Arcimoto

[Sethodine]

I already have a homebrewed three wheel electric vehicle - this looks like my vehicle's big brother (mine is limited to 30MPH, 1 seat, and 2 small sacks of groceries, 40 mile range. ) People's concerns about electric vehicles (range) are worrying about something that isn't that big a deal once you have one - you just figure out how far you can go, and if you can't go that far, you drive something else. If you have to you find ways of getting a partial charge. I am always hitting up people, know where there are free public outlets in parks, and so on for a little booster charge. I have certain businesses that I have an agreement with "I'll eat lunch at your restaurant whenever I need a charge if you'll let me" and the owner is like "Sure!"

I'm already a fan of the Arcimoto - now let's hope it isn't an Elio-Killer! Certainly worth watching - and with the agressive production schedule (vapour-schedule, likely) my biggest worry is reliability and safety - they haven't done as much homework as Elio has done!

I don't think either the SRK or the Elio will hurt the target demographic of the other. One is for hopping around town, while the other excels at commuting. As to safety, think of the SRK as "safer than a motorcycle" rather than comparing it to cars. The Elio is really trying to be a car, so naturally it needs to aim higher than an electric motorcycle would require.

The stats you gave for your homebrew sound a lot like the Toyota i-Road's capabilities

 

[Rickb]

Yes, the i-Road EV, the SRK EV, and the Elio ICE are targeted for different commuting demographics and there is room for all three concepts. My personal favorite......the i-Road. I will use the enclosed three wheeler as an uban commuter so range is not an issue for me. I look forward to driving whichever threewheeler motorcycle concept makes it to production first.

 

[Rickb]

I already have a homebrewed three wheel electric vehicle - this looks like my vehicle's big brother (mine is limited to 30MPH, 1 seat, and 2 small sacks of groceries, 40 mile range. ) People's concerns about electric vehicles (range) are worrying about something that isn't that big a deal once you have one - you just figure out how far you can go, and if you can't go that far, you drive something else. If you have to you find ways of getting a partial charge. I am always hitting up people, know where there are free public outlets in parks, and so on for a little booster charge. I have certain businesses that I have an agreement with "I'll eat lunch at your restaurant whenever I need a charge if you'll let me" and the owner is like "Sure!"

I'm already a fan of the Arcimoto - now let's hope it isn't an Elio-Killer! Certainly worth watching - and with the agressive production schedule (vapour-schedule, likely) my biggest worry is reliability and safety - they haven't done as much homework as Elio has done!

I think Arcimoto has done as much or more homework as EM having developed 8 Generations of prototypes since 2007. Arcimoto is a diverse team of engineers, designers, fabricators/builders, marketing, sales, & business manager, and angel investor all under one roof. They have no major debt. I give them credit for their business model.

The SRK will likely be reliable because of all the current road testing miles on the Gen 8 prior to building the 50 Beta test SRK's early spring that will help to insure a reliable production SRK. Also, the simple fact that it's an EV........fewer parts and maintenance requirements than an ICE. Safety....time will tell, but all are safer than a typical motorcycle.

 

[Ian442]

The SRK simply would not work for me based on my mostly interstate driving habits. That thing simply isn't sturdy enough to take on a field mouse, let alone small game, rocks, and other assorted odds and ends that one can deal with along the roadway.

Truth be told, I'm having a lot more fun with the Sunfire than i have in a long time . My seat still sucks but at least the ride has improved.

 

[Rickb]

The SRK simply would not work for me based on my mostly interstate driving habits. That thing simply isn't sturdy enough to take on a field mouse, let alone small game, rocks, and other assorted odds and ends that one can deal with along the roadway.

Truth be told, I'm having a lot more fun with the Sunfire than i have in a long time . My seat still sucks but at least the ride has improved.

The SRK is an urban commuter with highway rated performance that doesn't work for everybody's driving needs. You apparently test drove the SRK Gen 8 and or had a sneak peak of the final production SRK to verify your review of a flimsy build and poor handling?

 

[Jeff Miller]

I already have a homebrewed three wheel electric vehicle - this looks like my vehicle's big brother (mine is limited to 30MPH, 1 seat, and 2 small sacks of groceries, 40 mile range. ) People's concerns about electric vehicles (range) are worrying about something that isn't that big a deal once you have one - you just figure out how far you can go, and if you can't go that far, you drive something else. If you have to you find ways of getting a partial charge. I am always hitting up people, know where there are free public outlets in parks, and so on for a little booster charge. I have certain businesses that I have an agreement with "I'll eat lunch at your restaurant whenever I need a charge if you'll let me" and the owner is like "Sure!"

I'm already a fan of the Arcimoto - now let's hope it isn't an Elio-Killer! Certainly worth watching - and with the agressive production schedule (vapour-schedule, likely) my biggest worry is reliability and safety - they haven't done as much homework as Elio has done!

So the biggest problem of scrounging power from friends and businesses is that it pushes the cost to them and doesn't scale. When the segway was big there were a number of people that would ride them to work and plug in at their employer so that they could get home. The state of MN recognized the energy consumption was a problem and promptly banned such usage. I have to believe that other businesses that might suddenly see their electric bills go up or that the possible melt down of available outside circuits would also request a cease and desist.

As for power plugins at street level there are already issues where there aren't enough of them and the ever pious greenies that speak so well of saving humanity end up pilfering chargers from vehicles that are already using them. It is easy to be righteous when things are easy but when we start getting inconvenienced we tend to go back to basic instincts.

The issue is scale. If very few people need access they can probably scrounge and find something. As more people need access to power it becomes a limited commodity as well as an expensive burden for businesses and friends to provide. Finally, building the infrastructure to create more plugins is also not scaleable due to the length of time it takes to charge and having to distribute the plugs across a greater footprint. Charging stations and current battery technology are no where near as efficient as dispensing gas at gas stations.

Charging your vehicle at home is also a scaling issue. If small numbers of people are charging it works but when large numbers of vehicles need to be charged our grid will fail. Just think about what happens on very hot and everyone turns on their a/c and causes rolling brown outs. Now consider that evs will charge at an even greater draw than running the a/c and clearly evs are not scalable even when charged at home.

 

[Sethodine]

So the biggest problem of scrounging power from friends and businesses is that it pushes the cost to them and doesn't scale. When the segway was big there were a number of people that would ride them to work and plug in at their employer so that they could get home. The state of MN recognized the energy consumption was a problem and promptly banned such usage. I have to believe that other businesses that might suddenly see their electric bills go up or that the possible melt down of available outside circuits would also request a cease and desist.

As for power plugins at street level there are already issues where there aren't enough of them and the ever pious greenies that speak so well of saving humanity end up pilfering chargers from vehicles that are already using them. It is easy to be righteous when things are easy but when we start getting inconvenienced we tend to go back to basic instincts.

The issue is scale. If very few people need access they can probably scrounge and find something. As more people need access to power it becomes a limited commodity as well as an expensive burden for businesses and friends to provide. Finally, building the infrastructure to create more plugins is also not scaleable due to the length of time it takes to charge and having to distribute the plugs across a greater footprint. Charging stations and current battery technology are no where near as efficient as dispensing gas at gas stations.

Charging your vehicle at home is also a scaling issue. If small numbers of people are charging it works but when large numbers of vehicles need to be charged our grid will fail. Just think about what happens on very hot and everyone turns on their a/c and causes rolling brown outs. Now consider that evs will charge at an even greater draw than running the a/c and clearly evs are not scalable even when charged at home.

EV charging and Air Conditioning power draws are in similar range. L1 trickle charging from a 110v home socket is comparable to those little window-box A/C units, and L2 charging is in the same range as the larger central air units. However, A/C is almost universally used during peak power (daytime) while EVs are almost always charged at night, during off-peak hours. They are not a "greater draw" than A/C units.

Furthermore, an L2 fast-charging station can be installed anywhere that can support a 220v, 30amp circuit. Essentially, any streetside business or parking lot could install an L2 charger with very little hassle. Meanwhile, installing a gas station requires permiting, zoning, huge construction costs, and continuous logistics support to keep it fueled and operating. EV charging stations can be distributed across an entire city, or installed at even the most remote locations and podunk towns with very little effort. The only charging stations that take a large infrastructure investment are the DC Fast Charging stations (Tesla superchargers and CHAdeMo ports). And even those are much cheaper to install than a highway gas station.

Imagine if every parking meter could also fuel up your car. That is what a world of city-wide EV charging would look like, and I think I would be OK with that

 

[3wheelin]

Yes, the i-Road EV, the SRK EV, and the Elio ICE are targeted for different commuting demographics and there is room for all three concepts. My personal favorite......the i-Road. I will use the enclosed three wheeler as an uban commuter so range is not an issue for me. I look forward to driving whichever threewheeler motorcycle concept makes it to production first.

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I wish I'm well off like you Rickb because I'll do the same!
I like the I-Road because of it's leaning technology, it's electric and I know they're still working to improve the speed and MPGe before it comes out.
Likewise, I like the SRK EV because they already got me hooked on 7+sec 0-60 and longer range,
And our sentimental favorite, the ELIO which could really change how we drive by it's targeted goals! But it's a win win situation for everybody if ELIO comes first to the finish line so, yes GO ELIO!

 

[3wheelin]

The SRK simply would not work for me based on my mostly interstate driving habits. That thing simply isn't sturdy enough to take on a field mouse, let alone small game, rocks, and other assorted odds and ends that one can deal with along the roadway.

Truth be told, I'm having a lot more fun with the Sunfire than i have in a long time . My seat still sucks but at least the ride has improved.

I don't know about the SRK's specs but if it has motorcycle size tires and we know it has enclosed shell, hell yeah I'll take the SRK all day before I ride a motorcycle!! I've seen what it's like when I motorcycle run over a tire thread- in this case, 3 wheels beats 2! Can't compare it to a car, because it isn't.

 

[3wheelin]

So the biggest problem of scrounging power from friends and businesses is that it pushes the cost to them and doesn't scale. When the segway was big there were a number of people that would ride them to work and plug in at their employer so that they could get home. The state of MN recognized the energy consumption was a problem and promptly banned such usage. I have to believe that other businesses that might suddenly see their electric bills go up or that the possible melt down of available outside circuits would also request a cease and desist.

As for power plugins at street level there are already issues where there aren't enough of them and the ever pious greenies that speak so well of saving humanity end up pilfering chargers from vehicles that are already using them. It is easy to be righteous when things are easy but when we start getting inconvenienced we tend to go back to basic instincts.

The issue is scale. If very few people need access they can probably scrounge and find something. As more people need access to power it becomes a limited commodity as well as an expensive burden for businesses and friends to provide. Finally, building the infrastructure to create more plugins is also not scaleable due to the length of time it takes to charge and having to distribute the plugs across a greater footprint. Charging stations and current battery technology are no where near as efficient as dispensing gas at gas stations.

Charging your vehicle at home is also a scaling issue. If small numbers of people are charging it works but when large numbers of vehicles need to be charged our grid will fail. Just think about what happens on very hot and everyone turns on their a/c and causes rolling brown outs. Now consider that evs will charge at an even greater draw than running the a/c and clearly evs are not scalable even when charged at home.

Well said! And that's why EV could remain as "and" car but should be fine for those whose driving distance does not create "range anxiety"! Would I buy a Tesla if I can afford it??? Hell yeah!