Are Electric Bikes an Option for Beginners?
Whether you’ve passed your CBT or you’ve been riding for years, we all love to keep an eye on the development of the latest motorcycles. Often the subject of much debate, the Electric Motorcycle has yet to firmly stamp its mark on the motorcycle industry.
That being said, they’re certainly on their way there, with major manufacturers such as Harley Davidson, BMW and Triumph throwing their hat into the ring there are a whole host of electric motorcycles currently on the market to choose from.
There are many advantages to electric bikes, (despite what the naysayers will have you think) if you’re looking for a simple bike to get you from A to B or perhaps something to make the morning commute a little easier they’re certainly worth checking out.
Whilst a lot of the ‘big’ electric bikes out there come with a fairly hefty price tag, that’s not the case for a lot of the beginner friendly electric vehicles (EV’s) out there. So we ask the question, are electric bikes an option for beginners?
Twist and Go
To start with, all electric motorcycles and scooters, big or small, are twist and go! So if you’re just starting out, you don’t need to worry about mastering changing gears. Just hop on, twist the throttle and off you go.
There is Very Little Maintenance Involved
Unlike their petrol counterparts, EV’s require very little upkeep as all their components are completely self contained and a lot of the parts you would need to replace on a service such as Oil filter, Air filter and spark plugs simply don’t exist on an electric bike.
You will of course have to keep an eye on things like brakes and tyre wear, but overall there’s a lot less to worry about.
They’re Silent
If you’ve ever ridden an electric bike you’ll know it can be quite a bizarre sensation with no engine vibrations or sound. You can ride along at 30mph and hear the birds chirping and people talking. From a beginners point of view this enables you to be much more aware of your surroundings without any distractions enabling you to simply focus on riding.
It should be noted that the other edge to this sword is other road users may not hear you coming but just follow what you learnt in your motorcycle training and leave yourself plenty of time and distance to react.
They’re Much Cheaper To Run
First off, you don’t need to pay any tax on an electric vehicle. If you live in central London then you will be pleased to know you are exempt from the new ULEZ charges and congestion charges.
Secondly, they’re much cheaper to recharge than it is to refuel. Zero reckon their Zero S costs under £3 for a full charge and they state that £3 will get you 120 miles which you can’t deny is pretty impressive.
Granted we’ve recently seen energy prices increase but EV’s still come in way under when compared to a petrol bike.
They’re Kinder To The Planet
Climate change is a huge topic of discussion at the moment, including the importance of reducing carbon footprint. The government has announced that petrol motorcycles will no longer be sold in the UK from 2035, with that in mind electric vehicles are the only way forward!
