Electric plug-in cars are poised to revolutionize the automobile industry by promising to erase foreign oil, environmental damage, and the obscene waste of natural resources from the equation of getting from point A to point B. Taking its cue from the automobile industry, a few motorcycle manufacturers have begun to market all-electric motorcycles.

What many motorcycle enthusiasts, including Jay Leno view as the future of the motorcycle, the Santa Cruz, California-based ZERO X electric is one of a rare breed of street legal bikes currently in production which is designed from the forks back as an all-electric vehicle. Surprisingly light at just 225-lb, the ZERO X jumps off the line from zero to sixty in less than four seconds. A permanent magnet motor makes 31 horsepower and winds out with 62.5 foot-pounds of torque, equivalent to the performance of a 250-cc gas-powered motorcycle.

On the practical side, the ZERO X has a range of between 40 and 65 miles depending on how many wheelies you perform on the way to work. It takes just four hours to recharge the 40-lb 4-kilowatt-hour lithium-manganese battery which can plug into a standard 110-volt outlet. Out the door, the ZERO X costs $9,950, a little less than the cost of a Hyundai Accent; after federal and state tax credits, it could drop to under $7,000. It will take another five years before electric motorcycles will drop to a price equal to gasoline-powered bikes.