Zero - Electric motorbikes

Doug the D

I've just arrived back home in Dorset after a busy weekend up at the MCN motorcycle festival in Peterborough. The weather was a bit pants, but we still got 4 test rides in on Saturday.

I rode the Zero DSR, which is essentially an electric adventure bike. To say I was impressed is understating it. These bikes are amazing, almost completely silent (I'm the kind of rider that prefers to rely on my own observation/ defensive riding than whether Doris in her Honda Jazz can hear my ridiculously loud exhaust and she'll look after me, but each to their own) and very fast. I found it quite hard to gauge my speed without glancing down at my speedo more often than usual, because you wind the throttle back, and it just goes. My own bike is a Z800 and whilst not in the league of sports bikes, it's no slouch, but I'm fairly confident that the Zero would be giving it a run for it's money.

I thought it would be a bit difficult to get used to, but it's extremely easy to use, no gears, no clutch. Simply turn the key on, press the button that would normally start the engine down, look for a green light on the dash, then gently wind the throttle and off you go. The bikes we demoed had 3 modes, 'Eco' (which we all started out in, due to the drizzle), 'Sport' (gives you a bit more power, as the name would suggest) and 'Custom', which whilst we didn't get to try out, seems the most interesting mode; you connect the bike to your phone, and using the app, you can alter the bike's setup, power, throttle response etc...I'm wondering if these things will get a Tesla 'Ludicrous Mode' in the future

To give a little more context, the other 3 bikes I rode were a KTM 790 Duke, a Honda Africa Twin and a Ducati Supersport. I hated the Duke, too vibey, throttle too snatchy. I loved the Africa, what a weapon - very quick adventure bike. And I also loved the Supersport - Ducati had fitted a trick exhaust system, which when complaining about the noise to my mate after the ride (I didn't have plugs in), his response was 'Loud? You didn't have to sit behind the fudging thing for 45 minutes, I couldn't even hear the bike that I was sat on!'

Overall though? I'd have the Zero. It's the future

TL;DR - the Zero is a good bike, I like it a lot.

mjn

Saw loads on the roads near Sella Pass the other year. The Sella Pass closes on Wednesdays to all ICE vehicles.

The thing about the electric motorbikes is that they’re super silent, so they come outta nowhere.

Trollslayer

What is the torque like?

Doug the D

You should know better than to say that!

Doug the D

I can't remember the figures off the top of my head. What we did get told by the Zero sales guy was that a few people have come unstuck when exiting corners, because where on an ICE bike, you can start to roll on quite aggressively on exit, because you've got to give the engine time to spin up the RPM to pull better, with an electric bike if you crack open the throttle, you get all the torque instantly, which has caused a few lowsides.

The sales guy also told us that the bhp equivalent was around 70-80 bhp, but the torque is more that of a top-end superbike - this I can believe. I didn't do any 0-60 messing about, but when leaving a 30mph zone into an NSL, 80mph came up very quickly compared to ICE bikes that I've ridden. When I say 80mph, I mean 60mph of course.

494930

They've opened an electric motocross track just round the corner from my house https://www.etrax-ni.co.uk/

A friend of mine (who raced competively in the Irish superbike championship) went with a few of his Pro motocross friends to try it out. Every one of them ended up on their arses. As you say, instantaneous torque and when these guys are coming away saying its the future then you can well believe it.

Desmo

Welcome to the world of EV's

I've not ridden an electric bike....but once you go EV you don't want to go back.

mjn

You’ve experienced one of those electric bikes, they make rapid progress and in the twisty roads of the mountains, they appear from nowhere. Usually, you can hear them a mile away, but they appear in your rearview mirror in no time.

Doug the D

I was just being flippant mate, my RoSPA instructor told me that the words 'he came from nowhere' are usually what someone says to a copper after they've caused a collision, when in actual fact, the bike/ car/ motorbike didn't come from 'nowhere', it moved along the road towards you. You just didn't see it and pulled out of the junction, causing a crash.

I get your point about bikes approaching from behind though, a silent bike will quite easily take some other road users by surprise

mjn

Yes and a valid point. I’ve only seen electric bikes when driving in the mountains when your visibility may only be 10 metres in front or behind, due to hairpins, rocks, trees, etc. And some of those bikers are crazy!