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[NoiseBoy]

Jersey is probably the greatest place in the world for electric vehicles.  45 square miles, VERY low average speeds due to congestion and generally high household income. We have the highest ratio of cars to people in the world I believe.  All our power is imported from nuclear stations in France via undersea cable.  The Nissan Leaf is slowly gaining popularity but the Renault dealer hasn't sold a single Zoe (which I can't understand because its absolutely fantastic).

Despite all this when I asked the treasury about rebates for EV's they said they considered it but decided not to because it would give an unfair advantage to Jersey Electricity as they are the only electricity supplier in the island. That is ridiculous anyway because who does it inconvenience when they are the only supplier? The petrol/gas stations?  But then consider that Jersey Electricity is 51% owned by the government!  The phrase, cutting off your nose to spite your face comes to mind.  The mind boggles.

[MostlyBonkers]

I got in touch with Streetbike. They've currently got a couple of ZF9's for sale. Jason told me that Zero only sold 20 bikes in the UK during the 18 months they were here and only two of them were registered north of London!  I'm staggered! It's no surprise they've knocked it on the head. I also tried emailing Dan Lynch from Zero who I made contact with last year. He was was very helpful. I just got an undeliverable message back. I hope things are going better for Zero in the states and Europe.

[Justin Andrews]

British motorcyclists are notoriously conservative on the whole, plus entering the UK during a recession with a bike in the upper price bracket was really unlucky.

My gut feeling is that electric vehicles in the UK (both cars and bikes) will remain a tough sell for some time to come, due to the "Clarkson" factor... 

[MostlyBonkers]

I think you've hit the nail on the head there Justin. The weather last summer can't have helped either. I wish I had more time to investigate the government subsidy side of things. There are some strong feelings being aired here on the subject.

Maybe BMW will have more success with their new electric scooter. Scooter riders are generally commuters rather than bikers. I can see an electric scooter appealing to some of the mockneys living around Islington and Shoreditch. It would get them off their polluting two strokes too!

[mikeisted]

Just checking in as a UK owner.  Traded chat with a few on the =<2012 forum.  I'm delighted with my ZF9, but cannot get any sense out of Dutch distributer or Street bike regarding spares.  Happy to go without dealer support, however, as long as we can share know how.  All the best.

[MostlyBonkers]

Hi Mike, I'm really surprised that you haven't had any luck with Streetbike.  Who did you speak to? Ask for Jason, Alex or Charles. It's also worth mentioning the forum. I'll be very surprised if they can't help you and I highly recommend giving them another try. Here's the URL in case you tried the wrong people by accident:

http://www.streetbike.co.uk

Please let us know how you get on. Justin has a good relationship with them, so he might be another angle. I was very impressed by their attitude and Jason has been a star. By all means mention me (Tom). I test rode their 2012 DS with them a few weeks ago.

[mikeisted]

Thanks for the encouragement!  I'll persevere.