Electric motorcycles enjoy a rise in popularity every day. Actually, this sector of the motorcycle industry is arguably the fastest-growing – but, there is still a long road ahead. The consumers still aren’t fully convinced that electric motorcycles are better than their gas-powered counterparts.
Well, the primary question mark that rises above the consumers’ heads is the excitement the bike provides. The more realistic, and more pressing question about the future of the electric motorcycles is the infrastructure itself. By that, we mean the charging methods.
Thanks to the growth of electric vehicles, the charging segment in the automotive sector has developed quite profoundly. Now, you can see charging spots in all major cities around Europe and the rest of the developed world. Some businesses offer home charging too!
Well, as we already mentioned, the charging mechanisms and methods still have lots to improve on. It seems that BMW wants to take a step forward. This step is – wireless charging. BMW has already started to build upon this idea with BMW cars. The concept is simple – you park your vehicle above a static pad that sends a wireless charge. It is a similar concept to a phone pad charger.
For now, this technology proved to be unreliable. Regardless of that, BMW aims to develop a wireless charge pad for motorcycles. From some patent filing, we know that BMW wants to achieve this by making the kickstand as a charging point. Then, it would send the signals through the bike, charging it effectively. The assumption is that direct contact makes for a much quicker and effective way to charge a bike, without the need for wires.
With this information in mind, we can see BMW as one of the pioneers of this motorcycle market segment in the future. Right now, they don’t offer much; just the C Evolution scooter. We know that they are planning to create more electric motorcycles in the future, so that’s a good sign for sure!
This technology may make replacement kickstands cost a fortune. Nevertheless, the main pain point of electric motorcycles – the charging; could be completely eliminated with such technology.
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Source: Visor Down
