Delegate for the climate plan and sustainability in his Swiss town near Lausanne, Stanislas Gouhier wanted to test the feasibility of a long trip to France with an electric motorcycle. He expected to experience some hardships during the 4,000 km course completed in 3 weeks. What conclusions does he draw from this in the end?
It’s already been a little over a year since Stanislas Gouhier made his trip to France, between July 13 and July 30, 2021. But he is currently communicating on it, gradually depositing for about a month a series of 11 videos on sa chaîne Youtube Real CH.
« The very next movie [NDLR : Short Way Round 5] will present my loop in Brittany. The uploads will last until October 3rd. “says the young biker.
« With this series of videos, I wanted to pass on my experience to those who have not yet traveled electric and who would like to do so. I encourage them in this direction. And then I don’t really like accumulating photos. These little films will also allow me to preserve the memory of this adventure. “, he completes.
Thanks to Covid-19
« Initially, I was supposed to do this Tour de France in 2020, but not with an electric motorcycle. I longed to visit friends and family I hadn’t seen in years. But the health crisis forced me to postpone my trip », explains Stanislas Gouhier. ” So, on a whim, I passed my motorcycle license at the end of summer 2020, promising myself that it would be to have an electric one. This is how my project evolved. It is therefore my first motorcycle. Previously, in electric vehicles, I had only tried the Renault Zoé and Twizy “, he admits.
« My choice quickly fell on an SR/F from Zero Motorcycles. It is for me the most successful of electric motorcycles with the Energica. But the latter is more sporty and I like its design less », Appears-t-il.
4,000 km loop
Leaving from Vevey, which is home to the world headquarters of Nestlé, our interlocutor made a first major stop in Strasbourg. Before going to Verdun, he went to Nancy to greet the famous Place Stanislas built in his honor. In any case, he is the one who says it with great humor. Direction Paris for a short stroll on the Champs-Elysées, then Romorantin, in order to take a short tour of Mont-Saint-Michel a little later.
He resumed his machine for Brittany with a short stay in Brest then in Vannes. ” I really liked visiting the Valley of the Saints in Carnoët, and finding Fort La Latte where I used to go when I was a child. », Comments the Swiss biker. Evolving silently towards the following stages in Bordeaux and Toulouse also appealed to him: “ I went through small departmental roads that took me through medieval villages ».
In France, he still went through Montpellier and Montélimar before taking a trip to Italy via the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass. Leaving Aosta, he headed for Switzerland. ” I exceeded 4,000 km on my way back to Vevey “, underlines the adventurer.
Equipage
« I received my Zero SR/F in September 2020. It is equipped with a battery with an energy capacity of 14 kWh that I can recharge at 12 kW thanks to an optional pack “, explains Stanislas Gouhier. To make a trip of twenty days with a motorcycle, you have to be clever and make choices. This is what our interviewee did by rolling up the charging cables behind the side compartments.
And for sleeping? A simple hammock to stretch between 2 trees in the campsites where he stayed, covered with a waterproof tarpaulin. A little Spartan! ” I still allowed myself to go exceptionally to the hotel, to Verdun and to Bourg-Saint-Maurice. It was when it was raining too much, so that my things were dry. I also slept with friends and family along the way “, he reports.
« Apart from one time when I was made to understand that I would have to manage, the reception at the campsites was very good and the staff found me a place that was well suited to laying the hammock. On site, I recharged using an adapter for the blue P17 socket “, he testifies.
When the weather gets involved
« I fully expected to experience galleys during my journey. They arrived especially with the weather. The first 3 or 4 days, for example, I experienced rain and cold. This resulted in a terrifying drop in autonomy. I no longer had 220 km, but 150 or even only 130 km “recalls Stanislas Gouhier.
« Conversely, I endured temperatures of around 40° C between Brittany, Bordeaux and Toulouse. The battery didn’t like it and must have overheated, even though the bike’s electronics didn’t signal it. I then suffered recharging blockages. Sometimes it didn’t work with Type 2 and home cables, but more often than not it ended up booting with the latter “, he continues.
« I had prepared my refueling stops in advance, using Chargemap which is the most trusted app and up to date to do so. It took me 2 or 3 times to make unplanned stops because of the shortened autonomy. I was also very well received once by a gentleman who provides wallboxes to help out. He also had a beer tap in his garage. “, he puts forward.
City markers and country markers
« I started with the idea that I would certainly encounter problems with charging stations installed in villages, and that it would go well in the cities and especially the big cities. I experienced quite the opposite in the end “explains Stanislas Gouhier.
« In the villages, the terminals are generally easy to spot because they are often on the square of the town hall or a church. Residents usually have enough to charge their electric vehicles at home. This means that the equipment in the public space is little used. It was operational whenever I needed it “, he rejoices again.
« In large cities, the number of terminals is often insufficient, among other difficulties. In Bern, for example, that of the youth hostel had never been activated, the next one was inaccessible because in a street under construction, and that of the hotel where I went next did not work “, he illustrates.
« In Brest, the first terminal was out of service, another was in an industrial area with nothing around. It was in Bordeaux that I experienced the worst, with the first 8 terminals occupied or non-functional. There was even one more with a Marechal plug [NDLR : Utilisable avec les VE de 1996 à 2002 équipés de batterie nickel-cadmium] “, he laments.
In stages of 300-400 km
« I advanced in stages of 300-400 km. The shortest, around 160 km, was between Montpellier and Alba-la-Romaine. And the longest: between Vannes and Bordeaux. The longest but also the hardest. I had planned 9 am for her, and finally arrived around 11 pm leaving in the morning at 10 am “, opposes Stanislas Gouhier.
« On the outskirts of Nantes, it went well. In Fouras, near La Rochelle, that of the hotel did not work. I managed to find one nearby. I arrived in Rochefort around 2 p.m. in the heat. I was only able to recharge at a power of 3 kW or instead of 12 “, he aligns.
« Then I went through an area less well equipped with terminals. I had to drive at 30 km/h to reach Lidl with 2 km of remaining autonomy. I was only able to start with the domestic socket. I stayed there for 2.5 hours while the store was closed “, he sees again.
With
« The bike behaved wonderfully on the road. It’s a real pleasure to drive this machine! Sometimes, at red lights, I was able to chat with bikers not really ready to go electric. But it was nice, with positive reviews. They asked me questions about range, charging, price, how it drives and how it feels on the handlebars », Marks Stanislas Gouhier with satisfaction.
« After an hour and a half on the saddle, we still want to land. Fortunately, this corresponds to the stops for recharging. I would gladly do such a trip again. If it was by car, it would be with a model with at least 300 km of autonomy on the highway. What I avoided with the motorcycle. These 300 km would allow me to ride about 2 hours before the break he reflects.
« I have the impression that, compared to the south, the north of France is better provided with terminals that I find spaced about twenty kilometers “, he encrypts. “ I advise those who have an electric motorcycle to try this adventure, preparing well in advance the stages to recharge and land concludes the young Swiss biker.
Cleanrider and I would like to thank Stanislas Gouhier very much for agreeing to answer our questions spontaneously and for sending us illustrative photos.