green Articles
Brammo Empulse: the electric motorcycle has finally arrived
Electric motorcycles: slow, boring, short ranges, expensive. When I flew up to Oregon last week to ride the Brammo Empulse I expected a good bike. A practical commuter, an efficient appliance, maybe something a little bit fun. But, what I got was something entirely different. As you can see, this is a very serious motorcycle. Photos: Maddox Visual My first experience with Brammo was back in 2...
Life Electric: is it possible?
My time with the 2012 Zero DS is up. The nice man from Zero came and picked it up this morning. For three whole weeks, the fastest, longest-range electric motorcycle ever was my only transportation. I didn’t drive any cars, I didn’t ride my bicycle, I didn’t hop on any other bikes. I might have walked a little bit once or twice. Why? I wanted to know if it was possible. Early adopters and te...
Dailies
Life Electric: unintended deceleration and nuclear fallout
Wow, is it Thursday already? Sometimes you look up from your computer and realize the week’s almost over. And sometimes you realized you promised your readers you’d be giving them regular updates on the 2012 Zero DS you’re riding for a couple weeks. Whoops. It’s been a few days of highs and lows on the electric. I think I’ve totally fallen for it, but at the same time come to the realiza...
Dailies
Life Electric: Chip Yates at the Ritz and sausages at Deus
Sorry for the lack of Zero DS updates over the last few days. Been busy using it to do too many things in too short a time all around LA. We're a week in to living together now. Much more insightful than the quick test rides I've had in the past, I think I'm finally beginning to understand the Zero as a motorcycle and, honestly, I think I'm falling for it. - Last night I met Chip Yates for dinne...
Dailies
Life Electric: babes, n00bs and getting wet
When we left off yesterday, I was out the door to pick up Ashlee and go for an evening ride around LA. With the prospect of a couple hours’ riding looming, I was getting pretty paranoid about the Zero DS’s range, but actually looking forward to riding it around city streets. Well, I didn’t end up pushing, but I did get soaked. - Nearly 60 miles of riding last night. Over to Sean and Ashlee...
Dailies
Life Electric: range anxiety and an adoring public
Not much riding today. Just running around Hollywood, 28 miles in all. Still, three days in, I’m starting to adapt to the Zero DS’s miniscule weight and silent operation. I’m liking the bike more the more I ride it, but enjoying the constant questioning less and less. - I definitely don’t have a future as a Zero spokesperson. During the day, I’m typically distracted by phone calls, work...
Dailies
Life Electric: living with a Zero DS
We’ve been writing about electric bikes since HFL’s launch, four years ago, in the process covering their rise from flights of fancy to futuristic concepts to expensive novelties to gas-beating race bikes and, lately, the creation of realistic consumer products. But while we’ve spent plenty of time on machines like the Brammo Enertia, MotoCzysz E1pc and even the full Zero range, we’ve neve...
KTM Freeride E: the electric motorcycle has arrived
For years, electric motorcycles have existed as a quirky footnote to the rest of the motorcycle industry. Tiny startups sold literally dozens of emissions-free, high-price commuters. But the electric motorcycle is no longer a novelty, a relatively major manufacturer is now making one. This is the KTM Freeride E and it’s set to electrify the masses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5SqoyR8Ht0 K...
Dailies
The Mythbusters motorcycle pollution episode
You’ve likely already heard about the episode. Jamie and Adam set out of exhaustively determine the level of pollution emitted by both motorcycles and cars in an effort to see which is greener. I’m going to be watching this at the same time as you guys, so it’s too early to comment, but their methodology — traditionally a Mythbusters strong point — allegedly has a lot of problems. Regard...
Dailies
HFL contributor crosses to dark side, designs car
We’re privileged to have some extraordinarily talented contributors here at HFL, including JT Nesbitt, who just designed, then built this CNG-powered roadster by hand. It’s the first vehicle of its kind that’s been designed from the ground-up to incorporate the clean-burning fuel, allowing JT to enjoy all the thrills of internal combustion while emitting 40 percent less CO2 than an equivalen...
Dailies
2011 Roehr eSuperSport
Roehr has announced an updated eSuperSport for 2011. The outgoing model rode on a Hyosung GT250R chassis, made 48hp with it's 5.8kWh of battery capacity, weighed in at 395lbs and was priced at $16,995. The new bike makes 67hp from 7.7kWh, weighs 470 and costs $17,995. In case you weren't counting, that's 19 more hp and 1.9kWh more for your extra $1000. Along with the extra muscle comes 75lbs wort... VW eScooter: cheap urban mobility
Not wanting to be the only German economy car brand without an electric scooter concept, VW dropped this eScooter at the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this week. What makes it any different than the MINI Scooter E and Smart escooter (some naming conflict there)? Well VW’s building this thing not for European cities, but for Chinese ones, which means a sub $1,000 price, NiMH batteries and a weight o...
How riding a scooter can help national security
Scooters are effeminate, a bit silly and just not serious transportation, right? Well, what if riding one could decrease the risk of future wars and save you money? It’s estimated that if just 10 percent of American car drivers shifted just 33 percent of their miles onto scooters by 2020, national gasoline consumption would be reduced by 3.9 billion gallons per year. That’s 198 million fewer b...
Dailies
Why you should be excited about Zero Motorcycles
The most interesting thing about the 2011 Zero launch wasn’t the bikes. Yes, the company has beefed up the components, restyled the existing line, added street versions of the dirt bikes as well as the new and very tiny XU model. Yes, the new management team has veterans plucked from Triumph, KTM USA and the remnants of Buell. Yes, Zero just scored $26 million in additional financing. That’s a...
Zero's new motorcycles don't ride like bicycles anymore
When I first rode the Zero X two years ago at Glen Helen, I was basically riding a weirdo chassis stuffed with a giant battery box, then fitted with bicycle parts and an electric motor. When we tried out the Zero DS and S models in Brooklyn last year, Zero had just figured out how to get the throttle response to act with the same kind of variable input as an ICE, steady throttle finally equalled s...
Dailies
Why Motor Trend and Rush Limbaugh are both wrong about the Chevy Volt
The car world is abuzz with controversy. In the run up to going on-sale next month, the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt is being evaluated by the press and heaped with various plaudits and awards. Right-wing pundits who haven’t even driven the Volt are also weighing in, criticizing both the government for partially funding the vehicle’s development and the publications for reviewing it positively. M... Icon Alliance HiViz: be seen
What's more important: being safe once you smack your head into something or avoiding that accident in the first place? Painted in lurid shades of high visibility orange or green and fitted with reflective graphics, the new Icon Alliance HiViz helmet aims to help you avoid accidents with increased visibility. Based on the refined Alliance helmet, it'll be safe even if that car driver wasn't ...
Dailies
The coming of the electric motorcycle
Hell For Leather has extensively covered electric motorcycles from an enthusiast's perspective, but we haven't really looked at their impact on the mainstream motorcycle industry. Luckily, bike designer Michael Uhlarik is here to break down the reasons why electrics are carving out a market niche all their own and what that could mean for companies that make a living off internal combustion. Coul...