Batteries, To Remove or Not To Remove......

When you sell electric bikes and electric motorcycles like we do, you get asked a lot of different questions.  Are they waterproof?  Can it carry me and my dog?  Why don't they just make them all electric?  

But the one question that really stands out centers around, the center of these devices, the battery packs.  Without the battery packs these vehicles wouldn't go.  Well, some of the E-bikes you can still pedal, but you know what I mean.  The packs are essential and generally heavy.  The weight is all relative depending on the unit, but no matter how small or large, your battery pack is going to be a significant part of your E-bike or E-Motorcycle's overall weight.  As a general "rule of thumb" you could think of battery weight of current technology being:

1AH = 1Lb

This isn't always true, some batteries will weigh more and some will weigh less, but in general you can consider current Li-Ion technology will give you 1 Amp Hour of power per 1 pound of weight.  Again, this isn't a accurate measurement, but one meant to help the consumer better understand the specifics around their battery.  And this is going to be very important as we get to the actual question people ask about these battery packs.  That's right, we haven't addressed that yet, but you might have an idea of where I'm going with this already.

When it comes to an E-bike, the battery pack can be small or large.  Heavy or light, it all depends on how many cells it has in it.  For most of the E-bikes on the market the battery pack is easily removeable.  If you run your battery down and want to put on another one, go ahead.  If you want to take the battery inside to charge, go for it.  This is because most E-Bike batteries don't weigh more 20lbs making it easy for your average person to remove and carry inside.

With some of the electric motorcycles that have been introduced into the market, there have been promises of a light, removeable battery that could get you around all day.  So far, it's really been one or another, but not both.  This is because of what we discussed above and the power consumption of an electric motorcycle versus an electric bike.

Now the big question we get: 

*Drumroll please*

"Are the batteries in the electric motorcycle removeable?"

That's it, that's the one.  To most of you, it seems obvious, of course you can remove the battery, just like an E-bike.  But when you start adding up the AH and what that means for your driving distance and weight, you'll see these aren't the same machines.  

To begin with, an E-bike is heavy compared to a regular bike, but they generally weigh less than 100lbs.  Most electric motorcycles use heavier DOT approved parts and weigh 200+lbs curb weight.  It's going to take more motor and more battery to get an electric motorcycle going than an electric bike.  You could use the same 20AH/20lb battery packs you would find on an E-bike, but you probably won't be happy with your e-motorcycles performance or range.  Instead, manufacturers have built bigger batteries with more AH to allow your e-motorcycle to perform they way you might expect.  To go fast, get to a certain top speed and be able to go a certain range on a single charge.  In order to achieve the trifecta balance, you need a big battery pack.  On the smaller side of range, we see e-motorcycles with 40AH battery packs.  These units have a general range of 30+miles.  Not bad, but as we increase performance, we increase power consumption, so we increase battery AH capacity to compensate.  This means the battery packs for e-motorcycles are getting into the 80AH and 100+AH ranges.  These battery packs are necessary for proper performance, but weigh almost 100lbs on their own.  It's like your battery pack is a whole E-bike worth of weight!

Those numbers make it a chore to remove your e-motorcycle battery to take inside to charge.  It also means you could really hurt yourself if you tried.  No steel toes, dropped the edge of the pack on your foot, ouch!  The point is that when it comes to getting an electric motorcycle that will have any real performance and range, you're not going to be able to take out the battery pack.  There's also another thing to think about when it comes to taking the batteries out of your electric motorcycle, the alarm will stop working.  Which might not be so bad, you already have the most expensive part in your house.  The thieves will get a shell, but you'll still be left without a ride.

There have been quite a few people that have called and asked, "Can you take the battery out of that?".  It may seem to make sense, depending on your situation, but when it comes to the electric motorcycle itself and your enjoyment of it, being able to take the battery out is truly a pain you don't need.