Living with the e3
I’ve been running an e-motive e3 – a red one with the 4000W motor – for about three months. I’ve had Vespas and Hondas, I ride a BMW motorbike and drive a VW Golf, so this is a bit different.
Basically, I love it. I really like the fact that although it looks exactly like a mid-size four-stroke petrol scooter, it’s from another world underneath the skin.
At first it’s pretty weird. You sit on the saddle, turn on the ignition and, apart from the lights coming on, nothing happens. You don’t press a button to start the engine, you just twist the throttle and it zooms off.
Because it’s silent, the speed of a full-throttle launch can take you by surprise at first. Even though you know it’s going to happen, it’s still unexpected. It’s quite quick.
It’s second nature to me now, though. I’m completely used to the electric experience, and to be honest, everything else feels like it’s from the age of steam. Fuel tanks, engines, exhaust pipes, spark plugs, all that chugging and sputtering… I'm in the future now – I couldn’t go back to petrol.
I leave the e3 on charge overnight, so the gauge is always on full when I leave in the morning. I commute from Wimbledon to Tottenham Court Road every day, and I only use the motorbike if I’m doing a long motorway trip in the evening. Otherwise it’s always the e3.
The e-motive feels like a 125cc petrol scooter in terms of power. It accelerates pretty well from a standstill if you’re on full power, and if you flick the energy-saver switch on the handlebars it cuts the power output for softer take-offs in crowded environments.
Because I don’t buy fuel or pay road tax, congestion charge or parking fees, it feels as if my travel is free. Obviously I bought the bike and I pay a bit for the electricity, but it’s an amazingly painless way of getting about.
My advice to anyone who likes the idea of clean, easy urban transport is: give it a go. It’s also quite restful and calming to ride something that’s so quiet. You really notice how noisy other cars and bikes are. And when you’re alone on the road it’s brilliant – you really can hear the world around you.
One day I reckon all bikes and cars will be electric. I’m looking forward to it. It’ll make our cities so nice to live in.
Robert Allen, London