About Hollywood Electrics

About Hollywood Electrics

5 ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE MYTHS

Myth #1 – Electric Motorcycles are slow – WRONG
If you still believe Electric Vehicles are slow, you’ve been living under a rock. The Zero SR has been boasting a 0-60mph time of 3.3 seconds since it was introduced in 2014. This figure is on par with any liter bike, but to eliminate any doubt we only need to look to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb of 2013. The Lightning Electric Superbike made it to the summit in 10 minutes flat, the fastest motorcycle to run the event that year.

Myth #2 – Electric Motorcycles are expensive – WRONG
Consider the cost of ownership to realize how shortsighted it is to take the price of a motorcycle at face value. We’ve taken the cost of fuel and expensive maintenance for granted our entire lives. An everyday rider like myself could easily spend $1500-$2000 per year on premium gasoline in Los Angeles, not to mention the costs incurred by all the maintenance a high performance motorcycle demands. Between oil changes, valve adjustments, clutch replacements, and other miscellaneous maintenance that an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) demands, it’s easy to see how this can nearly match the cost of fuel. It would only take a few years for a seemingly inexpensive and reasonable bike like a Yamaha FZ-09 to exceed the cost of a high performance Zero SR.

Myth #3 – Electric Motorcycle don’t go far enough on a charge – WRONG
The fact that we’re still hearing this falsehood on a daily basis, when the range of new Zero Motorcycles actually exceeds that of many popular ICE vehicles, just goes to show how stubborn and opposed to change we actually are. The new Zero Motorcycles can travel nearly 200 miles on a charge in the city or about 100 miles at highway speeds. For comparison, a Harley Sportster empties its gas tank after about 80 miles, a Ducati Monster will get about 120 miles, and the Yamaha FZ-07 about 140 miles.

Obviously the next argument is that the tank on any of these vehicles can be quickly refilled with a short stop at the gas station, but it is much more inconvenient to stop at a gas station than to simply plug my electric motorcycle in at home, work, or any of the thousands of EV charging stations. Since 99.9% of my riding is done within my local area, I hardly ever find myself limited by the range of the battery. Until the charging infrastructure matures to the point where there are 5-min charging stations, Hollywood Electrics offers a simple and effective solution for reducing charging time, namely our Elcon Quick Charger.

Myth #4 – Electric Motorcycles are more polluting than a gas vehicle – WRONG
Keep telling yourself that your smelly, smoky ICE vehicle is cleaner than the plants that power my Electric Motorcycle. I hope it helps you sleep at night. If not, you can just walk down to your garage, crawl into the backseat of your car and warm up that internal combustion engine. Of course you wouldn’t do that because you know you’d be inhaling dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide and other poisonous gases. Then you’d tell me that the coal plants that generate our electricity are just displacing our emissions or that the mining and processing of the minerals for batteries is more environmentally damaging. I refer you to this study by the Union of Concerned Scientists that concludes that EVs are much cleaner from cradle to the grave.

Myth #5 –  Electric Motorcycles are dangerous because “Loud Pipes Save Lives” – WRONG
This is by far the most ignorant statement I hear on a daily basis. If anybody actually believes someone in a car is going to notice the sound of their bike when the windows are up, the radio is on, or the driver is talking and texting on their cell phone, then that rider is asking for trouble. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen near collisions between Emergency Vehicles whose sirens are blaring, and another driver who clearly did not hear them coming. Motorcycles have a distinct disadvantage to an emergency vehicle. Unlike a siren that alerts drivers in front of the vehicle, the exhaust of an ICE motorcycle points backwards.

I actually find the silence of my Electric Motorcycle to be comforting because I am more aware of everything around me. Additionally, one of the constant grievances I hear from non-riders is how annoying loud motorcycles are. I could go on ad nauseum about the reasons this myth is wrong, but it has been debunked numerous times in articles like this one on Revzilla.

MILESTONES

2009 –

Founding: Hollywood Electrics opened its doors for the first time at its flagship location on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, CA.

2010 –

Largest EV Selection in the World: From 2010 to Present, Hollywood Electrics has carried the largest selection of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the world.

2011 –

#1 Zero Dealership Worldwide

2012 –

#1 Zero Dealership Worldwide

2013 –

#1 Zero Dealership Worldwide

2014 –

100 NEW Zero Motorcycles Sold: First Member of the Zero “Ton Up” Club

2014 –

#1 Zero Dealership Worldwide

2015 –

#1 Zero Dealership Worldwide

2016 –

#1 Zero Dealership Worldwide

2017 –

#1 Zero Dealership Worldwide

2018 –

#1 Zero Dealership Worldwide

2019 –

#1 Zero Dealership Worldwide