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ChrisMKV · May 24th, 2014, 03:27 AM

I'd definitely not be opposed to having one of these, or an Empulse in the Garage! For a commuter or a short blast, an electric bike would be awesome and imho electric mobility will be driven by bikes first anyway, and not cars.

Virtually no maintenance, extremely low cost of ownership (tax excempts, insurance bonus for green vehicles, some pretty extensive governemental purchasing help/incentives here too) would make this a great machine for getting around.
The novelty value of riding electric adds as well.

The often cited initial buying price is of course the biggest obstacle to overcome. As adouglas said, when calculating the total cost of ownership over the bike's lifetime a gasoline-powered bike still looks better, at least for now.

Also considering the emotional factors - after all on a bike we love what some people would describe as noisy, smelly and vibey. Personally I like both the mechanical beating heart of a combustion engine, and the space age whine of the electric.

So, would I get an electric bike? I guess my answer would be yes, if
- I'd thave possibility to charge in the garage (currently not possible)
- The price was lower to make it more competitive with my 250/650 in terms of toc
- It would not be my only motorcycle.

All that said, it's absolutely mindblowing how far things have come in a few years. I believe for sure that the electric revolution of mobility will come from the bikes and not the cars. Just looking at the latest releases, in just a few years electric bikes have become almost equal to classic motorcycles, and in the next decade might just leave them in the dust completely...

May 24th, 2014, 03:27 AM	#26
ChrisMKV ninjette.org member Name: Chris Location: Luxembourg Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250, 2015 F800R Posts: 90	I'd definitely not be opposed to having one of these, or an Empulse in the Garage! For a commuter or a short blast, an electric bike would be awesome and imho electric mobility will be driven by bikes first anyway, and not cars. Virtually no maintenance, extremely low cost of ownership (tax excempts, insurance bonus for green vehicles, some pretty extensive governemental purchasing help/incentives here too) would make this a great machine for getting around. The novelty value of riding electric adds as well. The often cited initial buying price is of course the biggest obstacle to overcome. As adouglas said, when calculating the total cost of ownership over the bike's lifetime a gasoline-powered bike still looks better, at least for now. Also considering the emotional factors - after all on a bike we love what some people would describe as noisy, smelly and vibey. Personally I like both the mechanical beating heart of a combustion engine, and the space age whine of the electric. So, would I get an electric bike? I guess my answer would be yes, if - I'd thave possibility to charge in the garage (currently not possible) - The price was lower to make it more competitive with my 250/650 in terms of toc - It would not be my only motorcycle. All that said, it's absolutely mindblowing how far things have come in a few years. I believe for sure that the electric revolution of mobility will come from the bikes and not the cars. Just looking at the latest releases, in just a few years electric bikes have become almost equal to classic motorcycles, and in the next decade might just leave them in the dust completely...