Tuesday, November 15 2011
This year saw the first real influx of electric motorcycles from European and American manufacturers with previous years seeing electrical offerings from Asian manufacturers alone. As such, the standard of production was significantly higher; past examples of electrical motorcycles from Asia have proved to be somewhat under-par in terms of performance and reliability. From an insurance perspective, the improvements in electric motorcycle production mean that electric bikes will be safer and sturdier – basically more worthy of a good insurance policy!
These new-generation electric motorcycles look pretty damn good as well, ranging from road racer good looks to cutesy vintage look scooters. So maybe it’s time we started giving electric motorcycles a real chance- after all they’re more eco-friendly. It seems that they’ve been around a while but are still struggling to catch on; perhaps this heightened Western interest in designing for the eco-friendly market will boost public interest and sales.
But there is one unanimous, burning question: what the hell do you do when your fancy new electric motorbike runs out of charge down some back-of-beyond country lane- miles from a petrol station, let alone somewhere you can charge a bike up. Well, we don’t have an answer to that tricky question, but they say time will tell, so let’s hope it does sooner rather than later.
Don’t get us wrong, there are multiple points on which we would give electric motorcycles an enthusiastic thumbs up: lower costs, less maintenance and a big green tick for environmental-friendly-ness. However, on big bugbear associated with electric motorbikes would have to be the fact that they’re almost entirely silent out on the roads. Bikers are already hard for car drivers to spot and taking away any noise which would signal their presence is just asking for more road accidents.
Basically, if EIMCA has shown a whole host of these motorbikes, then we’re interested to learn all about them. So has the affordable charm of an electric motorcycle tempted you yet? If you own an electric motorbike, let us know what it’s actually like to ride an electric machine- and any pros and cons you would flag up to potential buyers.
