Letters in response to Cycle World magazine's April issue

[Richard230]

In response to the April 2011 issue of Cycle World, in which Steve Anderson wote a long article about the future of electric motorcycles, Noah Podolefsky, of Boulder, CO, had his letter printed in the June issue of Cycle World. Here is what he had to say:

I was really happy to see you featuring elmotos (as we call them). While the piece was pretty balanced, it was definitely discouraging. Most of all, I think it missed the point.
   Here’s an example: comparing the weight of gas to the weight of batteries isn’t really that useful. You have to look at the weight of the whole system. This simple gas to batteries comparison only serves as a way of highlighting that electrics are still way way off from ICE bikes. And, with all due respect, that is the problem with the whole article. It's all about comparing elmotos and ICEs. I understand why that happens, but that’s not really how we in the electric motorcycle culture see it.
   Last year, CW had a piece about the Falcon Kestrel (October, 2010). How fast and far does it go? Not a word about that in the article - it was (rightly) all about the ingenuity, creativity, and passion that went into the build. The Kestrel is a thing of beauty to those that appreciate it for what it is. You’d never compare it to a GSX-R 750 or a Speed Triple – if you did, people would correctly point out that you just didn’t get it.
   So here’s my suggestion for your next article - get up to speed on what really motivates our movement (and it is a movement). Sure, we love to see Chip Yates put it to ICE bikes, and if the Mission R ever makes it to production we’ll be ecstatic. But that's not really what drives us. I hope you’ll see that the heart and soul of an electric motorcycle isn’t the batteries. It’s the history, the challenge, and most of all the people.

In response, the editor of Cycle World said this:

Noah, Steve Anderson did compare the weight of the "whole system", stating that it would be possible for an entire electric powertrain to match or be slightly heavier than sportbike or racing engines, if you only include a gallon of gasoline's energy capacity. We stated the differences between ICE and electric motorcycles because they actually are still way, way off.

This response was followed by a letter from Will Allen, who chimed in as follows:

Hey guys! I think Steve Anderson forgot one word in the title of his feature article in the April issue. It should've been "Electric Motorcycles Suck". Oh, and they're ugly, too, especially that Chip Yates/SWIGZ machine.  (Will has been drinking a little moonshine in Brentwood, Tennessee.)

That outburst was followed by a long letter (titled "Another Plug") from Brian Richardson of Moto Electra Racing, Blue Grass, Virginia, who commented that he thinks that Cycle World is missing the point. He says that they "should test a high-performance electric bike based on fun factor alone". Brian offered their 130 mph Moto-Electra Racing bike for the editors to test and "wring out until she busts her Zener diode" -  provided they do it "in the name of fun". He also comments that their motorcycle, "with Thad Wolff in the saddle, won the first-ever officially sanctioned Gas vs Electric race at Barber Motorsports Park on October 9, 2010, in front of a record-setting crowd (sorry, Chip)".

These letters are in the "HotShots" section of the magazine, on page 28, which includes a cartoon about electric motorcycles, showing an electric motorcycle with a 250 yard extension cord attached to the luggage rack, like a water hose.

[Brammofan]

Great write-up, thanks Richard!

[webman]

Thanks for posting the letters.  I've been a subscriber to CW since 1992, and have always liked their writing & reporting, but I agree, they're on the wrong side in this one.  I think as the bikes improve, the reporting will become less biased.  Having said that, their article in the same issue on developments at Zero was quite positive, as has been their reporting on Zero's dirtbikes over the last two years.  They were also one of the first print mags to do a full review of the Enertia.  I think it's cool that Motorcyclist also devoted an entire issue to electric bikes; perhaps as more people see good products available, we'll continue to see minds changed in the 'old-school' print media.

[Richard230]

A skeptic might think that electric motorcycle articles might become more positive when electric motorcycle advertising increases in the magazines. However, the truth is that electric motorcycles have received a lot of generally positive press, even though the advertising dollars received by the magazines have been minimal at best. I give both Cycle World and Motorcyclist a lot of credit for following the progress of street-legal production and racing motorcycle development and providing several in-depth articles regarding this transportation and sporting advancement.