I've been interested in the electric " Zero" motorcycle ever since it came out a few years back.
Today I had a chance to ride one for about an hour and want to share some of my impressions.
Sitting on it it feels quite small and light, sort of like a 250 cc street and trail.
It only weighs about 340 lbs.
Suspension feels really good and tight and even though I weigh in at close to 200 lbs there was no bottoming out on even the baddest pot holes.
Instrumentation is very informative, including the " how much juice do you have left" bargraph. I rode the thing without break for an hour on both sideroads and highway and upon returning to the dealer only 2 bars of 7 or 8 were gone.
Now to the good part...... the power
I rode the larger one of the 2 available street bikes ( 7 kWh and 9 kWh)
The acceleration is impressive and the complete lack of any engine noise is simply awesome. The only noises you hear is a slight wine of the electric motor and the usual tire noise. Even that is drowned out by wind noise once you hit the higher speeds.
What really got my juices flowing was the quick acceleration at any speed above 30 km/h. According to the salesguy the acceleration from 0 to 30 km/h is electronically restricted to prevent an unintended "wheely" during takeoff.
Once at 30 km/h the acceleration of the zero is equal to or even slightly quicker than my Wee.
It doesn't matter if you're at 30 km/h or at 100 km/h, when you twist that throttle, you really have to hang on to the handlebars..... it's awesome.
I wound it up some on the highway and had no trouble to go 120 km\h up a long, fairly steep hill. I think the absence of noise is so cool especially since performance does not suffer in the least.
IMHO this is the perfect commuter bike and I'd buy one in a minute but as always there is one big draw back...... the price
The beast is expensive..... $ 14 000 CDN plus 15% tax
My bank account would howl in protest as would my wife !
Were it half the price, I'd have one in my garage tonight, hobnobbing with my Wee.
Of course one could always cash in some retirement mutuals but the price just doesn't sit well with my frugal self.
I asked the sales guy if there were an used ones around and he just looked at me, shook his head and smiled.
All in all that thing rocks and I'm hoping the price will come down as more and more units are being sold.
Sorry for being so long winded but it had to be said

I saw an electric bike up the mountain on Monday. It's 30 miles from power to the restaurant and 30 miles from there to the freeway home. I wondered about the battery capacity to get home.
The electric is a good idea but I'd be concerned about the return trip!

use searchtempest.com
search in motorcycles for zero motorcycles
There's a supermotard in Santa Cruz for $6900

Garberville $5000

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L2V -- she's a stocker!

Whats the realistic range for it?

..Tom

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Road Toads Charter Member - 2006 V-Strom DL650: 202,000 km 125,500 miles, 2012 DL650 New March 2012 50,000 km


Why Cars don't see bikes (SMIDSY)
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Coal

Powering the future

They are terribly inefficient if your an eco type, much worse than infernal combustion

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8/2/2013

$30k Toyota with 55mpg vs $10k Hyundai with 35mpg... takes a buttload of miles to make those two cars equal, assuming the battery pack doesn't need replacing before then. Yet the Prius sell like hotcakes here in lala land. Though the electric bike does not have a big name behind it like the hybrid in this example.

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Electric bike range is highly dependent on speed. If you are puttering around on side streets, you may get the claimed range. Take it out on the highway, and you're looking at 30-50 miles, depending on load and speed. And remember, no ducking into a filling station for a quick charge. You run it out, you're going to be sitting for a while. I figure 3-5 years until battery technology allows for realistic performance (100 miles at 75 MPH). And if we're lucky, they'll agree on a single physical form factor for batteries, so a quick swap to a new, charged battery pack will get you on your way.

I don't think it's fair to say that.

There's a map that displays which areas of the US are the most "green" as far as electric cars go, and which are the worst. Obviously an area where electricity is coal-based is worst, the PNW with it's hydro power is virtually pollution-free.

Carbon In, Carbon Out: Sorting Out the Power Grid - Graphic - NYTimes.com

And there's still a lot of debate on if e-cars will reduce pollution overall, regardless of where it's electricity comes from. Here's links from both sides of the argument:

Why Electric Vehicles Will Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Renewable Energy News Article

Plug-in Vehicles and Their Dirty Little Secret | Renewable Energy News Article

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Would like a tree hugger to answer this. Why is an electric car percieved as non polluting? Unless, one is fortunate enought to get his electricity from hydroelectric. Even hydro has drastic effects on the environment and is a monumental investment. Doesn't the electric power to charge the batteries have to be produced, usually with coal or oil plants? How bout the toxic chemicals and heavy metals in all those batteries. How bout all the money you have to spend purchasing these vehicles and maintaining? Easily takes a coons age to recoop the cost. Personally, I'd like to retire someday instead of paying car mortages. Inquirey minds what to know.

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2007 DL-650 (111,000 + miles)
"A word grows to a thought; a thought to an idea; an idea to an act. All the pieces are put together, and the whole is yours."
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"In most men, there lurks a lesser man, and his presence smells in the the sun."
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