Passes & Canyons Blog

A couple of the early Zero electric bikes. They’ve come a long way since then.

I received an interesting email recently from the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) about the shift to electric vehicles. It discussed the move by some states, most notably California, to set a point after which no new gas-driven vehicles will be allowed to be sold in the particular state.

In California, for example, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that all new passenger vehicles be zero-emission by 2035. And apparently–I don’t know the mechanism involved here–a number of other states have their laws or regulations tied to California such that if California enacts something like that, it will go into effect in their state, too. That itself is something interesting and news to me.

As you can well imagine, a lot of people in a lot of states are not inclined to follow that lead.

I personally have no issue with having electric vehicles available. They reduce noise and they reduce air pollution. Who could possibly oppose those? Especially if you have solar panels on your roof feeding your electric motorcycle, all you really need is better batteries to enable you to go farther on a charge. And those better batteries are on their way.

But let’s take Harley as one example. Many Harley purists have for years voiced their preferences for sticking with the old tried and true of decades ago. Yes, Harley has steadily introduced high tech improvements, but the basic engine configuration and styling has met the demands of this group. What if, in 12 years, they had no choice but to buy an electric motorcycle? Screaming bloody murder is pretty much a guarantee.

Let me hasten to note that apparently this executive order does not as of yet speak to motorcycles; it’s just passenger cars and trucks. But don’t think that something addressing cars and trucks won’t eventually filter over to motorcycles. Meanwhile, according to this note from the MRF, “In Colorado, the Energy Office said, ‘While the governor shares the goal of rapidly moving towards electric vehicles, he is skeptical about requiring 100% of cars sold to be electric by a certain date as technology is rapidly changing.'”

The bottom line to all this, ultimately, is that at some point–perhaps not within our lifetimes–the simple act of riding a gas-powered motorcycle, or driving a gas car, will be restricted to hobbyists who have the time and money to source the very scarce fuel needed to run them. There will be charging stations available everywhere but gas stations will be a thing of the past.

Hey, the only constant is change. Just 125 years ago nobody ever heard of such a thing as a gas station. And 125 years from now probably most people will be grossed out at the idiocy of vehicles that spew toxic fumes to foul the air.

For now though, I have three gas-powered motorcycles and I intend to ride them as much as I can. It’s not that I don’t care about clean air, . . . I don’t know how to end that sentence. I do care about air pollution but I’m still going to ride my bikes. End of discussion.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you think any motorcycle is too loud.

Anyone who has paid attention will recognize this as a much older model of Zero electric motorcycle.

This is not motorcycle-specific but would affect anyone who rides an electric motorcycle.

Under HB21-1205, “Electric Vehicle Road Usage Equalization Fee,” proposed by Rep. Andres Pico, Colorado would charge a fee at time of registration that “is estimated to achieve parity between the aggregate amount of motor vehicle registration fees and motor fuel excise taxes paid per vehicle by owners of plug-in electric motor vehicles and vehicles fueled by gasoline, diesel, or other special fuels and is annually adjusted for inflation.”

This makes total sense because electrics don’t pay fuel taxes but they do use the roads, with all the related wear on those roads. Now, it might hurt if you’re doing the paying because what we now spread out in pennies each time we fill our tanks would presumably be paid all at once. And if this passes there are bound to be cries of unfairness because presumably everyone would pay the same amount when in fact we all pay different amounts on fuel taxes because our mileage differs.

You would also presume that motorcycles would pay less than cars simply because motorcycles use less gas than cars and do less damage to the roads. The bill requires the state departments of revenue and transportation to form a group to study how it would be implemented. That would be the time for us who ride to make sure our voices are heard so as to ensure that we are treated fairly.

Then there are these relevant details in the bill as well. Revenue generated by the fee must be credited to the highway users tax fund (HUTF) and distributed pursuant to the existing “second stream” HUTF allocation formula as follows:

• 60% to the state highway fund;
• 22% to counties; and
• 18% to municipalities; and
• Must be used only for maintenance of existing highways, streets, and roads.

So far, this bill has only been introduced. We have no way of knowing if it will ever be passed. But we’ll keep an eye on it.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: Motorcycles don’t have parents.