Let me list the advantages of riding an electric motorcycle (in no particular order):
1. They are quiet.
2. They don't need to be warmed up before you can ride off.
3. You don't need a choke and another electric motor to get them started.
4. They don't stink when running.
5. They are very quiet.
6. They require very little maintenance.
7. They are cheap to run.
8. The government likes them too (at least for now).
9. Small children can touch them without being burned.
10. You no longer have to figure out how to change your oil and filter without making a big mess.
11. You no longer need to learn how to use a clutch properly.
12. You no longer have to figure out what gear you are in (with apologies to Brammo's future model plans) .
13. You no longer have to polish the toes of your riding boots twice as often as your street shoes.
14. You no longer have to visit gas stations or worry about the next price increase. (Gas went up another 10 cents a gallon today.)
15. You no longer have to worry if your gasoline will turn to gunk if you don't ride every couple of weeks, or if ethanol will damage your motor.
16. You no longer have to worry about acids building up in your crankcase and eating your bearings.
17. Putting the bike in storage for the winter and getting it back on the road again in the spring takes minutes, instead of hours.
Now here are some reasons why I don't like electric motorcycles (again, in no particular order);
1. They are too quiet to save lives.
2. Your motorcycle dealer's service department is going to go broke.
3. Your electrical power bill is going to go up (especially in CA, where the more power you use, the more you pay per kWh).
4. You no longer want to participate in oil threads and the merits of synthetic oil.
5. There are not enough after-market accessories for them yet.
6. Tire sizes are a little strange.
7. Your dealer likely knows less about your bike than you do.
8. Electric motorcycles cost twice as much as a similar IC motorcycle.
9. Range remains an issue and when you twist the throttle you wonder if it is better to go faster or further.
10. Electric motorcycle forums and few and far between.
Can you add to this list?
(I might add that when speaking with other motorcyclists about my electric motorcycle, the one thing they worry about (even more than range or top speed) is its lack of noise and how that makes (in their minds) the vehicle dangerous to ride in traffic. Naturally I disagree, but that does seem to be the big concern of the riders that I have talked to.)
