Are Electric Motorcycles Worth the Investment?
Throughout the years, man have always been looking for ways to acclimatize in the changing world. People seek for different things that will help them adapt to the changing society, economy, and environment. We are especially concerned about the rapid alteration in our climate caused by pollution emitted from factories, households and of course - from our everyday transportation vehicles. Global warming due to the harmful gasses that gets trapped in our Ozone layer has become a serious issue. The government is spending millions of dollars to fund projects that will help prevent or at least slow down the grave devastation that can be caused by Global warming. At present, it is through the discoveries and innovations in science and technology that has helped us stay afloat in these harsh changes in our environment. One of the newest innovations in science and technology that actually has a quite promising potential in saving the environment is the Electric Motorcycle. These machines are slowly starting to become more popular in the industry because they are safe and easy to operate, much cheaper to maintain than those of the traditional motorcycles, have no harmful carbon emissions and of course are definitely worth the investment one would give.
Electric Motorcycles posses wide variety and features. They are very easy to operate since they have no clutches, no gears and shifting - just breaks and throttle to control the speed (Vipcycle, 2014). Of course their speed are less than what the traditional motorcycles could do, but with the huge benefits, people seem to outweigh this con. Also, most electric motorcycles has intelligent safety features such as automatic power cut-off and standard electrical safety components like circuit breakers and fuse to protect its passengers ("Pros and Cons of Electric Bikes", 2014). These circuit breakers and fuse "cut-off" electricity supply whenever necessary or to avoid possible machine outbursts when it experiences short circuits. Limited speed of Electric Motorcycles also reduces the hazard of fatal injuries in the event of an accident. Therefore, it is safe to use for people of all ages including young adolescents and senior citizens. There are, however, some models which can run as fast or even faster than traditional motorcycles. The Lawless OCC Electric Drag Bike, owned by Lawless Industries and Orange County Choppers was piloted by Larry McBride and made history last May , 2012 with the National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) with a record of 201.37 miles per hour. Another amazing fact is that this electric bike was powered by solar energy alone (Ridden, 2012). This proves that Electric Motorcycles also have a potential in racing and can go head to head with the traditional motorcycles.
Another benefit of the Electric Motorcycle is that it is cheaper to use and maintain than the traditional motorcycles. Most countries classify them as bikes so we do not need to worry about license and insurance which often skyrockets the cost of maintenance. According to the U.S. Government figures, maintaining a gas-powered motor vehicle in the Unites States costs an average of $0.54 per mile ("Pros and Cons of Electric Bikes", 2014). Depending on the model, Electric Motorcycles uses between 650 Watts to 1300 Watts while charging ("Charging", 2014). This is for a Lithium-based electric bike that could run an approximately 20 miles for one single batter charge. A single battery charge for a 20 mile run will only be 0.65 kWh - 1.3 kWh. For example in New York City, the cost per kWh (Kilo-Watts per Hour) varies on the provider, the user and the time period. A good, close average to the cost (in New York City) is $0.10 per kWh and the cost per single charge of the battery for an Electric Motorcycle would only be $0.065 - $ 0.13 ("Energy Efficient Bikes", 2014). All of these calculations are approximate and may be higher or lower than the actual cost. Still, compared with using the traditional motorcycles, using these Electric Motorcycles can save a lot of money. The only additional cost is for replacing the batteries at least every three to 5 years ("Solar Bike", 2010).
The most important advantage of Electric Motorcycle is its positive impact on the environment. Some models of Electric Motorcycles have "solar modules" which is left at home to collect power from the sun's energy and then transferred to the motorcycle ("Solar Bike", 2010). With these, we would not even need to plug the battery to charge it but only use the sun's energy to power the motorcycle. Electric Motorcycles do not emit harmful gases like carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide which usually comes from gas powered vehicles (Levy, 2007). These gases are some of the major air pollutants that contributes to Global Warming and are also very harmful to human health. Of course we could not avoid using commercial energy (from burning fossil fuels) but we can slowly decrease our usage until we can finally depend on just using safe and environmental-friendly energy sources.
Electric Motorcycles are safe, quiet and requires very little energy to run. They are quite expensive of course, but a onetime investment for these motorcycles is definitely worth it.
References:
(2014). Retrieved November 26, 2014, from Zero Motorcycles: www.zeromotorcycles.com/charging/
Energy Efficient Bikes. (2014). Retrieved November 26, 2014, from NYCeWheels: www.nycewheels.com/energy-efficient-electric-bike.html
Levy, J. (2007). Major Air Pollutants. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from InfoPlease: www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004695.html
Pros and Cons of Electric Bikes. (2014). Retrieved November 26, 2014, from Eco Wheelz: www.eco-wheelz.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-electric-bikes.php
Ridden, P. (2012, May 17). Retrieved November 26, 2014, from Gizmag: www.gizmag.com/lawless-rocket-occ-electric-drag-bike-speed-record/22584/
Vipcycle. (2014). Electric Motorcycles vs Traditional Gas Powered Motorcycles - Pros and Cons. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from HubPages: vipcycle.hubpages.com/hub/Electric-Motorcycles-vs-Traditional-Gas Powered-Motorcycles-Pros-and-Cons
