CE-04 vs. 600 cc ICE Question.

[JKU]

I've had my CE04 for 6 months and now looking into a Triumph Trident 660. Anyone that has both EV bike and ICE moto, do you prefer one vs. the other if range wasn't an issue?

 

[korinthias]

They are chalk and cheese different, but both do it for me in different ways. Yes, range is a thing, but with the 04 I can focus just on the ride experience, handling, choosing the line and so forth, without other shenanigans. OTOH I have been riding motorcycles since the late 1970s and playing tunes with the gears, the sound, in some ways the limitations of my older bike also bring me joy. I wouldn’t want to be without either one, but if I only had the 04 I could still be happy ;-)

 

[JKU]

Thank you for the feedback. Several people at work ride ICE only and they don’t want to even try an EV (they have E-cars). Then I go back to looking at the Livewire. Since I only ride within a 20 mile radius, range is not an issue. Just looking to try different things. Will continue to evaluate. Most likely will have to test ride and see.

 

[Jojo]

I have 5 ICE bikes, most of which are older classics and I have one 1000cc sport-tourer. I ride the CE04 more than all the others combined. The convenience of electric power, having reverse gear and on-board storage means I use it for all the little errands and trips I used to do in my car because it was too much of an effort to get an ICE bike out of the garage. I'll only really use an ICE bike on longer distance rides (not very often these days) or taking one of my classics out for a short Sunday cruise. I would happily replace my sport-tourer with an electric with suitable range (something like an Energica) but prices are still too high at this stage. Another year or two, I reckon.

 

[JKU]

Yep, I hear ya. Going to ICE I would have to wear a backpack as most of my outings are to go get something and the storage on the CE-04 is sooo convenient. I guess I’m looking to compare torque, fun factor, etc. But I know as far as convenience, the EV wins hands down. And almost ZERO maintenance.

 

[wspollack]

I have 5 ICE bikes, most of which are older classics and I have one 1000cc sport-tourer. I ride the CE04 more than all the others combined. The convenience of electric power, having reverse gear and on-board storage means I use it for all the little errands and trips I used to do in my car because it was too much of an effort to get an ICE bike out of the garage. I'll only really use an ICE bike on longer distance rides (not very often these days) or taking one of my classics out for a short Sunday cruise. I would happily replace my sport-tourer with an electric with suitable range (something like an Energica) but prices are still too high at this stage. Another year or two, I reckon.

I wouldn't hold my breath, re "another year or two."

My local back-road goofing-off day trips are all 150 - 250 miles, typically in VERY rural settings, wherever I happen to wander (often on roads that I'm taking just because I've never been on them before). I have to fill up with gas once or not at all (i.e., fill up a mile or two from home, on the way back, ready for the next ride) on those trips.

This doesn't apply to everyone, of course, but I don't want to wait around half an hour or more in the middle of a day for a charge, and neither do I want to plan a route -- pretty much at all, and certainly not to the extent that my route will include ANYTHING, such as a charging point.

EV bikes that can do that sort of trip are, it seems to me, ALWAYS just a year or two off (kind of like fusion electrical generation is always just five years away, etc.). In the meantime, my C 400 GT and my Meteor 350 suit the bill just fine (although I'll admit that they require more maintenance than an EV).

 

[Ceesie76]

My C650 Sport also has a ton of storage and I like the fact that it has pretty much unlimited range (so long as gas stations are around). So although I might not need to go somewhere far enough to cause EV range anxiety on most days, I just don't like the idea that I am not free to explore without that worry in the background. So I am not interested in an electric motorcycle mostly due to the range issue.

 

[Stevew]

My C650 Sport also has a ton of storage and I like the fact that it has pretty much unlimited range (so long as gas stations are around). So although I might not need to go somewhere far enough to cause EV range anxiety on most days, I just don't like the idea that I am not free to explore without that worry in the background. So I am not interested in an electric motorcycle mostly due to the range issue.

I have both. CE04 and C650 GT.

The CE04 wins on fuel type, design, looks, acceleration, quietness.

The C650 wins on everything else. Comfort, range, storage, wind protection, price.

I continue to hope that my CE04 will one day be recognised as an icon of late twenties innovation design commitment by a mega vehicle producer in the approaching dying decades of wet fuel, like gull wing Mercs and Citroen DS and Land Rovers, but only my daughter will win on that aspiration.

Meanwhile, fun and quick trips on both.