How an Electric Motorbike Made LA Feel Smaller, Easier and More Fun

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I live in CA. That’s an electric motorcycle. It must be ridden on the street, however it’s not legal to ride on the street because there’s no legal headlight, taillight, brake light, turn signals, registration or license plate. These are all Department of Transporation requirements.

The rider must have a Class M license and insurance. Without all those things, it will be impounded and destroyed, hopefully.
 
They are making and selling street legal versions.
But that doesnt always mean they are registered or type approved

Screenshot_20260529-103217-415.png
 
When I see that price I wonder yet again how bikes are so expensive given how few parts needed compared to any motorbike or car. New Golf Polo EV launched today, price not confirmed but around £20K Looks v good as well.

Specialized Crux gravel bike 26 model, just announced, the top range version is around £12K in UK so only £8k difference from the car. Not any old car but a VW with all the modern bells and whistles. The sheer amount of materials involved alone compared to a simple non-electrical gravel bike.
 
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Rás Cnoic said:
When I see that price I wonder yet again how bikes are so expensive given how few parts needed compared to any motorbike or car. New Golf Polo EV launched today, price not confirmed but around £20K Looks v good as well.

Specialized Crux gravel bike 26 model, just announced, the top range version is around £12K in UK so only £8k difference from the car. Not any old car but a VW with all the modern bells and whistles. The sheer amount of materials involved alone compared to a simple non-electrical gravel bike.
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Bike and component prices from recognized brands has never made any sense to me. I had a hand made/assembled in Italy Moto Guzzi V7 750cc with abs, traction control and many intricate parts and technology that new cost <$7400 USD in 2016 and a run of the mill aluminum frame BH Yamaha powered gravel bike that MSRP $3400 in 2019 (I purchased only because it was steeply discounted when BH exited from North America). There's multiple times the materials, technology, precision and labor involved with manufacture of the V7 vs the bicycle. There's something wrong with this picture.
 
Well there is the R&D costs plus the much smaller market. But Chinese bike brands, often the same engineers who make the big Western brands bikes and frames, are now selling carbon frames and groupsets directly, for much lower prices, showing it can be done. Of course it's a bit wild west and a lot of just plain copying, but also innovation. Over the last 5 years I've noticed it's much easier to find the good stuff than previously. But even those prices, when I see new EVs with all their R&D costs (must be enormous) and yet they can hit 20k for a car or lower - the small but v well made Renault Twingo is something like £16k! Its mad.
 
Well I know it's "All in EV" here, but for getting around a large city on a motorcycle I'd still prefer internal combustion. There are good reasons street legal rechargeable battery bikes are just a novelty with adult riders and it has nothing to do with battery fires or charging infrastructures. The fact is the conventional don't burn much Gas anyway and the entry price, especially second hand, gives them a clear advantage. Plus the power is more predictable, which suits many riders, and when you're doing 60mph on a freeway they are a lot thriftier than a big e-motorcycle. There is no argument about these factors with dedicated motorcycle riders, it's reflected in the sales, which are non-existent. These ones the kids are causing havoc on are a different animal all together, a sort of scaled down version, like 250cc bikes but with more power. A sort of mad Chinese experiment like the phablet was.
 
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