Zero electric bikes

I drove by a BMW bike dealer today for the umpteenth time today, and decided to turn around and stop in on a rainy cold day for poops and giggles.

They are also a Zero motorcycle dealer. I was intrigued.

Zero has six models, from dual sport to sport to standard style. A twist of the throttle and off they go. No clutch, no shifting, no gas, no oil, no maintenance except brakes and tires. Up to 150 mile cruising range and hard acceleration.

I am going to stop back to a test drive on a nice day before the snow starts flying.

I have some experience with a 1st gen Zero motorcycle. Zero is a first rate company and make excellent electric motorcycles.

These are not cheap.

Top quality materials and assembly. I was gonna ask if you rode one, but I see not yet. You will be impressed. If I were in the market I'd go for the DSR.

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I may go for it in a couple of years after the OL gets done with her Master's. I think I can justify another bike - I am near 8,000 miles of riding this year.

Having to wait another two years to get a second motorcycle is what you call a first world problem.

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Originally Posted by VStarRider

I may go for it in a couple of years after the OL gets done with her Master's. I think I can justify another bike - I am near 8,000 miles of riding this year.

Having to wait another two years to get a second motorcycle is what you call a first world problem.

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The technology gets better each year and the prices may come down a bit if they can open up a larger market. So you might benefit from a hiatus.

I test drove one last year. Incredible acceleration, very smooth. The lack of routine maintenance is intriguing.

Unfortunately, I found the bike uncomfortable after just 10 minutes. The bike places the rider leaning forward with weight on the hands. I found that quite uncomfortable after just a few minutes and found the overall frame size to be too small. If they came out with a larger frame with more of a sitting instead of forward leaning position I would not hesitate to buy. That said, I think their milages ranges are unrealistic for high speed riding. I fear though that the cost of replacing the batteries when worn will be quite high.

At least you'll be dealing with a more reasonable owners....having to cope with them in the past (10 years with BMWs) was not easy. I was told Art and Lynn finally sold the shop....it took a month to get in for service......no other BMW dealer other than in Troy, NY 5 hours away.

Our local police department got several of them in some kind of federal grant. The officers say they really them for urban applications, they are dead quiet and work really well zipping down sidewalks and alleys at night looking for bad guys.

They have been racing Zero bikes at the Isle of Man TT for the last few years. They are getting more popular, and faster!

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...the-boundaries

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Originally Posted by Vondawg

At least you'll be dealing with a more reasonable owners....having to cope with them in the past (10 years with BMWs) was not easy. I was told Art and Lynn finally sold the shop....it took a month to get in for service......no other BMW dealer other than in Troy, NY 5 hours away.

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Wow. I don't know anything about the dealer, and, as mentioned, this was the first time I had been in the showroom despite it being just 4-5 miles from the house. Glad it is in the hands of potentially more responsive ownership.

The salesman was very knowledgeable and the place seemed nice...except he kept mistakenly referring to my Honda as a "Harley". I didn't correct him; I found it kind of funny.

I glanced at the Bimmers, but wasn't really interested. Never have been to interested in their lineup. Too alien-looking.

Up to 150 mile range?? That's a 75 mile ride from the house and back and the operative words are up to. I usually do that on a milk run. And remember that's based on a fully charged battery.

That brings up the question how hard is it to push?

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Originally Posted by Bob Penn

Up to 150 mile range?? That's a 75 mile ride from the house and back and the operative words are up to. I usually do that on a milk run. And remember that's based on a fully charged battery.

That brings up the question how hard is it to push?

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I suppose not to hard if ya got the right help:icon_biggrin:
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i5...rcyclePUSH.jpg

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Originally Posted by Dave Ritsema

Our local police department got several of them in some kind of federal grant. The officers say they really them for urban applications, they are dead quiet and work really well zipping down sidewalks and alleys at night looking for bad guys.

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:yes:

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Originally Posted by Bob Penn

Up to 150 mile range?? That's a 75 mile ride from the house and back and the operative words are up to. I usually do that on a milk run. And remember that's based on a fully charged battery.

That brings up the question how hard is it to push?

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I don't know. How hard is it to push a 900 pound motorcycle that's run out of gas, or a 1.5 ton car?

"up to" would depend on how hard you are on the throttle, or power, in this case. I haven't been keeping up to date with Zero but I remember they did offer different models with various battery configurations and types of quick charging.

Electric technology admittedly is still not fully developed by any of the current vehicle manufacturers, nor is it within the reach of the average consumer so likely you can't afford it as an experiment. I mentioned before they're not cheap.

So, IMO they're probably not for use as a primary vehicle unless you're in an urban setting but they are the best example yet of how electric technology can be applied to motorcycles.

Thanks Vstar from bringing up the topic.:039:

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Originally Posted by unsub

I don't know. How hard is it to push a 900 pound motorcycle that's run out of gas, or a 1.5 ton car?

"up to" would depend on how hard you are on the throttle, or power, in this case. I haven't been keeping up to date with Zero but I remember they did offer different models with various battery configurations and types of quick charging.

Electric technology admittedly is still not fully developed by any of the current vehicle manufacturers, nor is it within the reach of the average consumer so likely you can't afford it as an experiment. I mentioned before they're not cheap.

So, IMO they're probably not for use as a primary vehicle unless you're in an urban setting but they are the best example yet of how electric technology can be applied to motorcycles.

Thanks Vstar from bringing up the topic.:039:

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They do have various modes. Sport is the highest performance, but, as you can guess, shortest range. They also have Normal and Economy IIRC. One more setting - Custom. You can program the computer with a smartphone app to tailor the performance characteristics to your liking. Electric power makes this option much easier for the manufacturer and offers more specific programming then throttle-by-wire with a gasoline engine.

We have pretty much maximized the efficiency and output of the 100+ year old internal combustion engine. It is on the cusp of being obsolete. The best it can do is to deliver about 30% of the incoming energy to power the wheels. The rest is lost.

I hope battery technology can become viable enough to support cars and motorcycles with a 1000 mile range that require charging only once or twice per month. I have already gone to a battery powered weedwacker and soon a lawnmower (for limited use).