A Florida man has made history by becoming the first rider to make a coast-to-coast trip on an electric motorcycle. Now, he’s planning to hit the road again, says the Orlando Sentinel.
Earlier this month, Terry Hershner made a 2,659 mile trip along Interstate 10, from Florida to California, on a Zero ZF-9. He did the trip in about five days; he’d tried a similar feat back in December but failed.
A team of electric bike riders headed in the opposite direction also completed the trip, starting a little later but ending in less time (they had a team following them with generators, while Hershner used existing charging infrastructure, including campgrounds and the like).
Hershner isn’t happy with this accomplishment, though; he told the Sentinel he’s planning to embark on a 15,000-mile trip around the US that will include a jaunt from New York City to Blaine, Washington, the northernmost spot in the lower 48 states.
What’s the point of all this highly-charged action? Hershner isn’t happy with our dependance on gasoline as an energy source, and is trying to show there are alternatives.
Sadly, for now, these alternatives remain expensive. Hershner’s motorcycle, a Zero ZF-9, is a pricy investment, and even more expensive when compared to the most fuel-efficient motorcycles – which usually happen to be the cheapest bikes available.
Then, Hershner’s had to modify his bike to increase the range (supposedly, nearly 200-mile highway range), and he had some help from Craig Vetter as well (he helped re-design the bike’s bodywork to increase aerodynamics).
But, the technology is never going to develop without people like Hershner taking these initial steps.
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