[cmutel]

We just published a study on the environmental performance of current and future battery and fuel cell motorcycles (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626191... ; also available via scihub). The supporting information is open Jupyter notebooks, though some of the background data is closed.

The environmental performance of electric motorcycles is different than cars:

- Cars need ancillary services like heating, increasing battery size

- Motorcycles have no real chance at regenerative braking

- Motorcycles are driven fewer kilometers than cars, making the impact of the vehicle more important (as opposed to the fuel).

Currently, we estimate that battery motorcycles are preferable across a variety of environmental indicators, though results differ for small and large motorcycles, which have very different usage patterns.

Feel free to contact me directly if interested in discussing or collaborating on open source life cycle assessment code or data (https://brightwaylca.org/, https://chris.mutel.org/).

[hfdgiutdryg]

Motorcycles have no real chance at regenerative braking

They do, but it has to come from the front wheel. An electric generator would be heavy and add significant unsprung weight.

KTM experimented with a 2wd dirt bike. It used hydraulic lines to transfer energy to the front wheel. A similar system could be used for regenerative braking.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/motocrossactionmag.com/amp/all-...