Ride Report- Smuggler's Notch

[SVenpointsixtwo]

The notch is open! Went up there yesterday (5/13) to check it out and stretch the legs on my buddy's '77 suzuki gs400

108 is in good condition for the most part, the entire way up the notch from the jeffersonville side is perfect with only 1 or 2 bumps and no gravel. The single-lane section has some issues, there are huge scars in the pavement and lots of scattered debris at the exit of some of the tighter curves which made me pretty nervous, but it cleared up by the time the yellow line came back. The stowe side is pristine as usual.

All in all, a good ride! Hope they patch up the pavement soon.





Caught VT's first tesla roadster at pie in the sky in stowe! Bring on the electric sportbikes!

[scottieducati]

?

But seriously.... Clicky... Not exactly a "sport" bike, but getting there.... they're entering at the Isle of Mann

Caught VT's first tesla roadster at pie in the sky in stowe! Bring on the electric sportbikes!

[catamount]

Nice! A friend of mine spotted that same Tesla in Winooski near Donny's.

[Mr Bread]

Nice report.

Good eye on the roadster.

[markbvt]

That's funny, I just saw that red GS400 parked on Main Street.

As for the Tesla... it's a shame they couldn't make it handle like the Lotus Elise it's based on. Top Gear tested a Tesla, and it handled like shit (comparitively speaking). Those massive batteries just kill it.

And as for electric motorcycles... fuck that shit. Until someone invents a battery/electric motor combo that can give you the same range and performance as a gasoline engine and get fully recharged in under five minutes, electric bikes will be useless for anything but commuting or a few laps around a track. That said, I'm still interested in seeing what MotoCzysz brings to the TTXGP -- it ought to beat the shit out of that Enertia contraption if they manage to even get close to the specs they've announced.

--mark

[SVenpointsixtwo]

The Brammo enertia entry for the TTGXP is looking pretty promising, even if the street version is a POS.
Shakedown video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ksuJ...layer_embedded

The MotoCzysz E1 is going to be badass, though. Dyno run:


I'm most excited for this one though, the EV-0 RR2- carbon fiber monocoque frame housing battery and electrics


Developers and manufacturers have to put a lot of effort into longer battery life and charging times before it becomes a viable streetbike option, but they will definitely get there soon. I'd personally much rather have an electric dirt bike for silent, guilt-free singletrack madness!

[SRTie4k]

I imagine most electric bikes in the near future will only be good for drag racing due to their instant torque.

I've never been through the Notch, but its one of the places I really want to hit up this year.

[kbroderick]

And as for electric motorcycles... fuck that shit. Until someone invents a battery/electric motor combo that can give you the same range and performance as a gasoline engine and get fully recharged in under five minutes, electric bikes will be useless for anything but commuting or a few laps around a track.

Check out Shredables. Swiss-made electric dirt/dual-sport bikes. They're not there yet--I think runtime when flogged is about an hour, closer to three in normal trail riding--but they seem pretty damn cool. Enough speed to be legal, albeit scary, on a slab, and they are probably about as noisy as a mountain bike with an ill-fitted chain (based on rough recollection, last time I heard them being ridden was last summer and I damn near got run over by one because I didn't anticipate it approaching as fast as it was).

If they weren't exorbitantly priced (think standard-package F650GS, new), I'd be seriously thinking about one. The range is a bummer, but a dual-sport bike that doesn't make noise would be a lot of fun for riding class 4 roads and such where the noise of a internal combustion engine might draw a bit of unwanted attention.

I also just heard that the local rep is renting them out for dirt tours based out of the ski shop at the corner of 4 and 100 (where 100S leaves 4 to head towards Plymouth/Ludlow/etc). I'm going to have to check out the pricing structure on the rentals.