I just finished up a 671-mile ride from Jacksonville to South Florida and back.
Clarification: Some Energica owners expressed concern about this story. Once you’ve read this story, please read my clarification response here.
The weather was perfect to explore Florida’s east coast waterfront communities thanks to so many of them having Level 2 charging stations in the center of town.
I started my trip in Jacksonville at 6 a.m., making it down to St. Augustine in time to see the sunrise. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States. It was founded in 1565.
Next, I headed to Daytona Beach, which bills itself as the “World’s Most Famous Beach” and has one of the largest annual bike weeks in the nation.
From there I made a quick stop in Edgewater, which is home to the Boston Whaler boat company. Boston Whaler and Florida Power and Light recently put in a new charging station there that I wanted to confirm and add to the PlugShare app.
I then rode to the Titusville welcome center.
From there it was a short jaunt to Cocoa, where I settled in for lunch and a walk around its picturesque waterfront. Both Cocoa and Titusville are great spots to look up and see rocket launches from the Kennedy Space Center on nearby Merritt Island.
I also stopped at the Fort Pierce waterfront library for a stretch and charge before heading to Stuart.
Stuart is an eco-friendly city where I was able to charge my SR/F under a solar canopy that offered six EV charging spots. Stuart also offers an EV-powered tram system.
I pulled in at my friends’ Boca Raton home around 8:40 p.m., tired but what an enjoyable ride, and it’s a great illustration of what anyone considering an EV motorcycle needs to consider.
Charging Considerations
Every EV from Energica, Harley-Davidson LiveWire and Zero Motorcycles is great for urban commuting.
However, for those of us that like to hit the road, it’s critical to know before buying your motorcycle what sort of charging infrastructure is available in the areas you’ll be traveling to.
My fuel cost was free for the entire 671 mile trip. More importantly, without fast Level 2 charging, the route I took wouldn’t have worked.
Here in Florida, Level 3 CCS chargers in urban cores and smaller towns are still relatively rare, meaning anyone riding a LireWire or Energica would have spent many more hours charging if they tried to duplicate my trip.
That’s because they don’t support the higher level 2 charging speeds that Zero Motorcycles are capable of.
Conversely, Zero doesn’t support Level 3 CCS charging, which is faster than Level 2 chargers, meaning my bike is a poorer choice for long interstate road trips, where faster charging speeds are more important and where CCS charging locations are usually found.
The bottom line: If you’re considering making the switch to an EV motorcycle, make sure to study up on your region’s charging infrastructure before making a final decision since currently none of EV motorcycles for sale in the U.S. have both fast Level 2 and Level 3 charging.
Try to envision all the cities, towns and states that you’ll want to visit.
PlugShare and a Better Route Planner are two strong resources that will quickly give you an idea of the charging infrastructure in the areas you’re likely to visit.
Right now, every EV motorcycle is a bit of a compromise when it comes to long-distance travel but as my trip shows, it’s certainly doable.
Perhaps just as important, riding an EV – in my opinion – is just more enjoyable.
Rather than listening to an exhaust, why not listen to the waves?
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