Electric motorcycles are offering up an affordable zero-emissions solution, provided more people are prepared to get a little wet when the weather doesn't co-operate.
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All the big two-wheel manufacturers are leaping on the EV bandwagon faster than you can say "easy rider" and two environmental scientists from Canberra have jumped on this solution, purchasing their regular transport from a fast-growing Redfern-based start-up company now experiencing a sales boom after years of struggling to gain headway.
From tentative beginnings, Patrick Norman and Jenna Wraith have now amassed a collection of electric transport alternatives. They started out with a secondhand e-bike bought off e-Bay which then grew to two, was followed by a matching pair of Fonzarelli electric motorcycles and now includes a Chinese-made MG electric hatchback.
"You could say we're well committed to the whole EV transport concept now," Mr Norman said.
"About three or four years ago, I was looking at electric motorcycles and scooters and the like and settled on a second-hand e-bike.
"That sort-of set me off on the journey. Jenna, my partner, got a little electric scooter like those ones you can hire around town, and it just grew from there."
Living in south Canberra, the commute distances to work are not an issue and neither is taking an interstate driving holiday, provided a little pre-planning takes place.
The couple have made a number of trips to Queensland in their electric car and use available apps like Plugshare, Evie, Chargefox and EVConnect to develop a recharging travel strategy.
More planning apps are coming too, as this is a rich source of untapped revenue for app developers.
Australia had its biggest month of electric vehicle sales in history during August but data for burgeoning e-motorcycle industry sales is still a great unknown because the steeped-in-combustion bike industry inexplicably still doesn't compile statistics.
"I know a lot of people find that whole idea of planning a trip around recharging your car a bit weird but it's getting easier and faster all the time," he said.
"You can plan it in less than a minute."
He said that using the e-bike was a genuine "eyeopener" for him and the "the only downside I found to it was the weather".
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"That's why we bought the electric car and the motorcycles; it's fun and gives us plenty of options," he said.
"We can't afford the high-end market options like the Teslas and so on, so we looked around the second-hand options.
"I think there's a big of a misconception around about what's available and affordable because we certainly found what we can afford and suits our needs."
