For some reason, when talking about electric vehicles, there is not much mention of electric motorcycles. In fact, there is so little said about them that you would be forgiven for thinking that they don’t exist yet, or that they are so inferior to traditional that they don’t bear mentioning.

Neither of those sentiments is close to the truth. Electric motorcycles are out on the road already and they work great. In some ways they even outperform their internal combustion peers. If you are in the market for your first motorcycle, or you are a collector, then you should definitely be thinking about an e-motorcycle.

In this article, I will go over a lot of things that you will love about electric motorcycles and even some of the things that you won’t so much.

Not a lot of range

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way. Though there are a lot of things to love about electric motorcycles the range can be considered a downside for some people. Though most don’t usually go far in their traditional motorcycle, for some this might be a problem.

And it is highly dependent on the make and model. Some are as low as 100 miles of range before you need to charge and others can get closer to 300, which is quite respectable.

If you do want to drive long distances, you will need to use a Tesla Supercharger trip planner or something similar to make sure you are always within range of a way to charge your bike.

Increased torque

Electric motorcycles have finally found the Holy Grail for bike enthusiasts. And that is instant torque. Literally from 0mph you have full torque for a very powerful start. A traditional bike has to ramp up to peak power to get the torque that riders love. Imagine not having to wait?

And since an electric bike is far lighter than a gas powered one, the acceleration is even faster when combined with torque.

Less maintenance

In a typical internal combustion engine, there is a lot of wear and tear. Parts fail eventually and you are in a constant state of trying to stay ahead of those failures. Which means frequent trips to the mechanic to check it out at certain milestones.

This simply doesn’t happen with an electric motorcycle. There are very few parts rubbing together and creating friction. Which in turn heats the parts and then they eventually fail.

Your power is not coming from those moving parts but a battery supplying the energy. Because of this, the only parts that may eventually wear down are things like the ball bearings.

And updates are downloadable. Your motorcycle won’t go obsolete. Sure, battery technology gets better with each year so eventually, the newest bikes will get better mileage range, but you don’t have to change the battery to continue using the one you have.

Having downloadable updates can keep your bike working normally for longer and it only takes the time to download the files. You don’t need to make an appointment for an expensive trip to the mechanic.

More comfortable

One of the downsides of driving a motorcycle is the vibration and noise. It can do a number on your ears with those loud pipes. And the vibration is uncomfortable and exhausting at the end of a long ride.

There are no vibrations with an electric motorcycle. The ride is so smooth that it becomes addictive. Then there is the coolness factor. I don’t mean that it is cool to be seen on one. I mean that when you stop at a red light, you don’t have the heat of the engine right underneath you that roasts you alive when you are sitting for a while.

Your neighbors will also love the fact that it isn’t loud, especially if you have to ride it early in the morning.

They are expensive

This is going to be a big barrier to entry for many looking to go green and enjoy the other benefits of owning an electric motorcycle. The cost of one of the latest e-motorcycles with a long range can be more than most people can afford.

It may be worth waiting, however, as the cost comes down when the tech behind the batteries improves. And they also get cheaper as more of the models go mainstream.

If money’s no object, then buying an electric motorcycle is something that would make sense in any bike enthusiasts garage.