Three fully electric motorcycles were tested and analyzed for acceleration, braking, and regenerative coast-down deceleration. A Zero DSR, BMW C-Evolution, and a Harley-Davidson LiveWire underwent each of the following test series. The first test series consisted of accelerating the electric motorcycles from a stop. For the second test series, the motorcycles were decelerated by using three different brake applications: front and rear brake application, front-only brake application, and rear-only brake application. For the third test series, regenerative coast-down deceleration was tested at different ride mode configurations. Regenerative braking systems are designed to convert the vehicles’ kinetic energy into electrical potential energy during the vehicles’ coast-down phase, resulting in a moderate deceleration. In addition to testing the vehicles’ deceleration during its’ regenerative coast-down phase, brake light activation delay relative to throttle roll-off was analyzed. All motorcycles were tested on factory available ride mode configurations (Zero: Eco and Sport, BMW: Eco Pro, Dynamic, Road, and Sail, Harley-Davidson: Range, Street, Rain, and Sport). Each motorcycle was instrumented with a VBOX 3i with NTRIP (Networked Transport of RTCM via Internet Protocol) RTK (Real-time kinematic positioning) accuracy to measure and document vehicle speed.
The electric motorcycles tested produced a 0 – 60 mph acceleration range of 0.29 – 0.77 g. Average acceleration for all tested motorcycles and all modes available was calculated to be 0.53 g. For the braking test series including front and rear brake application, front-only, and rear-only brake application, the electric motorcycles braked at a deceleration range of 0.30 – 0.86 g. Average brake deceleration for all tested motorcycles and available ride modes was calculated to be 0.59 g. During the regenerative coast-down deceleration test series, the electric motorcycles decelerated at a range of 0.10 – 0.33 g. Average regenerative braking of all tested electric motorcycles and available modes was calculated to be 0.15 g. Brake light activation delay relative to accelerator throttle roll-off ranged from 0.05 – 1.1 sec. Average brake light activation delay was calculated to be 0.31 seconds relative to throttle roll-off. The results of this study will provide insight for accident reconstructionist to characterize acceleration, braking, and regenerative coast-down deceleration capabilities for the following electric motorcycles: Zero DSR, BMW C-Evolution, and Harley-Davidson LiveWire.