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[Richard230]

I just finished listening to a 30-minute radio interview on my local SF Bay Area radio station regarding the future of electric vehicles in California.  Not once were motorcycles mentioned. Which reminded me that I have been following the electric motorcycle industry since 2007 and in all of that time I have never heard electric motorcycles mentioned even once on a public radio of TV broadcast station. Even politicians, who sometimes like to complain about ICE motorcycle noise, never suggest that buying an electric motorcycle would solve that issue for your neighborhood. I also can't recall ever seeing an ad in a magazine or on the internet, unless it was a motorcycle-specific venue or program.

It makes me wonder how the electric motorcycle industry is ever going to expand to a point where it becomes popular with the public if no one outside the industry ever hears about the advantages of riding and owning an electric motorcycle, even if it is just for commuting?

[TheRan]

But do you see gas bikes being mentioned? I'm always seeing advertisements and news for both gas and electric cars, I don't remember the last time I saw anything to do with gas bikes that wasn't from something with a focus on bikes (website, magazine, etc.).

[DonTom]

I just finished listening to a 30-minute radio interview on my local SF Bay Area radio station regarding the future of electric vehicles in California.  Not once were motorcycles mentioned. Which reminded me that I have been following the electric motorcycle industry since 2007 and in all of that time I have never heard electric motorcycles mentioned even once on a public radio of TV broadcast station. Even politicians, who sometimes like to complain about ICE motorcycle noise, never suggest that buying an electric motorcycle would solve that issue for your neighborhood. I also can't recall ever seeing an ad in a magazine or on the internet, unless it was a motorcycle-specific venue or program.

It makes me wonder how the electric motorcycle industry is ever going to expand to a point where it becomes popular with the public if no one outside the industry ever hears about the advantages of riding and owning an electric motorcycle, even if it is just for commuting?

When electric motorcycles are mentioned to ICE rider in reviews where comments can be left, we usually then read about how stupid electric motorcycles are, with their limited range, long charge times and such.


Perhaps it is best for them to not mention electric motorcycles. Those who are interested will know they exist anyway.



-Don-  Reno, NV

[Stonewolf]

You know what one of the most common comments I get is?

"I didn't know they made those"

[flynnstig82r]

It’s true that most people still don’t know about EM’s, but I started hearing about Zero in the early 2010’s before I had any interest in powered two-wheelers of any kind, and if it weren’t for electrics, I never would have been interested in motorcycles at all.

I think EM’s will become like gas scooters in North America, most people are dimly aware of them but never really think about them until they know someone who has one. Then it kind of smacks a few of them in the face that it’s stupid to drive around in 2 tons of metal just to get a gallon of milk, and they could be saving money and having a lot more fun.

[princec]

Alas the "saving money" part is pure fiction at this point (and has been even with ICE bikes for many years now).

Cas

[DonTom]

You know what one of the most common comments I get is?

"I didn't know they made those"

"Is that electric?" Is another common one.  Once while I was coming back to my parked Zero a guy asked me how many CCs my bike is.  I said "exactly 0.00 CCs". Then I told him it was electric. Many people still have not seen electric motorcycles.


-Don-  Reno, NV

[princec]

This is hardly surprising of course, as they are exactly twice as expensive as they should be, so nobody buys them. All that muttering and grumbling about range and charging time is a red herring. It's all about the price.

Cas

[Richard230]

One other thing that I thought of last night is that none of the motorcycle brand forums that I frequent are supported by ads on the forum. Not even BMW will post an ad on any of the many BMW enthusiast motorcycle forums that I have visited to help support it, much less any EM brand. You would think that a little advertising revenue from the major EM brands would help to keep the forums afloat. But that does not seem to be the case.   

[Fran K]

One other thing that I thought of last night is that none of the motorcycle brand forums that I frequent are supported by ads on the forum. Not even BMW will post an ad on any of the many BMW enthusiast motorcycle forums that I have visited to help support it, much less any EM brand. You would think that a little advertising revenue from the major EM brands would help to keep the forums afloat. But that does not seem to be the case.   

Just a tidbit of information for you.  BMW owned the Husqvarna motorcycle brand for a while and in that time era they bought the internet forum huskytalk.  It was pretty deserted at that point as the traffic had mostly moved on to cafehusky.  It was much more street bike oriented than before they bought it.  I am not sure what will happen if I go to huskytalk now.

Edit:  I just went there and guess who was the last poster?  at least on the page that showed up.  Kind of confusing 190 or so folks on there no actual members and 2022 seems last posting.  I can't find where I stored my user name and password.

[TheRan]

BMW advertising on a BMW forum seems a little redundant, and other brands taking out adverts on that forum would perhaps not be the best idea. Anyone on a beemer forum already has a bike, knows all about their other models, and keeps up to date on actually news sites. What I would expect to see and would be a good idea is parts manufacturers taking out adverts.

[flynnstig82r]

Alas the "saving money" part is pure fiction at this point (and has been even with ICE bikes for many years now).

Cas

I was talking about small-displacement gas scooters in that post, but I would argue that most motorcycles (gas or electric) are cheaper to own than most cars over a 10 year period, even if the purchase price is higher. My FJR’s main expense is tires, everything else is dirt cheap. When I owned a car, it cost me almost $600 per month when you added everything up and it was a Honda Fit, about the most economical car you can own. Might be different in the UK, but in California there’s no comparison. If you’re on 2 wheels and not 4, you’re saving a lot of money.

[princec]

Unfortunately I've run the numbers through my spreadsheet of doom, and motorcycles do not come out of it well. It seems the price of travelling a mile roughly all ends up levelling off to the most that the entire transport industry reckons it can get away with and not lose business (including train travel for example here in the UK - which is no cheaper than any other form of transport).

Some numbers (cost-per-mile, pence):

Zero SR/F	0.83
CB500F	0.35
Ioniq 5	0.81
RAV4 Hybrid	0.64
MG Z	0.65
KTM 1290 SuperDuke	0.80
BMW 1300GS	0.67

The only one that's radically cheaper as a way to get around is the CB500F. More shocking is that the SR/F costs more per mile to run than the Ioniq 5 and KTM 1290.

Figures based on 5 years ownership, 10k miles a year in the cards, 5k miles a year on the bikes, 50 year old with 10+ years NCD and clean licence living in a rural area in South West England.

It should probably noted the lion's share of the cost-per-mile is depreciation...

Cas

[flynnstig82r]

I’m not surprised that the bikes don’t look good in your comparison since the cars are able to spread the fixed costs across twice as many miles per year. If you set them equal, it might be more favorable to the bikes. The most economical car I’ve ever owned was a 2015 Honda Fit, and the FJR is about $50/month cheaper including the cost of riding gear, tire changes, etc.

[princec]

Well therein lies the problem ... the majority of people I think already have a car, and will therefore only do a smaller proportion of their annual mileage on the bike. 10k miles a year in a car is normal in the UK, and 5k miles on the bike is actually slightly above average... and unfortunately with those figures, bikes work out pretty much as expensive as cars. This sort of blows the "cheaper to get around on" message out of the water and then you've lost a large part of the interesting newsworthy angle of motorcycles as useful or practical means of transport for a lot of people. The market has created these conditions by more or less making motorcycles too expensive in various ways, relegating them to toys.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Dacia Spring. Granted it's a bit of a crap car, but it costs less than a Zero SR, and its battery is nearly twice the size. Now that's newsworthy. If they can make an entire car with a much bigger battery cheaper than an SR, why can't Zero make bikes for half the price and still turn a decent profit...?

Cas