I got my first motorcycle, a Kawasaki EX500, in 1988, and my first ebike this past week. Learning to ride with a throttle was not an issue. It works just like a motorcycle, just a lot slower. As far as speed goes, I fand that assist level 1 is not quite enough, but level 2 is a little bit too fast. Riding above 15 mph without a full-face helmet or at least goggles is uncomfortable on my eyes, and because I live in Northern New England, the roads are atrocious, and a 60 lb ebike with 65 psi tires hitting even minor pavement flaws is uncomfortablly jarring.
Mostly, I take it easy, and I only go faster during the few stretches of road where it is more necessary to be closer to automobile speeds.
People get irate at bicyclists on the street. Last night, I had a real jerk on a unmuffled Harley-Davidson motorcycle actually pass me on the right from a stop light in the middle of our Main Street business district downtown, and then immediately and dangerously swerve in front of me to change lanes to the left.
On the next block, there was a road crew occupying the right lane, so all traffic, including me, needed to merge left into the left turn only lane. There was less than half a block for him to do this, and another stop light immediately ahead, so there was absolutely no cause for him to pull such a stunt. He obviously did it intentionally, just to frighten me. I had a brief moment where I considered pulling up alongside him and confronting him, but I let it go.
And that was not the first Harley rider of the day to get his panties in a twist and pull a jerk stunt and scream obscenities at me because he decided I was in his way and didn't have any business using the streets downtown with my bicycle.
Earlier, on my way downtown, I had yet another jerk with unmuffled pipes and a minivan both zoom around me on a residential street, only to then come to a halt a block up, two abreast, and strart having a conversation, blocking the entire street.
So, I passed them on the left and continued my way downtown. Of course, they then caught up to me as I was approaching an intersection with a stop sign onto Main Street, and I refused to yield to them, as is my right. Now, mind you, turning right onto Main Street from here, you can only go half a block to the next stop light, where I needed to be in the left lane to then turn into the parking lot of the grocery store. And predictably, the jerk went ballistic, screaming at me to get out of his way.
Mind you, these are downtown, low speed limit streets, single-lane residential and classic East Coast small town Main Street business district with one travel lane and a turn only lane, not suburban stroads. And with 4-story brick buildings lining both sides of Main Street, the noise level of an unmuffled Harley-Davidson under heavy acceleration is positively criminal.
