It was my first experience with an electric motorcycle and I came away very impressed. First and foremost, the throttle response was awesome. I inadvertently engaged economy mode, not performance mode, but it was still quick. I like the linear acceleration - no intense acceleration at a particular RPM, just smooth, fast acceleration. It was very easy to maneuver at slow speeds due to the lack of a clutch and it was handled quite well on the limited sweepers and on-ramps we were able to hit. The wheels were absolutely beautiful but the front was only a single brake caliper. The brakes are regenerative and had quite a bit of drag when I left off the throttle. It was almost unnecessary to use either brake control unless I wanted to stop in a hurry. It was only a single seat, so it definitely wouldn't be good for someone that wanted a passenger.
The startup procedure was pretty straightforward. IIRC, hit the switch from stop to run and the display came to life as the systems did their thing. Once that was ready (30 seconds or so), you choose either economy or performance, and then in another 30 seconds the display was active and you hit the start button. The display had a few options while riding, such as switching between battery level, battery consumption rate, etc. I wasn't able to switch from economy to performance while the bike was "running". Hopefully, that will change when they go into production.
It was obviously pre-production because there were some pieces that needed to be tidied up. The rear uses a single shock which had a clunk in it. The mirrors were mounted below the bars, on the fork tubes, and were useless. When it was "running" at a stop, the whole bike had a slight hum. Not a negative vibration; just enough to let you know it was ready to rock and to not twist the grip until you were ready. When moving the only sound was the drive gearing. It wasn't good or bad, just there. I'd have to ride another electric motorcycle to say whether or not the sound was good.
I came away very impressed. I realized that an electric bike could most likely fit my needs since most of my trips are around 60 miles or less. I browsed the Zero and Brammo sites last night and there are some good deals out there. If I wasn't intent on getting a newer tow vehicle I might be lured into buying a new bike. I might even be interested in the new Harley when it goes to production and the price was right.
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Originally Posted by Generic
