I work for Transport Canada in Ottawa Ontario, Canada, which to many sounds like a trucking company but we are actually a federal agency in Canada. There aren't too many benefits that come with working in an office building in the core of a city but ocasionally we do see something interesting. Today we have a display set up in the lobby by Zero motorcycles. ZERO MOTORCYCLES ? The Electric Motorcycle Company - Official Site They have what appears to be a "Zero S" model on display along with a youngish engineer type person to help explain the design and intended purpose of he bike. I'm personally struggling with the name "Zero" as in my mind it has some very negative connotations but I suppose it is to represent the "zero emissions" or green nature of the machine. Of course this requires that we forget about the carbon footprint resulting from manufacturing of the beast or generation of the electricity to charge the batteries. I guess that all bikes or machines will have this too. The bike actually looks pretty good. The frame design and welding quality are excellent. I could picture an XR650R four stroke in there pumping a solid 60hp to the rear wheel! That would be too much fun!!!! For some reason thet won't let me take it for a spin???
interesting article in this month's BIKE magazine. The economic model and "greenness" of electric bikes is a farce until some sustainable electricity source (more than likely nuclear) is used. Most electricity is produced by oil/coal which just moves the problem of emissions to someone elses back yard.
There was a TV program a few months back that featured three guys on Zero motorcycles doing some day trips in the mountains of Colorado. I can't remember the name of the show, but I think it was on the Outdoor channel. They looked more like powered bicycles than motorcycles.