‘My experiences as an electric-bike owner’

In the last few months you’ve heard from people questioning ‘silent’ electric bikes and their position in the world. After 18,000km on a Zero DS, it is a genuine motorcycling experience, with some differences.

The ‘silent’ feature often mentioned is not real. The motor makes a humming sound and the inverter/ controller whistles. Obviously, the tyres also make noise. It has a horn. Many recent-model cars make less noise from their tyres. Vehicles are becoming quieter. Also, sound-proofing means drivers of these cars don’t hear much outside.

In terms of performance, up to 100kph, it can romp away from everything on four wheels and most on two, including BMW 1250GSS. Rolling acceleration is also stunningly quick.

Lane-splitting must be done cautiously, obviously. My general observation is that motorcycle riders who have modified their exhaust system to be noisier, do so in order to break speed limits. Obviously, it’s not everyone but it is a theme where I live. Noisy exhaust systems give those who would ‘regulate’ our motorcycle experience the perfect excuse to do so. Incidentally, the Zero used to be powered by coal and gas but a green tariff means it now runs on wind, solar and hydro. I still ride my ICE motorcycles, but much less.