Except when it comes to the bikes they ride,most motorcyclists are happy enough to go green.
Pollution-free electric bicycles and scooters have been available for a while but nothing on the market so far has come close to providing what bikers would regard as a ride with the style and performance they crave.
The Zero, an electric motorcycle from California with enough speed to embarrass other vehicles at the traffic lights, may be about to change that.
Neal Saiki, the founder and inventor of Zero motorcycles, has produced the Zero S, an electric bike with sharp styling and even sharper acceleration.
A quick spin round the streets of east London’s Isle of Dogs confirmed what Saiki meant.
The bike is quick, nimble and easy to ride. With its frame constructed of aircraft-grade aluminum and other high quality components, it’s also an attractive-looking machine.
Saiki said: “We’ve had people put their motorcycles in their living rooms”.
This bike is more like a martini if most electric vehicles are the motoring equivalent of muesli.
It runs almost silently, which can be a little alarming. I came up behind a small group of people on bicycles or folding electric bikes, who had no idea I was there until I sped past them.
One of the Zero’s limitations is its range. On a single electric charge,it will do between 40 and 60 miles.
Although most owners will probably stay in town,where it excels, this of course cuts out long trips,and keep topping the battery up regularly so they are not embarrassed by having to push the bike to the nearest electrical outlet.
Charging it up equates to about one penny a mile in running costs, which is certainly cheaper than fuelling up a petrol-driven bike when the bike is plugged into the mains.
Sadly, the price is not cheaper. The Zero S costs 9,000 pounds (,500), or about twice what its petrol-powered equivalent might cost.