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[Richard230]

"Haters" is probably too strong of a word, but: This weekend I attended a public discussion with two well-known, longtime motorcycle magazine free-lance contributors and industry insiders, along with a lady who rides motorcycles all over the world. The topic was about motorcycles and the industry in general - these people being somewhat "in the know".  So naturally I brought up the subject of electric motorcycles and things got negative very quickly. 

It should be no surprise that I was told in no uncertain terms that electric motorcycles don't have a future, they can't go very far, take too long to charge, if electric vehicles were really popular they would crash the country's electric power grid and they cause more damage to the environment and more pollution than do ICE powered motorcycles. The two authors were just about jumping out of their chairs during this tirade and their faces were getting red, so I decided that it was best if I just nodded and dropped the subject. 

I might add that one of these speakers works for a major Japanese motorcycle company in their U.S. quality-control division. 

If this is any indication how the Japanese motorcycle companies feel about electric motorcycles, I guess Zero, Energica, BMW and maybe H-D will have the market all to themselves for quite a while. 

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I have definitely been cataloging the tense emotional investment that electric motorcycles bring out. It can be bizarrely rabid, and I generally suggest "show, don't tell" around our topic as a result.

That is, I'd like us to make sure our bikes present well, and to lead any discussion with a presentation of the bikes actually accomplishing things. The emotional defensiveness seems to relate to "people taking away what I love", and honestly they're not exactly wrong.

One reason I contribute to zeromanual.com despite it being mostly unpleasant and unrewarding is that I think that owners deserve serviceability and the manufacturers will not grant it to us willingly, for a combination of legal reasons and classist-BS surrounding the way engineers, technicians, and the general public are divided around vehicles and power electronics.

I think incumbents are not wrong to feel that EVs are kind of a lock-out compared to the internal combustion engine vehicles we've been using for 100 years now. Circuit boards, power electronics, and computerized black boxes with communications networks do not have a democratized and healthy ecosystem around them.

I'd like to defuse that problem and also the related issue of the public not understanding how much energy we've been wasting, which relates to aerodynamics and discussions of the power grid load. Just because we can burn gasoline without invoking the power grid directly, we think we can cheat thermodynamics.

The public has to grapple with physics, and manufacturers have to grapple with serviceability.

[Fran K]

Pretty sure Honda has a battery car and Yamaha will be competing in the two electric trials events this coming season.  I also think Honda and Yamaha have a partnership for small urban type two wheel electric vehicles for other parts of the world.

I would take it electric motorcycle means battery to these folks.  And a battery that can not be removed and replaced with another charged one.  Not liquid fuel burned with air and a battery and electric drive.  Vespa seems the only manufacturer to bring this to market and their gas tank is less than a gallon.

Motorcycles and the industry in general,  I would think there is more than enough motorcycles already produced so that selling more new ones they need be better or different.

The business of being environmentally responsible is kind of hard to justify what with all the electricity used to mine cryptocurrency and the growth industry of recreational space travel.  At least the way I see things at this time.

[Stevie]

First of all there are plenty of people in the industry that not only think Ebikes have a place but are the future. The guy that owns the shop where I got my DS inspected is one. He was jazzed when I came in and even more so when I let him ride it down the road and back. HE said that electric bikes ARE the future. Except for a few Harley guys every rider who sees it seems enthusiastic.

Second, I started riding in 1971 with a 650 Triumph and have owned a series of Honda 550 and 750s. Loved all of them and at that stage of my life they were a good fit. In my 20s I thought nothing of doing 400 miles two days in a row. At 65 I'm fine with 100 or less.

Charging time? Charging overnight doesn't count since I'm in bed asleep. I have a charge tank and most of my stops are around 1/2 hour. I can do that standing on my head.

Bottom line is that at this stage of my life I couldn't be happier with what I'm riding. The quiet, good performance, and lack of maintenance are things I really enjoy. I no longer work and don't commute but if I did I'd ride the Zero before anything else.

Do I miss having a gearbox? Not any more.

I may pick up a 750 Guzzi before I croak. Always wanted one after riding one for a day thirty years ago. But if I have to only have one bike it would be the '18 Zero DS that I have now.

[togo]

these manufactures won't make real progress while they still are trying to sell fossil fuel vehicles.

Only once internal combustion engines are outlawed in a couple important jurisdictions, only then will they be forced to compete. That's when I expect BMW, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki to get Beyond concept vehicles.

[MostlyBonkers]

With motorcycling, I think it always boils down to freedom. Bikers who have spent decades enjoying the open road, touring different countries and making the most of that freedom, just feel threatened.  The red mist descends as soon as we start talking about range and charging. They just want to splash and dash and I can't blame them.  It'll only be a few years before the range and charging problems are fixed. They'll come round when they realise that low running costs give them freedom. The lack of engine noise gives a sense of freedom and tranquility of sorts. They'll love and embrace electric motorcycles when they are developed enough.  They already recognise that electric bikes are the future. They're just not ready to give up on the freedoms they currently enjoy until electric bikes can improve on them.

[Badness]

I'm one of those guys whose ridden for Harleys for decades and is impatient for the future of the HD e-bike the Livwire.
And seriously the massive majority of the guys on the HD forums are not the same they will deride and belittle any E-bike offering or readable tech.That's probably the hardest audience to crack though so I spose it's not representative , I really hope it's not.
 Unfortunately a lot of it is driven down political lines as in my country our current governing incumbents are coal funded,ignorant and stuck in the past. They will be ejected at the next election I believe and probably be almost destroyed as a political entity.These imbeciles poo poo renewables but the only two states in my country that are forcing runaway power prices down have no coal power stations , how's that for just being plain effing stupid politically. There was a by-election held recently and the seat had been held for 66 years by these clowns and got voted out,basically annihilated as a political force and the fellow that won heads the local Renewable energy body as well as writing columns about it in many media outlets.
 So yea the hate is real but better outcomes are not too far away.

[Apriliarsv]

My gas bike is a 2018. I plan on buying electric soon.
My gas bike will be relegated to long distance or friend is over bike to ride.
I was interested in zero but I have a hard time seeing them as a real motorcycle.
I see them as belonging in the toy department. my problem
I can't wait to see Zero's new bike. But I will not buy it.

[Badness]

not a toy.

[DonTom]

My gas bike is a 2018. I plan on buying electric soon.
My gas bike will be relegated to long distance or friend is over bike to ride.
I was interested in zero but I have a hard time seeing them as a real motorcycle.
I see them as belonging in the toy department. my problem
I can't wait to see Zero's new bike. But I will not buy it.

When I  purchased my first electric, it was the 2017 Zero DS ZF 6.5. I was thinking it would be a "toy". It ended up being my most used motorcycle out of nine total. It somehow even takes the place of my cars for most shorter trips. I will ride the Zero even when I would not even think about taking an ICE motorcycle for a short run.

I also take this bike on all my  RV trips as it's light enough to carry on a dirt bike ramp on the hitch. It can safely use the motor to get itself up the hitch. No clutch and very good throttle response at very slow speeds  makes it very easy to get up on the ramp, unlike any ICE bike.

I enjoy this bike so much, I bought the 2017 Zero SR with Power Tank for my Auburn house where it's all pavement and is great for all day rides in the foothills.

I only ride my ICE  bikes when I expect I will ride well more than  100 miles or so. I find most of my rides are much shorter.

Anyway, I find them to be practical for most short trips, not just a "toy".

-Don-  Reno, NV

[Apriliarsv]

Reading about  the problems people are having led me to the "toy department" feelings.

[DonTom]

Reading about  the problems people are having led me to the "toy department" feelings.

There is no such thing as a motorcycle forum where you're not going to be reading about problems. Same with car forums. Brand and model makes very little difference.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[Richard230]

Reading about  the problems people are having led me to the "toy department" feelings.

There is no such thing as a motorcycle forum where you're not going to be reading about problems. Same with car forums. Brand and model makes very little difference.

-Don-  Reno, NV

I concur from personal experience. On most motorcycle forums, complaints and service questions seem to make up about half of the posts.

[Apriliarsv]

I am more interested in the type of problems than the quantity of problem posts.

[Richard230]

I am more interested in the type of problems than the quantity of problem posts.

I would say that the greatest number of complaints relate to Zero's lack of after-sales customer service inquires and their lack of responding to electrical issues encountered by their customers that can't be resolved by their retail dealers. It seems to me that the greatest number of issues that people are having lately have to do with firmware updates on the 2016 and earlier model years causing problems that they didn't have before the updates. Perhaps others will have more observations regarding your question.