Say it with us. Electric. Motorcycles. Is it just us, or does it not even sound right? And yet, it looks like electric motorcycles will be all the rage in the next twenty or thirty years, if market researchers have any idea what they’re talking about. They’ll use less energy, cost less for motorcycle insurance, and fix you breakfast in the morning. Well, maybe breakfast is a bit too much to expect from a motorcycle, electric or otherwise, but still.

Don’t be surprised if American motorcyclists aren’t too quick about jumping on board with this whole electric motorcycle idea. There’s just something about a throaty V-Twin rumbling under you that most of us aren’t going to want to give up. Somehow it’s hard to picture the average American biker getting suited up in his leathers and hopping on board a plug in motorcycle.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re all in favor of improving gas mileage and creating energy solutions for a greener planet. Just because you love motorcycles doesn’t mean you want to see the planet trashed. Hell, being on the open road with the great outdoors on either side of you is half of the fun of any long motorcycle trip. But motorcyclists already ride fuel efficient machines, especially when compared to cars and trucks.

The average motorcycle gets somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 miles per gallon of gasoline. That’s compared to less than twenty for the average car. Even still, government regulations are likely to get stricter and stricter regarding emissions and gas mileage as the cleaner electric technology becomes more readily available and affordable.

So, if electric motorcycles are an inevitable part of the future for those who like motorcycles, here are a couple of suggestions (other than appealing to the cheaper costs of fuel and motorcycle insurance) to those who manufacture them to help those of us who like “real” motorcycles get used to the idea:

• Rumble packs. Most of the electric motorcycles are being made in Japan. How about having the good folks at Honda and Kawasaki get together with the people who make those rumble packs for the kids’ video games. A bigger version could be inserted underneath and on the sides of the seat cushion to at least make it feel like you’re on a real bike.

• Equip the exhaust with a state of the art sound synthesizer with a recording of a Harley exhaust. Or, if the electric motorcycles don’t have an exhaust, put a fake one in. At least the bike will look and sound real.

Of course, if they’re bound and determined to make the electric motorcycles look like silent versions of the scooter, we’re sure they’ll have a market. It just won’t be bikers.

Photo via Mike Weston