Ecocharger electric quad bike

[devonboy]

Anyone got one? thinking of the 2wd dominator to replace our 3yr old honda trx250, weve had several of these but the quality and reliability isnt very good any more, any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Anyone got one? thinking of the 2wd dominator to replace our 3yr old honda trx250, weve had several of these but the quality and reliability isnt very good any more, any thoughts would be appreciated!

The price of the lithium battery ones is very hard to justify. They look interesting though. I looked at them at Groundswell and chatted to the salesman. I was a bit concerned to see stickers saying they must be charged every day or damage could occur but didn't think them to ask why.

It'd be a lot to change though from our ATC250ES.....

 

[steveR]

The price of the lithium battery ones is very hard to justify. They look interesting though. I looked at them at Groundswell and chatted to the salesman. I was a bit concerned to see stickers saying they must be charged every day or damage could occur but didn't think them to ask why.

It'd be a lot to change though from our ATC250ES.....

I had a chat at Groundswell too. He was at the Game Fair last week too...

Like the little Indian electric tractors, great on a golf course, municipal site or zoo, where quiet and zero fumes are a winner. Just too expensive still for farm use at present I fear.

I'd still love an UBCO though....

 

[devonboy]

I agree they arent cheap, but neither is changing your quad every 3yrs which we do and getting something which is forever not wanting to start, we use it to pull a calf milk trolley and it just doesnt like the job, doesnt like being constantly started or just ticking over, whereas it would suit an electric motor?

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

I agree they arent cheap, but neither is changing your quad every 3yrs which we do and getting something which is forever not wanting to start, we use it to pull a calf milk trolley and it just doesnt like the job, doesnt like being constantly started or just ticking over, whereas it would suit an electric motor?

Sounds like one could be ideal then. Very torquey from a standstill.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

@exmoor dave had 1 of the old style. I believe range was his issue? But that was before lithium.
I too looked again at Groundswell, having hankered after 1 for years. (Even had an electric utv on demo last year) Was a bit disappointed with some of the switching - even the main forward/ reverse is just a basic toggle switch sticking up where I can see it getting caught.
Not sure the racks would stand up to the rappa fencing machine either.
But the price is eye watering. £20k for the 4wd equivalent replacement of my Can Am.

Thats not to say the 2wd wouldn't suit your needs.

 

[jondear]

After catching a ride in a Can am mule this week I didn't realise how noisy they are! . Electric would be better if costs stack up with reliability.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

@exmoor dave had 1 of the old style. I believe range was his issue? But that was before lithium.
I too looked again at Groundswell, having hankered after 1 for years. (Even had an electric utv on demo last year) Was a bit disappointed with some of the switching - even the main forward/ reverse is just a basic toggle switch sticking up where I can see it getting caught.
Not sure the racks would stand up to the rappa fencing machine either.
But the price is eye watering. £20k for the 4wd equivalent replacement of my Can Am.

Thats not to say the 2wd wouldn't suit your needs.

Yep, hard to justify £20k here sadly when our pickup only stands us in at £6k.

 

[primmiemoo]

Nice Welsh Section C would be more eco, wouldn't it?
Ride and drive.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

After catching a ride in a Can am mule this week I didn't realise how noisy they are! . Electric would be better if costs stack up with reliability.

We demo'd a can am utv and also found it noisy. Lively. But I think the rep was rather disappointed when I said it was noisier than the kubota diesel!
Electric utv makes so much sense but very little choice yet. The lithium version of the hisun we demo'd may be tempting when we get round to changing, though by then I would hope for more options.

 

[B'o'B]

Yep, hard to justify £20k here sadly when our pickup only stands us in at £6k.

May as well strap 2 UBCOs together!

 

[kill]

Loads of farmers around here now buying any old 4wd diesel vehicles and running them under “Farmers Light Goods” so no mot needed and can be run on red diesel and SHOULD be on limited miles per week . Even the Landlord of a local pub is running one. Seams like a seriously abused loophole to me.

 

[Lazy Sod]

I wonder how good electric vehicles are on grip in the mud. I was a motocross rider in the early sixties, when all the bikes were British The 500s were either single or twin cylinder four strokes and the 250s were single cylinder two strokes. I really muddy conditions it was clear that the 500 singles would grip better than the twins. This is because the power comes in pulses (power strokes). Two strokes obviously have twice the power strokes compared to a four stroke. The three main specialist manufacturers of off road two stroke bikes were Dot, Cotton and Greeves. They all used Villiers 250 single engines. Dot did produce a twin engine model for a short while, it had a RCA motor. It was useless, the power delivery was too smooth.

One thing that I learnt very early on is that if you're likely to get stuck, revving the engine continuously makes things worse. It's much better to rev up and down, grip increase as revs decrease. Whether it's bikes, cars or tractors, the same applies.

My point is that no type of power unit would have a smoother power delivery than an electric motor.

 

[Tubbylew]

Nice Welsh Section C would be more eco, wouldn't it?
Ride and drive.

Walk a mile to catch the horse to ride a mile.

 

[Bury the Trash]

it just doesnt like the job, doesnt like being constantly started or just ticking over

how many hours do you do? they take a long time to 'run in' ime. give it some work revving decently to intermitanntly to loosen it up a bit/as balance to the stop start tickover stuff. otherwise Honda engines are fairly bomb proof /long life.
Also make sure the fuel is well filtered and that the carb is set right.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

I wonder how good electric vehicles are on grip in the mud. I was a motocross rider in the early sixties, when all the bikes were British The 500s were either single or twin cylinder four strokes and the 250s were single cylinder two strokes. I really muddy conditions it was clear that the 500 singles would grip better than the twins. This is because the power comes in pulses (power strokes). Two strokes obviously have twice the power strokes compared to a four stroke. The three main specialist manufacturers of off road two stroke bikes were Dot, Cotton and Greeves. They all used Villiers 250 single engines. Dot did produce a twin engine model for a short while, it had a RCA motor. It was useless, the power delivery was too smooth.

One thing that I learnt very early on is that if you're likely to get stuck, revving the engine continuously makes things worse. It's much better to rev up and down, grip increase as revs decrease. Whether it's bikes, cars or tractors, the same applies.

My point is that no type of power unit would have a smoother power delivery than an electric motor.

Matt claims they're good on here. But not exactly a serious test.
Certainly the little bit we did with the utv on demo suggested electric is very suited to making the most of grip.

 

[devonboy]

It takes about a hour either end of the day to feed the calves using the trolley and its used to see the stock in summer, in the winter it rarely goes to the fields. Grip to us isnt an issue. We do use it to sow all our grass seeds though. As i said i dont think they like ticking over.