On Wednesday we took the Electric UTV on a loop around Bishop to find out how long the battery would last in real riding conditions.
For info about the E-UTV, check here.
Scott Smith and Shane McNulty, who are doing most of the work on the vehicle right now, took it out the day before to test the battery on steep terrain with lots of stopping and starting. This time they wanted to push it in flat terrain, covering lots of distance, and stopping as little as possible.
We made a short clip, our first try at video, to document the day. I think it was a success across the board.
The vehicle traveled about 60 miles over four hours and still had one-third of the battery left.
We started out near Fishslough and the canal northeast of Bishop and headed toward Five Bridges and the White Mountains.
Then we zig-zagged south along the Owens River and to Buckley Ponds. Buckley Ponds is a system of ponds near East Line Street that our friend Dick Noles and other volunteers just helped to clean up and clear out for easy access to fishing and wildlife viewing. We’ll do another post about that soon.
We got shots of two or three Great Blue Herons there, and saw a lot of other critters on the move.
After that we continued south, almost even with Wilkerson and Keough’s Hot Springs, and then went back to the west towards the Bishop Basin and the Rocking K.
Overall, Scott was satisfied with the battery performance. There’s still a lot to be done. We’re waiting on another motor before we can have four-wheel drive, but as you’ll see, it still does great in 2WD. It’s also much faster than the gas-powered Rhino, especially in terms of acceleration. For evidence, check out the race in the video. Also, listen to the difference in noise between the two. The electric vehicle is almost completely silent.
Look for improvements on the E-UTV soon, as well as with our video skills. We’re learning about all of this as we go but everything is coming together very well.
That’s all for today. Let me know what you think.
-Dave
(One the bottom of the video, click on the four outward-facing arrows to make it full screen.)
by DMC Photo
Yes, this video is right up my alley too. Zero Motorcycles has environmentaly biodegradable batterys. You might want to contact them and see if they would be willing to help. Young company full of new ideas.
Dave this ATV aspect is all part of my Gravity Park idea as well as the bicycle aspect. Electric powered vehicals and solar power.
This is my passion and I need your blessing and much direction.
Clint
Wow. Had no idea that this was going to be so fast and powerful. You’re really on to something great. Good video – it gives us all a really valuable interpertation of what this vehicle can do!
Great job guys! That thing looks fast! Very impressive.