Yesterday I received my January 2011 issue of Motorcyclist Magazine today (my how time flies). The feedback from their electric motorcycle issue has hit their MC Mail section on page 30 (should you want to check it out at the newsstand). Most of the letters were generally positive, although none of the responses specifically mentioned the Brammo. Seven letters were printed and here is a summary.
The first letter was from Eddie Cruz of San Antonio, TX. Eddie said that he liked the concept of electric motorcycles, but would prefer to keep his IC bikes. Mark Kaplan was blown away by the depth of their coverage and felt that electric motorcycles were the wave of the future, but was concerned about their lack of noise and that he might get "gonad cancer" from riding one.
Al Smith III is a "firm and enthusiastic supporter of the traction toward greener pastures". Daniel Fontaine of Dover, NH felt that "electric motorcycles will stay novelties for quite some time". John Lacko wished that more of the issue's pages were devoted to the Roehr e-bike, instead of Michael Czysz's exploits, who he describes as being a "technological lab-rat" who is "waiting for someone to buy him out".
Bob Leone and I thanked the magazine for the great issue and asked them why the EMS GPR-S was not mentioned. A photo of my EMS GPR-S was printed next to my letter.
And so there you have it. All in all not too bad in the way of responses and no real flaming about electric motorcycles going on from the internal combustion crowd.