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Like lots of things that are supposed to be good for you, the feel-good factor from riding an electric motorcycle on the street lies somewhere between cycling to work and starting a diet. You get a good dose of self-righteousness by helping Al Gore save the planet via such virtuous behaviour – but it’s not a whole lot of fun.
Riding an e-bike is especially underwhelming if you’re a sportsbike rider, craving the thrill of going fast to the background music of a high-performance engine’s throaty induction roar and purposeful exhaust note. Trying to convince yourself that the superior sound of speed is utter silence is mission impossible. Worthy, yes – thrilling, no. That’s where the Mission One e-Superbike produced by San Francisco, California’s Mission Motors/MM comes in, set to hit the marketplace in May 2011 at a hefty retail price of Rs 31 lakh + tax for the debut Premier Limited Edition version. That’s not exactly cheap – so what’s it get you, and why’s it any better?
What got me interested in finding that out was the sight of Mission One rider Jeremy Cleland in front of me at the Bonneville Salt Flats last September. He rocketed his prototype streetbike down the strip in a spray of salt to set a new AMA Electric speed record at 240.09 kph. In fact, Cleland had made a one-way pass at 257.6 kph the day before, but he couldn’t match that on the return owing to excessive wheelspin. Still, that was certainly fast enough to get my attention.
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