The Zero SR hails the arrival of the electric era.
Tesla, carbon neutral, low emissions, driver-less cars – they are all big themes which have risen out of the past 10 years.
We have become more conscious of our carbon footprint, but we are also scared of change so it puts us in a delicate place at the moment. I suppose the proof is the disproportionate interest in Tesla, but unless you charge from solar panels or essentially live off the grid, we all still heavily depend on fossil fuels in one way or another. I am here to tell you however, electric vehicles have well and truly arrived and the Zero company (whose name is derived from the idea of zero emissions) is a long-term player in the motorcycle game.
Zero builds electric bikes in Santa Cruz, California and has been doing so since 2007. Over nine years Zero has pretty much led the way in practical, electric motorcycling.
Because of that experience, the Zero SR is one of the most advanced electric bikes on the consumer market – so this is more a comparison of electric versus the rest. Because the riding experience is so different to the norm I want to get straight to the bike.
Whip it good
The first thing I was curious about was the throttle response.
Riding a conventional motorcycle (with a combustion engine) is so intuitive to an experienced rider, the feeling is ingrained. With the Zero SR I wasn’t sure whether to expect it to ‘snap on’ or be easier to manage.
In this respect, the Zero SR nails it above all others. It changes what motorcycling has been all about because it takes away so much of the conventional thinking about riding. From a standing start, in the middle of corners, roll-ons, anything – the response is silky smooth and predictable every time. There are no gears, no clutch, no ‘fuel’… the sound is even a radical departure from the norm. Just twist and go.
It gives you this feeling of being über connected to the machine – riding by a process of dissonance when these variables have been removed – it is unlike anything else I have ever ridden.
Rider modes and smartphone connectivity
When it comes to power delivery, the Zero SR has 3 different torque maps – Eco, Sport and Custom.
They are pretty self explanatory and practical. Eco is great when you are in the daily grind, need to save battery, or the weather is bad. Sport is good for regular riding – and in custom you can dial up your own settings through an app which connects to the bike via Bluetooth, and change various parameters such as the braking regeneration.
As the names imply, Eco gives a totally soft response, maybe comparable to a 600cc LAMS bike or similar.
In sport mode it’s a big step up. The power is direct, the torque is huge. Maximum power is 67HP (50kW) and torque twists out at 144Nm.
To put that in perspective, a Yamaha MT-07 produces around 55kW, but only 68Nm of torque. A Ducati 1200 Monster – 100kW and 118Nm of torque.
Those figures paint you a fair picture – the Zero SR has the power of a supersport machine, but the torque of a superbike. Acceleration is about on par with a supersport bike – and I would rate the overall feeling as ‘supersport on banned substances’… not full-on steroids, but peptides. It completely changes the way you ride the bike.
Is it a game changer?
If you take a look at the front of the bike, you’ll notice there’s a huge battery where the engine normally is normally located.
The Zero SR weighs in at 188kg which is not too bad, it still feels quite nimble. Because of the constraints of the rectangular battery, it carries weight differently to a conventional motorcycle. If you think about it, there has been decades of engineering development for combustion engines and their components, so everything is optimised for its use – fitting nicely and efficiently.
With the Zero SR there is this big, heavy battery, and it changes the centre of gravity, undoubtedly providing a few headaches for the engineers.
I would say it took me about 36 hours to get used to the balance of this bike – then it felt fine. The Zero SR feels planted to the road – throttle control is is awesome, it doesn’t get much better. Braking? You would never know that’s a single disc up front, there is fantastic feel and ABS.
This is a big thing, because I think to have the most fun on this bike, being fast is more a matter of pulling the Zero SR up and turning rather than holding high corner speed. Like I said, the performance is supersport-like, but you can use the torque to your advantage which isn’t really possible on supersport machines which benefit from higher revs and corner speeds.
But the big adjustment is the centre of gravity. This is where it gets hard to compare to a normal bike – and to be honest, even the horsepower comparisons don’t tell the whole story. Riding it feels like you’re in a Star Wars scene. Its almost silent electric ‘whirring’ noise completely changes the riding experience. You could race these bikes in the space of a footy field and not get one noise complaint from the neighbours. This bike really has the potential to be a game changer.
The experience is so different and I became more and more comfortable as the days went on. The components are mostly familiar to what we are all used to, but because the bike reacts differently to the weight placement, traditional engineering doesn’t necessarily go out the window, because it’s grounded in physics, but it has encouraged engineers to be creative.
Even down to tyre selection, the Pirelli Diablo Rosso feels solid – but you are aware there is only a 140 section on the rear – so you ride accordingly.
High voltage, plan your charges
Battery life is the biggest consideration. Zero say the battery is good for about 250km, but I found it really depends on how hard you ride. If you spend some time in Eco mode, taking it a little easier, you would definitely get close to that 250km mark. If you ride it like you stole it and have a bit more fun, I think you would be looking at about the 200km mark or less.
I didn’t fully test it out, because I was aware I might leave myself in the lurch, but if I owned one it would be the first thing I’d play with.
Which brings me to charge times. To fully charge the Zero SR’s battery it takes 8 hours – and I found the analogy of it being like any other electric device to be fairly true. You come home and put it on charge. It’s a habit you develop, but you definitely have to think ahead.
The Zero SR requires 240v mains power with a normal ‘kettle’ type plug.
If you’re short on patience, Zero has fast charge packs available which chops that time to almost 2 hours, and you can get an accessory battery pack to extend the range to over 300km, which is getting where it needs to be. The only downside is that the power pack weighs about 20kg.
Zero one, one Zero?
When you read all this it’s starting to sound like I could be a convert.
The sound – the looks – the Zero SR builds a very strong case.
In the city there is no doubt it is a fun machine, and I really got used to the simplicity of no noise in the morning going to work. It just feels good. Ah, the serenity.
Twist the throttle and it’s a weapon.
Maintenance is also an attraction – because of its lack thereof. There are hardly any internal moving parts and it is belt drive – no oils are required, there’s no air filter, no spark plugs, fuel hoses… the list goes on. The carrot is huge savings right there, but there is a stick.
How much?
There is one major letdown, and that is the price.
I spoke to so many people on the street, and most were guessing the price to be around $12,000-$15,000, and I think at that price point there would be a lot of demand. At an actual retail price of more than $26,000 I think it unfortunately limits the Zero to the most committed early adopters, or the financially astute who see it a long term financial benefit, which is a shame considering the build quality.
For my money, the Zero SR needs to be that little bit better across the board to get me seriously looking at it. But as it is, it is pretty close, this is the future.
Now, if you are that unstoppable early adopter, or committed to the environment, go and have a ride and see what you think. Even if you’re not, it’s worth a test ride to see what the future might look like.