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[Low On Cash]

Great post - thanks for sharing your thoughts. In a nutshell, if you’re going to buy an electric bike then regardless of how hard it is for some of us to accept, we have to grasp the fact that we're buying an electric bike because of our interest in electric and not for the fact that you’re going to make any impression on air quality or saving the planet, so let's leave out all the political crap that's circulating about global warming because our contributions mean almost nothing when looking at the big picture.  With comparing the current low cost of gasoline, to the high electric cost in some states, it actually cost more to charge your bike with electric than a comparison cost of a gas bike. Next, throw in the the new gas tax and we’re paying much more than our Ice powered bikes.

As you outlined - you really have to want an electric bike to buy a Zero for the plain fact they deathly expensive in comparison to an Ice bike. Bottom line the most important thing is that your happy with your purchase, if you’re happy and can afford to pay the price then you’re good to go! 

[JaimeC]

Great post - thanks for sharing your thoughts. In a nutshell, if you’re going to buy an electric bike then regardless of how hard it is for some of us to accept, we have to grasp the fact that we're buying an electric bike because of our interest in electric and not for the fact that you’re going to make any impression on air quality or saving the planet, so let's leave out all the political crap that's circulating about global warming because our contributions mean almost nothing when looking at the big picture.  With comparing the current low cost of gasoline, to the high electric cost in some states, it actually cost more to charge your bike with electric than a comparison cost of a gas bike. Next, throw in the the new gas tax and we’re paying much more than our Ice powered bikes.

As you outlined - you really have to want an electric bike to buy a Zero for the plain fact they deathly expensive in comparison to an Ice bike. Bottom line the most important thing is that your happy with your purchase, if you’re happy and can afford to pay the price then you’re good to go!

I'm not too sure where you're getting your "facts" BUT even though they may be more expensive to purchase up front, over the life of the bike it will cost a LOT less than an ICE bike.  No spark plugs, no valves, no filters, no oil, no coolant, no clutch, no gaskets... none of those things that are routinely replaced at frequent intervals on an ICE bike.  Also, I don't know where you get the idea that electrical energy costs more per mile than gasoline because that is just plain DEAD wrong.  Even for those of us who DON'T produce their own power via solar panels, the electrical cost per mile is substantially less than the cost per mile for gasoline.

[Richard230]

There is currently a bill working its way through the California legislature that would charge electric vehicles an additional $165 per year, over and above the normal expensive vehicle yearly registration fee, in an effort to recoup what EV's are not paying in gasoline tax.  Naturally, there appears to be no exemption for electric motorcycles, even though they travel many fewer miles than most electric cars and cause less damage to the roads than just about anything other than a bicycle.  I once calculated how much gas tax I pay for one of my IC motorcycles each year, based upon 5,000 miles and I figured it was about $38 a year.  So if this law passes us electric motorcycle owners are really going to get screwed financially.  And not having the 10% EV IRS credit is not helping, either.   

[ultrarnr]

Richard230,

Taxing EVs is becoming more and more common. I live in North Carolina which started out with a $100.00 EV tax that was paid when you renewed your registration. That has since been raised to $130.00. But now some counties are starting an EV tax. I heard from the guy who bought my 2014 SR and his county now has a $30.00 EV tax. So when he renewed his registration he had $160.00 of EV specific tax to pay. It sucks but any opportunity to tax something is rarely missed by legislatures.

[Richard230]

I really don't mind being taxed for using public highways, I just want the system to be fair, equal for everyone, and equivalent to the wear and tear caused by the vehicle.  But, course that would be asking for a miracle. 

[dvdt]

There is currently a bill working its way through the California legislature that would charge electric vehicles an additional $165 per year, over and above the normal expensive vehicle yearly registration fee, in an effort to recoup what EV's are not paying in gasoline tax.  Naturally, there appears to be no exemption for electric motorcycles,

Could you list the California bill? I would like to write my CA assembly rep to advocate for a fair burden sharing.

[KrazyEd]

I am sure that I have mentioned this in previous posts, but, FAIR won't be an option when it comes to the neanderthals doing the bills.
A " FAIR " option would be to charge by miles driven. REALLY fair would be to add wheels and weight into the equation. They will just
add an arbitrary figure of several hundred dollars so, if you put on a thousand miles a day in your Model X towing an Airstream, or
500 miles a year on your FXs, you will pay the same. I doubt that Zero has the $$$ to buy politicians.

[Richard230]

There is currently a bill working its way through the California legislature that would charge electric vehicles an additional $165 per year, over and above the normal expensive vehicle yearly registration fee, in an effort to recoup what EV's are not paying in gasoline tax.  Naturally, there appears to be no exemption for electric motorcycles,

Could you list the California bill? I would like to write my CA assembly rep to advocate for a fair burden sharing.

Unfortunately, my information comes from a newspaper article that was published last month, along with some talk about the proposal on the radio. However, no bill designation was provided. So I don't know if the proposed law has been formally submitted or if they are still working out the details with the Governor's office and it is a "trial balloon".  I bet that when it is submitted (if it hasn't been already) and voted on, details will be hard to come buy as increasing vehicle registration is not something that is looked upon favorably by most middle-class residents of California.     Plus, doing something to penalize electric car owners is going to affect a lot of the major vehicle brands and they have a lot more influence with the legislature than Zero does.

[Manzanita]

Well I just posted my 2014 S on Craigslist for sale (and here). I just took a 50k cut in pay to do work I am more excited about... so something has to go; also, with a 100 mile range, I can just barely get to the fun roads around here, I am dead center in the Sacramento valley and all the fun roads are in the hills, out of range.

What I find interesting is that KBB lists my year model as $10,375 without the power tank, I have listed it as $8800 with the power tank, and although it's been posted only 2 days, I have gotten zero responses. But really that's not surprising; at this price range I imagine it is just waiting to find the right buyer. But if I can sell it for something close to my asking price, I'll be happy. Does my price seem reasonable? All in all, I do not regret buying the bike, and will recoup enough hopefully to have a few K to buy a track bike or something fun. 

[Shadow]

@Manzanita it is the middle of winter here.  Would fast charging help make your bike more usable?

[NEW2elec]

+1 to what Shadow said.
It's a bad time of year to try to sale a motorcycle.  But I would say put it in Cycle Trader as well because a good priced Zero is worth the $400 or $500 shipping cross country.  Good luck.

[JaimeC]

Keep in mind you're also going to be competing with BRAND NEW Victory Empulse TTs that are being blown out the door for under $8,000 these days...

[NEW2elec]

But the TT stands for Ticking Time bomb.

[Duskfire]

But the TT stands for Ticking Time bomb.

Bahahaha +1


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NEW2elec]

Dusk I'm glad you got my humor but I did feel a little bad about that statement so for the record.

I'm not happy that Polaris bought up Brammo and put them in with a company they were going to drop.  I hope they keep this line of bikes but if they don't then it's tricky when you know they might not be covered after a few years.
 I prefer Zero but all quality bikes are welcome.  The TT is a good bike but maybe bad company support.