Electric motorcycles have picked up a ton of steam over the past few years. When I was selling bikes back in 2017, we would only get a handful of leads for Zero’s per MONTH. Now I would bet dealerships are getting a handful per day.
When we would finally get a customer coming in to check them out, one of the most common questions I would get would be: what kind of maintenance do they need?
The answer is a pretty short list of tasks. Electrical motorcycles don’t need much. Keep an eye on your tires, brakes, and your drive chain and you’re pretty much set. Seriously. Here’s the breakdown of maintenance I would give customers:
- You’ll need to replace your tires every few thousand miles, depending on the bike.
- You’ll need new brake pads when they get low.
- Keep an eye on the belt (most Zero’s were running belts as a drive chain at the time rather than a traditional chain and sprocket). If you opt for the chain and sprocket option, you’re only going to be replacing that every few years.
- And that’s basically it. I’m sure there are firmware or software updates on them every so often, but you’re just pressing a couple of buttons, not turning wrenches.
Think about it. There are no valves to adjust, no oil to change, no spark plugs to change, no air filter to clean or change, no coolant to change, no clutch to replace.
Now some of us are tinkerers and actually like working on our bikes. But electrical motorcycles have made the lives of many riders significantly easier. I would say that if you’re someone who just wants to commute to work 15-25 min, with the occasional spirited riding, an electrical motorcycle is the way to go. Though, nobody says you can’t have more than one bike for those days when you want to ride all day long.
You can plug most, if not all, Zero’s plug into into a 110V outlet to charge as a worst case scenario. Sure it takes a heck of a lot longer, but again if you’re just commuting to and from work then that shouldn’t be an issue and it’s convenience that you’re not going to get with a Tesla.
Long story short, if you’re looking to ride but don’t want to be bothered with maintenance, then an electrical motorcycle can be a great choice. Having ridden plenty of Zero motorcycles and most of their product lineup, I can’t recommend them enough. The power is incredible and it’s still a great experience to get on one and twist the throttle. Give them a spin next time you’re in the market.