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[Richard230]

Let me list the reasons I like electric motorcycles (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.
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 the reasons that 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.)   

[gasdive]

That's most points.

Pro.
You can hear the cars around you better (which is the flip side to loud pipes save lives).  I find that gives me better situational awareness.

They don't stink when they're parked (as well as the previous point about them not stinking when you ride them) which means I could have bought a house without a garage for much less (had I known before hand) and saved more than the cost of the electric bike.  I can bring it inside like my bicycle.

They start a lot of conversations (this might go in the "con" list as easily as the "pro"

Cons

I worry about the life of the batteries (long term life)

=:)

[electricdominic]

Let me list the reasons I like electric motorcycles (in no particular order):

1.  They are quiet.
...snip...


Now, here are the reasons that I don't like electric motorcycles (again, in no particular order);

1.  They are too quiet to save lives.
...snip...

Has anyone come up with a sound system for an electric to be loud enough to save lives?

[Richard230]

Stick around, your Government is working on it.   

[rider728]

I wonder if the loud/quiet safety debate will turn into the e-Moto equivalent of the helmet debate that continues to divide the conventional Moto world.  Would hearing aids be required while driving for those with hearing impairments?  Will we be required to waste battery power on noise amplification? 

[Richard230]

I wonder if the loud/quiet safety debate will turn into the e-Moto equivalent of the helmet debate that continues to divide the conventional Moto world.  Would hearing aids be required while driving for those with hearing impairments?  Will we be required to waste battery power on noise amplification? 

I think we should check with the Supreme Court about those questions.   

[CliC]

I can park it _inside_ my apartment

(The real advantage of this being, of course, that since I don't have to go to a storage facility to retrieve my bike, as I had to do with my Road King, I will be riding much more often.)

Besides, the look on peoples' faces when you twist the throttle and just roll silently away, like Harry Potter on two wheels, is priceless.

[ed5000]

Pro:
No war needed to keep the gas tank full and less money flowing out of country.

[Vertigo1]

For noise, just put a card up against the wheel spokes