its usually somewhere around 8-10 road miles so while somewhat inconvenient, the piece of mind will be well worth it. An Evelo Delta X fits the purpose just perfect.

I looked at the UBCO for doing this also, because I don't much care whether its street legal or not. But the overall weight is what turned me off. I needed something I could lift up and sit in a rack hanging off the back of the truck and an e-Bike is perfect. They are also a game changer for turkey hunting in the mountains....

 

[Martinjmpr]

We looked at scooters, motorcycles, and electric bikes. We’re older and the first two didn’t fit our ‘logistics ‘ of hauling them around. Two Radrover bikes delivered for 1500 a piece with a high-end 1up-USA dual bike rack did! We don’t ride more than 10-20 miles at a time, and the battery rarely drops to the 3/4 level. Going 20 mph is quite fun! For exercise you drop the pedal assist down a notch or two.

There is a couple in our camping group who have the Rad Rover folding bikes and they love them. My only gripe about the folding bikes is that yes, the bikes fold up - but they're still big and heavy and awkward and very, very difficult to carry. So what's the point of making them fold? A non-folding bike is easier to carry on an external rack anyway.

I'm going to figure a way to carry bicycles on our trailer this year (working on it over the winter.) If it works and we actually end up USING the bikes, then our next step might be to go with E-bikes. Two things I like about E-bikes: First if the battery runs out you still have the ability to pedal the thing, and 2nd they are a "stealthy" way to put a powered bike on a trail without looking like a motorized bike (except for the battery pack, you usually can't distinguish an e-bike from a regular pedal bike, especially from a distance.)

 

[GHI]

I think the fold up bike comes into play for some of the Class A and C folks. They've got those pretty large protected internal storage areas. Otherwise I agree. Bike rack is way easier.

 

[Grenadiers]

Yup, the Rad Power bikes are heavy! At 60 years of age, this is a consideration for us! I have to lift our bikes onto our bike rack, which is elevated, and not sure how many years I'll be able to do that! But, the RadRover model works well for us, 20mph top speed, and you can set it for exercise or not! Our butts can only take a 10-15 mile ride at a time, and the battery hardly budges. We decided not on the folding bikes, because they're almost as heavy and no way to mount them to our vehicle. The fat tire version is what we got, and they work real well on a beach.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Yup, the Rad Power bikes are heavy! At 60 years of age, this is a consideration for us! I have to lift our bikes onto our bike rack, which is elevated, and not sure how many years I'll be able to do that! But, the RadRover model works well for us, 20mph top speed, and you can set it for exercise or not! Our butts can only take a 10-15 mile ride at a time, and the battery hardly budges. We decided not on the folding bikes, because they're almost as heavy and no way to mount them to our vehicle. The fat tire version is what we got, and they work real well on a beach.

That is pretty much what I'm leaning towards as well. At this point I'm looking at modifying the tongue of our trailer to have a cargo platform that can accommodate two bike in addition to the propane tanks and batteries (and honestly I'd be willing to give up at least one of the propane tanks anyway if necessary - it's super easy to carry an extra propane tank so having it on the tongue is not a neccessity.)

This Summer we're going to take our non-powered mountain bikes with us to see if we actually use them (we have a dog which makes going out on the bikes somewhat problematic -we either have to take turns, get a 'babysitter' for the dog or only go on short rides.) If it turns out that we actually use the bicycles then I'll look into getting E-bikes next year.

As I said, there's a couple in our group that has the folding Rad bikes and they love them. But they are able to carry them easily because they camp in a converted cargo trailer with a big ramp door and plenty of storage space.

 

[burningac1d]

Two wheel drive is interesting for really tough off road riding. I wonder how they control the two wheels. I'd guess it is speed control rather than torque control like the Zeros. That would keep both wheels turning together regardless of slip. But a front hub motor with just a little pull when needed to get over a root or rock might be nice. When the Zero rear wheel loses traction while stuck on an obstacle it spins way too fast and just doesn't do much. But how to get the front wheel motor to pull when needed and freewheel the rest of the time isn't obvious.

 

[F350joe]

I love my eBike when traveling, it gets used so much the problem is keeping it charged.

Couple things for you all considering eBikes. A trailer works great for dogs, fire wood, etc but they take up space and you want a two wheeled one. The one wheel trailers are to unstable for a dog. You can also use it to bring gear into a tent site.

If you have a Mtn bike you like now, just convert it. It’s super easy and with the money you save you can get a bigger battery, motor, an some extras.

My battery is 4 years old now and still going strong. Invest in a good battery and maintain it correctly, it will stay strong and last if you do. Charge slow, use a good charger, and store at 50% if won’t be used for a long period of time.

I have been toying with the idea of adding a hub motor up front for a 2wd bike. Plenty of people have done it, no need to spend $6k and not be street legal.