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[Richard230]

If you are interested in such things, there is a 3-page article, starting on page 40 of the October issue of Motorcyclist magazine, where each of six magazine staff ride the 2013 11.4 kWh Zero S and provide their comments.  Everyone was very impressed by the bike and enjoyed riding it.  The 2013 Zero S received 4.5 stars on their 5 star rating system.  However it lost half a star due to its high initial purchase price that they felt could not be recovered by its low maintenance and running costs, compared with a similar performing IC motorcycle. 

[kensiko]

Price is still high, but it will definitely get lower in the next years, the main cost in the battery and mass production will continue to grow.

[grindz145]

Thanks for posting, I just logged into my digital subscription and had a read. Since I've started getting the magazine digitally I always seem to forget I have new issue.

The article is really positive. However, motorcyclist has been really vanilla for a while IMO. I haven't read an overly critical review in years. That said, you can see the shift. I believe that everyone is really excited about the electric riding experience.

By my estimation, it takes about 40k miles to make up for the price differential currently. I understand that most people don't put that kind of mileage on a motorcycle, but in that case, why are you bothering to buy one at all? All the while there is less maintenance (in theory at least) to detract from the riding experience. I think that the cost of ownership premium is overstated, and the true costs to run a gas bike are often forgotten. Especially if you're the type to have your bike serviced at the dealer every time, which isn't a bad idea for many people. In the end, it's just hard to compare an electric bike side-by-side to a gas bike, especially on paper. They're just so different in so many ways.