I commuted daily on a motorcycle in Saigon and it's not as dangerous as it is here in North America (well, sometimes it is, but mostly because of idiots riding drunk with no helmet while texting).

Everyone drives slower (~40km/h at most) and cars actively look out for motorcycles and make slow, smooth controlled changes in direction that everyone can anticipate.

Yeah I agree with that - traffic in Saigon looks initially completely disorganised in areas such as large junctions, but it really works well and is even safe for pedestrians. Its absolutely different to traffic in many other countries where the car is 95% of the traffic and the lowest speed anywhere is 60km/h.

This "motorcycle" can only do 40km/hr so it can't even reach the speed limit. A lot of e-bikes used in China are much faster than that. Safety there isn't the problem you'd expect because they often move in packs and drivers are slower and more cautious than in the west. Also, streets are built to accommodate them.

I don't really understand why this is a kickstarter. Just buy a well established e-bike brand with the specs you want.

Really like to hear the rationale for downvotes, just because it's surprising to me.

I don't think you deserved downvotes for your original post, fwiw - it isn't particularly well argued, but it isn't offensive. On the other hand, your followup comment "Call it a terrible argument if you want, but you are wrong." does mark you as a bit of a jerk.

I didn't down vote but from a different perspective:

- Not being able to hear / audible warning is a terrible argument for many reasons - The danger is understood, but that's because of a lack of training for all road users; no amount of visual warnings will mitigate the lack of education / training

I think the downvotes stem from the lack of critical thought portrayed by the comment? I can't really say - to me it doesn't add anything meaningful to topic at hand and detracts from the intent of the article itself without giving tangible reasons.

I've got 145,000 miles on my motorcycle. I have some experience. Call it a terrible argument if you want, but you are wrong.

I was replying to a comment with a kickstarter about an electric motorcycle, seems pretty relevant to me, hence my surprise.

Before you go accusing folks on the internet; perhaps consider that they too might know a thing or two about the subject at hand?

And I was attempting to articulate why someone may have down-voted you by being overly critical; I didn't feel negatively towards your original comment either way.

People downvote stuff when they dislike the implications of something even if it's true, actually especially if it's true.

As to your point, a friend of mine has an electric motorcycle. He said that it's silent is scary because in traffic cars don't notice he's there. He has to always be on guard for people merging into his lane.

The idea that people will hear you on a motorcycle and that will protect you is absurd.

The only way to ride safe is to ride as if cars do not see you.

Adding a speaker would not take a lot of power.

That's what they do for some electric cars.

It's not a motorcycle.