MGB E4 ELECTRIC BIKE. Who should buy an electric bike and who definitely shouldn’t!

[@willswheels283]

I think they have their place as an alternative to a petrol powered scooter but range anxiety and top speed will always be an issue. They’r perfect for just hopping about town for your commute to work or your shopping but not a serious contender for going longer distances. I have an electric moped that I bought last year, It’s a 50cc equivalent, will do 28 miles on a full charge and 20-27 mph top speed, I only use it in permissible weather and just for going the 26 mile round trip to work, I’m not allowed to bring the battery into my workplace due to the possibility of the battery self ignition and causing damage and I think this is a real worry for other work places if their insurance doesn’t cover large lithium batteries. I think there needs to be charging stations suitable for 3 pin plug charging for these machines and e-bikes but where I live there aren’t any. Good review as usual mr Gilly.👍

[@GillyBikes]

Thank you. That’s actually a really good point. The batteries whilst easy to remove are still pretty big and heavy. I’ve seen so many stories about fires caused from damaged batteries. In cars, scooters and motorcycles. So I can understand why a work place wouldn’t want you to charge it in there. 🤔. I would have said it’s just the cheap makes but I’ve seen this week that Porsche have sent letters out to their customers telling them not to park their electric cars near to their houses due to a fire risk. That info did come from the macmaster on KZbin so I don’t know how true it is 🤔. If true though that’s very worrying

[@willswheels283]

@ I’ve heard that in use lithium batteries are safe, but over charging, moisture, damage to the battery, short circuiting or even excess heat exposure can cause a lithium battery to self ignite. I charge my battery in my hallway at home and I’m keen not to expose it or the charger to damp or heat and I’m careful when I’m pulling the battery out the bike making sure not to drop it. This is one of the main reasons I think why these bikes and EV’s in general aren’t catching on as fast as government would like, the fire safety aspect, and selling them used is probably going to be an issue, finding buyers who will want them instead of a petrol bike will be an issue.

[@sergentcolon1]

As you say it has quite a specific customer base, great if you commute 10-15 miles on roads with 40mph or less (preferably less as 40mph will drain the battery pretty quickly) or just want a town or city machine. Though personally I had a Honda SH125i which was a far more practical commuter and now have a Honda Dax125 which I use a fun second bike for shorter journeys and a Kawasaki Eliminator 500 for longer journeys, still a nice light bike at 175kg and 45bhp. It’s a lovely little sports cruiser.

[@GillyBikes]

I love the looks of the DAX125. I can’t believe I’ve still never tried one. Hopefully I can persuade Honda to let me have a go on one.

[@stevenbatley8666]

What the powers to be,have created a throw away society!

[@BonzaiPlays]

I have a volvo EX30 (All electric 3.6 seconds 0 to 60 one) you are right, electric vehicles are the future, but the govrenment and the police aren't ever going to stop me getting on my busa. I don't want an electric bike, they sound and look like shit.

[@xjrman5062]

@@BonzaiPlays EVs are only the future if you want to live in 15 minute city's and be under total control on when and wear you can travel and if you have dam good house insurance and your neighbour doesn't mind living next door to a fire hazard and then there is the environmental issue of EVs that is far worse than they would have you believe . And the 3.6 seconds is ok the first time you do it and then it's boring and pointless unless you're a 15 year old kid but if you like to be controlled then go for it I will stick with edger friendly and live my life as free as I can

[@BonzaiPlays]

@@xjrman5062 as a previous owner of an xjr1300sp I can assure you, nothing makes you smile more than having a muscle bike almost wheeling and spinning the wheel by accident none the less just taking off. Same's said for this ex30 launching off the line showing up some 19 year old in his fiesta st. Same principle's of that smile us bikers get. I don't live anywhere near the city, I live in the Borders and i'm grateful to have a house with a homecharger, It costs me £5.20 to charge my ex30, for it's 300 miles of range. I'm well aware though that most ev's have a tendancy to combust at any given moment due to their dangerous batteries, but this is being shoved down our throats by the govrements ban on fueled vehicles, unfortunately brother it is the future. However, with that being said. They certainly cannot and never will stop me from riding my 1300gsxr.

[@GillyBikes]

Absolutely. The cars have really improved over the last few years, but I’m not seeing the same improvements on the bikes. The Busa is a weapon. 😍

[@hectorshouse7348]

16% battery for 5 miles=31 mile range😂

[@GillyBikes]

Yes I know 😳🫣

[@taffy2wheels577]

Don't mind an electric scooter but not a big bike , well, not at the moment anyway. Great vid,..tho

[@GillyBikes]

Thanks. You still need to try one of those livewires. They are loads of fun (for an hour then the battery runs out 😭)

[@fatange]

I think these look ok. I don’t do many miles. Maybe 10 a day and sometimes less. The only issue I do have is sometimes I go out for the day and can do 50 miles. I don’t think this would be capable of that. So for me this wouldn’t work. I will stick to my petrol bike. Great review though. It’s nice to see what the cheaper options are. Still not good enough 🫣

[@GillyBikes]

You were so close to fitting one of these. Maybe in the future they will be able to achieve 100 miles on one of these cheaper bikes. I think we are a few years off that though.

[@neildixon5549]

Hi how come you do not do lexmoto 125cc motorbikes or scooters????

[@GillyBikes]

I’ve been on a few lexmoto’s. I’ve done the LXR kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJzbZYKCltB5g80si=LiEEF9BFZ7Lbvw5h The LSX kzbin.info/www/bejne/npKZY6ygfKllgq8si=WC54iqgcCuE7omQD The Lexmoto Pegasus 300 scooter kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoazlKWffc6rhrcsi=wmIQSiY3905DqgPI The Lexmoto xdv125 kzbin.info/www/bejne/epu1coymaqqFrbMsi=YUYDc0lVS6CwZ1mZ And the cheapest one the Lexmoto Michigan 125 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJ_WZottaLqpaM0si=gkfl3T2EdCyaUa0N

[@alanhayward6719]

I had an electric scooter for about 2 months with a range of approximately 60 miles. I drove 15 miles to work one morning, admittedly it was quite cold and I had 33% left to get home. Screwed! 😂

[@GillyBikes]

That is definitely the issue. I had an electric car a few years ago. 200 mile claimed range. Cold weather or motorway I was lucky to get 120 miles. Just not good enough for me. I got rid of it as soon as I could.

[@davecarrera]

If this is not charged by one of the 1 hour rapid chargers then your in for a reality of a 6 to 8 hour home charge for 50 to 80 miles range, less in the winter. If solid-state batteries deliver their faster charge times and range then maybe EV Motorbikes will become a reality. 5 to 10 years I think in the real world reality for EV motorbikes.

[@GillyBikes]

I agree. Fast charging would be a must for these to succeed. But even then stoping for 1 to 2 hours for a fast charge would be a pain.

[@davecarrera]

@@GillyBikes you then have to bring up the topic of major investment in the electricity supply and home security of. If you are going to only have one form of energy then it better be supplied 110% from home based and owned suppliers.

[@alternativeperception6949]

China is leading the way with batteries and seem to be putting a lot of research and development into getting them better and much cheaper, give it a few years and they will be much better and desirable. This scooter looks really nice but I can't understand why the battery wasn't put where the 125cc should sit freeing up the under seat storage

[@GillyBikes]

I suspect they have just used their petrol version as a model and it’s the only place they could put it. It’s a shame really as it makes it much less practical compared to the petrol version

[@KibiAlvaro]

No sound and something to warm your body along the road in cold weather is it worth it ? (Not a champion ! 🏆) 😁

[@GillyBikes]

That’s why heated gloves / clothing is the future. But the sound? You would have to make your own Brum brum sounds while riding. And yes I actually did that during my ride on this. It didn’t make the edit though 😂

[@hectorshouse7348]

Electric motors work…batteries don’t!

[@GillyBikes]

That is the issue. No matter how much you spend on one it’s always the battery / range that lets them down. Some of them are amazing to ride, brilliant performance but really let down by the battery.

[@markhinde6187]

Battery is rubbish on this one, bike looks ok but it's all about the battery, if it was a proper 125cc equivalent it would be ok, but the technology has not yet arrived !... good post Gilly

[@GillyBikes]

Thanks. The technology has improved so much with the cars, I hope the same happens with the bikes because at the moment they just don’t meet the needs of the people.

[@mrmoon1482]

I’m not convinced that electric bikes are the future, both electric bikes and cars have been around for 100 years, but never taken off, short range and charging times will have to improve vastly for them to become practical enough to replace combustion engines, I own a Honda Forza 300 and Royal Enfield interceptor 650, I like bikes and scooters but couldn’t imagine going for battery operated transport anytime soon,

[@GillyBikes]

I feel the same way. You can’t beat the ease of a 30 second fuel fill up, compared to a few hours to charge up. I don’t think I would ever buy an electric bike.

[@ogasi1798]

for me it's no combustion, no sale ..... i can see who they work for and if you are that minority audience it would be a great thing to have, same argument as duracell cars

[@GillyBikes]

That’s my thinking as well. There are people out there that will do a 2 mile commute and for them these are perfect. But for everyone else 👎

[@simtime7591]

i feel really sorry for people that have to review stuff like this, cos as a real biker, you aint going to convince too many people to get an electric bike in the state they are in now. Really good 125cc electric, something like the Zero DS, 144 miles of range, are something like 16 grand... Nobody in their right mind are going to buy something like that. These things look good on paper, but in reality, unless you do nothing more than go to tesco on it, they are all but useless. We will get there in the end im sure, but even elon musk says the battery technology is not ready for this yet

[@GillyBikes]

I think it’s impossible to convince people to get one of these. I couldn’t even convince myself. 😂. They will suit some people but the other 99.9% (me included) will stick to petrol. I do hope Tesla bring out a bike. They are the most likely to bring one out that has a good enough range.

[@maskedavenger2578]

The only way they will get me on or in an electric vehicle , is if I was to suddenly become a milkman or end up losing my licence & end up on a mobility scooter , before I kick the bucket . Otherwise the future is deffo not electric for me. Thankfully I was born in the 1950 ‘s & witnessed the golden days of motorcycling & got to ride proper bikes that burnt proper leaded juice. The wiff of leaded petrol or two stroke oil burning was pure ecstasy going up yer nostrils , when out for a burn up . 👍

[@GillyBikes]

😂. I do miss the wiff of a 2stroke 😍

[@Heivang]

I've had my license for 1,5 years with 15K km experience so I'm not the typical middle age(45 years) rider. I started riding to simplify my commute and having some fun in the weekends. I'm not looking for speed when choosing a bike, I look for resonable and practical bikes. Service and simplicity from the bike is very high on the list when choosing a bike for me. This is why I'm looking forward for electric bikes. Yeah, it will take some years to get the prices down and range go up, but when it does I will be the first to look for a mid-size electric bike(600 to 800cc) equal. The instant power, ease of use, and I know it's a bit backwards, but I'm looking forward for a quiet ride. Just me, the bike, and nature. No need for ear protection, no waking up the neighbour in the morning. Another thing I'm looking forward to is less mechanical parts and failures, change of engine oil and so on. Like cars today, motorcycles will go towards automatics and electrics weather you like it or not. Yeah, you can fight it like the car people did 10-15 years ago, but tech will get better and cheaper so times will come when you have to accept it like or not. MC for the masses sell more so brands will cater them in the end is my prediction. I've been looking for a new bike to buy when the season starts in April and the bike at top of my list is a Honda NC750x DCT(would love your take on this bikes btw, please do a review on it). It rides easy, runs like my diesel Volvo, great fuel economy, and the price is low. If there was electric equvialent today I'd jump on it, but I guess we have to wait for tech to catch up. I'll be back in 5 years and see if I have to eat my words, but I'm pretty confident that electric bikes will be the next evolution in motorcycle riding.

[@sergentcolon1]

Fair play, but the biggest reason for ear protection is usually wind noise. On my previous Honda SH125i with a large windscreen I didn’t require ear plugs as there was no wind noise and the exhaust was very quiet.

[@GillyBikes]

I think we can both agree that they are not good enough now though 😁. The range is too low and the price is too high. Technology does move quickly and hopefully 🤞 one day we will get a high range and reasonable priced bike in the future. I love riding the Harley Livewire that bike was brilliant but at £20,000 for 100 miles I couldn’t live with it. I’ve been on the Honda NC750x it was a while ago and I can remember if I had camera / mic issues back then. Here is what I did kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZ-0e5-hmLqWa9ksi=fRW7kFCEuQw_zdtQ

[@xjrman5062]

I wouldn't touch one with a bargepole if I ever even considered a EV it would be a push bike sorry but can't watch anymore of this video

[@oddball7483]

£10,000 for a decent Electric bicycle with no indicators and use your own phone for Sat Nav and have it stolen in a week! I don't think so. 😮

[@xjrman5062]

@oddball7483 10 grand for a push bike I wouldn't pay that for a motorbike 😆😆

[@GillyBikes]

That was the point of the video. For 99.9% of bikers these are not good enough. 👍