Motorcycles come in three types. There are the off road bikes, the street bikes and the dual purpose bikes. The off road bikes are racing bikes and not meant to be ridden on the roads. The street bikes are what people ride on the roads. They are further categorized into mopeds, cruisers and scooters amongst others. The dual purpose bikes are designed for both racing and normal street riding.

Pollution in cities from automobiles has reached unbearable limits. Traffic congestion has become endemic. For both these reasons, motorcycles are becoming the favored mode of transport. Its fuel efficiency is more than any other vehicle. Its contribution to green house gas emission is lesser with its low carbon emission. Its smaller mass makes it have a better fuel economy. However, motorcycles are more polluting. It is as much as ten times to twenty times as compared to the pollution from car. Nitrogen oxide is the major pollutant from motorcycle. This is caused by the poorer efficiency of catalytic converter of motorcycle. Nitrogen oxide is a major constituent of smog.

Sales of motorcycles have shown a steady increase globally. This has been despite a slowdown in the global economy. The growth of the market for motorcycles was 6.5 percent. The steady rise in the price of gasoline and the economic slowdown both contribute to the increase in the market for motorcycles. Amongst motorcycles, the sale of electric scooters too has been rising. This is a good option amongst motorcycles with the increasing price of gasoline. Besides, there is almost no air and noise pollution. Improved battery technology is further expected to make electric scooters more popular in the near future. There are many models available in the market. Some of the models are Eped Sport/City, ZAP Zapino, Vectrix VX-1, Yo Speed, E-Solex, EVT-4000e, Razor E200S, Io-scooter, Peugeot Scoot'Elec and Ezip Electric Scooters.

Motorcycle sales are highest in the Asian countries of China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Motorcycle owners are more than the other vehicle owners. Motorcycle owners are double the number of automobile owners in Taiwan. Registration of motorcycle increased by 50 percent in the United States. It is a common means of transport in the frontier towns of Latin America.