The Return of the American Biker

It's been over five years since we opened our doors at Hollywood Electrics, and one of the most exciting things about selling Electric Motorcycles is opening the world of motorcycles to a new audience. Growing up, I always admired the motorcycle as a piece of Americana. I pictured James Dean, Marlon Brando, the Fonz, all riding their motorcycles and the women swooning around them.

Unfortunately in the last few decades, the motorcycle's popularity has declined amongst American riders and the country became car-centric, but we here at Hollywood Electrics are looking to change that. Although we have many customers that have been riding motorcycles for years, many of our customers were never interested in motorcycles until Electric Motorcycles began hitting the roads.

An Electric Motorcycle is much less intimidating than a traditional, gas powered motorcycle. No clutch, no shifting. No loud pipes or hot engine inches from your legs. No costly maintenance schedule. It's no wonder that some of our customers never had an interest in motorcycles before. All of these benefits are glaringly apparent, but it has still been a challenge to be taken seriously as one of our biggest obstacles remains the American Culture's attachment to the car. Electric Motorcycles are barely mentioned amongst other Electric Vehicles, electric cars overshadowing their potential. Notably absent from any list that claims to have the "Most Affordable Electric Vehicles" or "Longest Range Electric Vehicles," how can everyone be ignoring the significant role Electric Motorcycles could be playing in the mass adoption of electric vehicles?

This week I read an article in the LA Weekly stating that the 405 Congestion Relief project, which has cost $1.1 Billion and taken 5 years, is officially a failure. Some fools thought that adding more lanes to a freeway in a city where there has been a steady increase in the number of cars and commuters, was somehow going to solve our congestion problem. In fact the additional lanes aren't enough to handle the increased number of cars since they began the project, and now 5 years later, it actually takes more time to travel between the 10 and 101 freeways!

Several years ago, a detailed Belgian study found that a significant reduction in traffic could be attained if a small percentage of drivers rode motorcycles instead. They found that if 10% of private cars were replaced with motorcycles, the travel time was reduced by 40%. If 25% of cars were replaced with motorcycles, traffic was eliminated entirely! With the terrible traffic problem we have in LA, we need to show people that there are other options.

In a city that has beautiful weather, one sunny day after another, we don't need to be trapped inside our cars stuck in traffic. Get out of your car, onto a motorcycle, filter through traffic, save yourself time, money and frustration. Once you experience the freedom a Motorcycle brings, it will be hard to look back to those steel cages on four wheels.

Enjoy the Ride,
Harlan Flagg

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