Welcome, Michael!
I do hope you realize you already have the rest of us green with envy....you have a wife that wants you to have an SR even more than you want one!
There's nothing wrong with "pretty" and "red", but you'll find these are two of the least of the charms of the SR. Quiet, reliable, extremely cheap to run, pushing a critical technology forward, these are all great too, but still maybe not at the top of my list. My favorite aspects of my (2014, so yours will be better on all counts) SR are:
3) Torque...but this is like no torque you've experienced. From a dead stop (maximum torque at 0 rpm vs. no torque at 0 rpm for an ICE) up through freeway speeds, there's no need to wonder how much torque you have available -- you have full torque available, period. You won't believe how much of an impact that has on your riding. There's torque, there's always torque.
2) Simplicity. This informs maintenance, operational ease, weight, cost, and many other factors. I've performed belt tightenings, check my tire pressure regularly, and stay on top of my brake pads. Oh, and brake fluid. There's not much else to do except ride the bike. No fuel or oil filters, no ignition system, no intake/carburetion, no exhaust, whole systems that don't exist and therefore can't wear out or malfunction.
1) This is largely a result of number 3), but it's the thing I've come to love most about my bike. It's sheer responsiveness. If you're in the second lane of the freeway, and you realize your offramp is coming up, but there's a truck in your way, roll it on. You'll get there better than just about any other vehicle. The always-there torque is a huge factor, of course, but so is the complete lack of throttle lag. EV owners never have conversations about "throttle response", because the concept doesn't exist for EVs. The SR is a quick-steering bike, with a responsive steering geometry (though it's stable enough for freeway comfort), and that magical throttle response means the bike just about reads your mind.
Notice I never mentioned clean air, the carbon cycle, or inconvenient truths about frogs in boiling water. Those are all great, but I'm a motorcyclist, and for me, it's all about the ride. So I say, let the ride convince you. Throw a leg (or yours and your wife's) over one.
