Zero DSR Electric Motorcycle Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Zero DSR Electric Motorcycle Review: I've been wanting to ride an electric powered motorcycle ever since I first heard they were a thing. In general bikers seem to turn their nose up at electric powered bikes because of the lack of sound, gearbox and raw reciprocating manliness of an internal combustion engine. Well I was one of those too until I rode the Zero DSR - a real world, practical and not too insanely expensive simply brilliant fun motorcycle. Enjoy!
Many thanks to HGB Motorcycles in Ruislip for making this review possible.
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Wow - this one has been a popular upload! - nearly 10,000 views and 500 comments within the first 24 hours - sorry folks that I've not been able to respond to all the comments...I do read them all but in this case just haven't been able to keep up! Thanks for watching and do please keep the comments coming...I promise to at least read them all if not answer them all individually. All the best - TMF
TheMissendenFlyer despite the "luddite" reader who called this bike a 'fraud', most people see a very bright future for electric motorcycles. Their only (and major) downside is for touring... for now.
Keep up the great content, tmf. Thanks
Very interesting - saw them at Motorcycle Live so great to see a good video looking at it on the move! Keep up the good work!
TheMissendenFlyer you wouldnt have shares in Tesla by any chance would you bud🤔
Sir, how tall are you? The bike seems a bit small to me. Perhaps a S/SR is more suitable for taller people?
I am not a motorcycle guy, I don't even have an MC license but the Zero looks like a ton of fun. I've been searching through TH-cam for Zero videos for a while now, I'm hooked! One day...
Akrapovic will be launching their all new playing card and washing peg kit for those who like a bit of beat. The cards come in different stiffness' with matching coloured pegs.😂😂
And kick starters, drum brakes, leather helmets... I miss those too.
Great review! Glad you finally tried a Zero. I've had 2 Zero's now and ridden 125,000 miles on them. Not a drop of gasoline in over 6 years now thanks to Zero. Kept my gas bike (2005 Yamaha YZF-R1) as a backup the first year, but I never wanted to ride it again. A Zero is all you need. Just get the aftermarket fast chargers for long touring days. I've done an Iron Butt (1000 miles in 24 hours) on a Zero with a few mods so depending on how you ride anything is possible. The only people who ever say anything bad are those who have never actually test ridden one. Unfortunately there are still a lot of these uninformed people. Hopefully more people will try one and see what they've been missing
100% agree Terry, I don't think I've heard any one who's actually ridden one say it's not brilliant!
Terry should have mentioned that he set a record riding 3,000 miles across the USA in 2013, completely unassisted, on his Vetterised Zero and in 2014 did an Iron Butt of over 1,000 miles in under 23 hours. I've had the pleasure of riding his machine, which was based on a standard 2012 Zero!
but they are costly....top model looks pretty cool but 20k....nope
@@Ciki92 yeah, but how much do you spend on gas and oil and oil and air filters every year. Not to mention less maintenance to the motor.
New batteries are not cheap, but I'm sure it pays for itself after a few years
How do they age? Look like after a few years? The plastics etc?
I am totally all in on these bikes. I have been driving an electric car for the past year, and it has been the best car I have ever had... costs nothing to own/run. My next bike will be electric. The ZERO bikes are nice, but I love the looks of the upcoming Shanghai Customs Electric Street Tracker. And I LOVE that they are silent. Far more cool to ride around silent than to make a bunch of noise.
I agree (I also have a hybrid electric car that I'm a huge fan of - the electric shove and additional torque is incredible)
Costs nothing to run an electric car for now....I’m sure they’ll bring in a tax when more and more people buy them and stop buying fossil fuel cars and bikes. Oh, also the price of electric will rocket.
@themissendenflyer You changed the intro sound to buzzing electricity instead of bike revving sound nice detailing big brother loved the review 👍🏻
Glad you appreciated that ;0)
I prefer the sound of silence over the tiresome, grating noise of poisonous combustion. And a battery is much less likely to burn you to a crisp in an accident. The elec-trick motor has several other advantages. Most have only 4 moving parts; it is highly reliable, easily rebuilt, weighs less, requires zero maintenance, is just as powerful as an ICE, less expensive, and has all of its torque available from the get up and go. The ICE is dead; long live the king: the elec-trick motor. Even old fart, traditional Harley Davidson will be selling an elec-trick motorcycle in 2019. Get green and mean, and ride elec-trick!
Great to hear and see the reactions of a Zero first timer...I bought my 2014 DS straight after my first test ride and I love it. Great analysis of some of the misconceptions and positive counter arguments for going electric. I actually love the stealth factor. I can hoon around without much noise and hopefully not attracting too much attention from the "ones" who disapprove. Again a brilliant review. Next time it would be good to see you use the Zero app and explain its use.
I hope there is a "next time" - what a fun bike!
Absolutely perfect city bike. Quiet, no stink, no chain maintenance, no constant shifting in stop/go, no roasting in traffic, power for quick overtakes, sufficient range to last a few rides before charge... may be time to say farewell to beloved CBR
Could well be, in town this would be unbeatable...
Yeah these bikes are future.But pulling clutch, shifting gears and bliping throttle for that wild downshifts is some kind of a special feeling...
True, but not as special a feeling as the launch you get with all that torque from standstill....
You no it brother I like changing gear
You made no mention of what the 'KERS' system actually 'feels' like, i.e the sensation of motor braking, how noticeable was it? No mention of the missing clutch and gear shifter on such a powerful machine, how did that translate? Not one of your better reviews TMF, I am left feeling not much better informed, although I am convinced this is the future sooner than we think. I hope you concentrate on the detail and don't go too far down the Delboy's route of just saying what you are told to and making up the rest.
No problem. There are still a few auto drivers who prefer this too.
If you had grown up in a world where only electric bikes existed....and then, one day, someone showed up with an internal combustion engine....you and everyone else in the world would LAUGH.
I've been commuting on a Zero S for the last 3 years. It is so practical for that task. I commute 200 miles per week, the cost of electricity is £2.50. It has very little in the way of service requirements. I changed the tyres this year after they had done 15k. The indicator bulb is the only other thing that has had to be replaced. It isn't heavy on the brake pads, the rear brake is hardly used, the front is just used for the final stop, the bike speed can be controlled pretty effectively by rolling on and off the throttle. The twist and go is perfect for riding in heavy traffic, you are always in the right gear for any situation. I recommend that everybody should at least go out on one for a demo, you may be surprised.
I 100% echo all that! Can't wait to get on another one.....(which I'm working on for later this year)
I never miss the first electric ride experience of someone, love enjoying the electric changing mind one at a time. In this particular case, I loved how the rider changed from comparing it to a kettle to have his mindblown. To the people, who still kind of demean electric appliances in comparison to something that is running on an archaic combustion engine, spewing smokes and all have something wrong with their mind to begin with. In as soon as 20 years, oil will be a thing of the past and people born in that time will be shocked to find that we used to have vehicles that were driven by burning oil. If one still can't wrap their head around it, then just ride all the bullet and high speed trains, subways, tubes etc which are running by electricity. You don't compare them to a vacuum cleaner..right? Kudos to this rider for being an open minded folk. Thank you!!
I'd Just stick some playing cards in the spokes like we did when we were kids on our pushbikes lol
Ha Ha beat me to it...
Nah, a plastic bottle jammed between the back wheel and mudguard =P
Stick your passengers toes in the back spokes. The screaming can be heard for miles
We used to use lolly sticks
For the loudest noise, stick your fingers in the spokes
Great Review , but… Thinking Safety, a Superfast, Slim, All Black, Silent Motorcycle, what could possibly go wrong???
Yes, anyway I like buzzing through traffic and watching the cars part as I ride though 😎
Wear a good hi Vis , stick your headlight on, ride prop
Good to know that this progression is not all bad news. I can see these being so popular, even with people that may not have ridden before.
excellent! So many people write these off without considering the positives. It annoys me slightly how people make wild statements like "I'll give up bikes before i ride an electric" when they're obviously missing the point.
I've been on motorbikes for over 30 years, and for me the electric motor could utterly revolutionise the game, and I for one am really excited to try them out when the mainstream manufacturers inevitably get involved 👏
100% agreed - I love old school bikes as much as the next man but these electric machines are brilliant too (for different reasons)...
halogen headlight ? 😁
The problem I have with electric bikes and cars now, is that of course they are the future but there's plenty of time ahead of us (hope so). I am an ICE enthusiast and so I want to use them until they become prohibitively expensive, by which time electric vehicles will be far superior to what is offered today.
That transition will be done, but it'll be done begrudgingly.
VeeFour couldn't agree more. I've been riding for 13 years and I think it's absolutely genius to ride an electric bike instead of my Yamaha fz09.
I concur. There's room for both gas and electric bikes. I think the electrics expand the market for bikes overall. The majority of automobile owners prefer automatic transmissions over manual. How many in that segment would also prefer an automatic bike? An often overlooked advantage of electric bikes is that AWD models will quickly become available as the market matures. I think this feature will have e-bikes pulling away from their gas powered counterparts, literally.
This was a very interesting review. I'd never considered an electric bike before, but with the better range (300 miles), I think I could live with it.
When you said it only does 150 miles in eco mode I thought no way that's crap... Now I'm thinking how many times last year I did 150 miles in one run.. As a second bike or a Daly runner to work it's perfect.. Well almost
Exactly!
Thats about the same as my Goldwing but I can recharge in 3 minutes at the gas station. Interesting bike.
Precisely. It is not a tourer. But for everything else, its a blast!
There was a pivotal moment in this video when you were riding behind the other motorcycle, the past was in front of you....... Really excited to see what the big manufacturers release in the years to come, glad you enjoyed the future TMF. 🔋
Cheers and great to hear from you again - it's been a while!
TheMissendenFlyer Wouldn’t have missed this video. Electric vehicles are the future, won’t be long before people choose electric over fossil fuels.
Keeping things objective I think it would make a decent commuter provided you do a reasonably short ride to and from work. I could pretty much do a week's travel on that and charge it overnight at the weeks end so that would be fine. But I have to agree with others that it's going to be useless for a long run until you can fast charge it in minutes instead of hours, maybe Tesla could help there but the already daft 14k price tag would fly up as a result. Maybe it's the future, but plenty of development to be done. Nice review though TMF 👍🏻
Zero offer a quick charge option + an extra 'tank', both of which drastically reduce the charging time to, I believe, 2 hours. eco-motorcycles.co.uk/addons
Contact SC Do you know if you can charge it from a public ev charging point?
Yes I agree - charge time is an issue, but technology is moving fast!
I can tell you for certain that you cannot, Rupert. Not as standard anyway. However, fast charging is available from Diginow.
Elon Musk says he's "never" going to do a bike because "They're too dangerous". He's got a point.
As futuristic as this bike is,you would have thought it would have some sort of slippery screen on it! Well done for giving it a go! If they were not so pricey I would consider getting one! Thanks again great to see you try one, thats why I watch this channel!
The lack of any screen option is one of the things Zero needs to address.
Nice review,as always.
One thing you fail to mention is the maintenance (or lack of it)
There is no oil to change, no oil filter, no air filter, fuel filter, coolant or valve clearance to check.
Adding this to the electric power savings (Vs petrol) makes this bike even cheaper to run.
Administrative power is also extremely low on electric vehicles. There is no oil pump to drive, or cam shafts, fuel pump, water pump, injectors, or myriad of sensors. You don't even need to warm up the motor...
I rode an electric bike for a couple of months and, quite frankly, it is hard going back.
All very good points - wish I'd thought of them!
TheMissendenFlyer As you said, this is your 1st electric bike review.
You have to look at these in a completely new perspective.
All the points I mentioned are, in my view, very important. Just think of it for a second: No maintenance. That alone is like motorcycling 2.0.
No warm up needed. No gearbox. No catalyst converter needed. The electric motor will last for ever. It does not matter if it is a new bike or a 200k mile bike, the motor will always perform the same. Just like the fan on your computer right now. Or an hair dryer. The phrase "one carefully owner" no longer makes any sense. Apart from crashing, the is absolutely no way to ruin it.
The change is deeply more profound than just replacing petrol for electricity. May be a video on the subject?
I (occasionally) ride prototypes for a bike manufacturer if you need some help on the subject drop me a line.
Stay warm,
Alex
How much to replace the battery?
splodge 57 I imagine quite a lot, maybe as much as £4000.
Still, if you divide that over the 10 year lifespan of a current technology battery it is still cheaper that servicing a "normal" motorcycle.
But even that will quickly become a thing of the past with the new solid state batteries that are starting to come out. This first generation already delivers 3 times the capacity, much softer charging times and a far, far longer lifespan.
Keep in mind that the petrol bikes we ride today are the result of one century of technical refinement and these new electric bikes are the first of it's kind. These bikes aren't an.. evolution, they a re a revolution. Just sparks. No plugs.
I agree with all you say but all new technology is improved upon and is very expensive in the early days.
At £4,000 for the battery and a 5 year warranty I see a lot coming up for sale after 4 years!
Totally agree with much of your review. I finally test road the SR and DSR, then bought the 2018 DSR with a tank charger. Almost free to charge at home and $2.50 at ChargePoint.
Hi TMF, finally the review I’ve been waiting for. Will you be doing one of your “long term” reviews? I’m curious to know your thoughts on the bike’s build quality. How well it handles in the wet (as it’s got no traction control only ABS)? What’s the range like during winter riding? We’ve owned an electric car for a few years now, and to those critics on here I’d say, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. One comment about the charge times. Zero Now offer, on the 2018 range, an accessory “charge tank” which allows you to recharge using a type 2 connector in ~3hrs compared to the 9hrs using a wall socket. The charge tank replaces the pouch you showed that sits in the faux fuel tank. I really hope the dealer lets you keep the bike for a while so you can give a thorough long term review. Keep up the good work👍.
I'd love to do a long term review on one but alas I could only borrow the bike for a short (no pun intended) time......
Can't wait for the major manufacturers to start properly producing electric bikes. I've never ridden an electric motorcycle but I do have a Trek Powerfly 7 e-bike and it is fantastic, I can only imagine what an electric motorcycle will be like. Most of us will be riding these sort of bikes in 10 to 15 years, I have no doubt. Great review as always TMF.
Looking like the future of motorcycling.
100%...and it's not necessarily a bad thing if range/purchase cost can be sorted...great fun to ride - I'm sold!
I thoroughly enjoyed your review of the Zero bike! I must say that I enjoyed it for several reasons. First, you're an excellent narrator. So good in fact that this being my first time watching content on your channel, I'm compelled to subscribe. Second, your accent is melodious to my Yankee ears. Third, watching you ride down the 'wrong' side of the road was pure joy. I really want to get one, Ok I want two, of these Zero bikes. Excellent commentary like yours only solidifies my resolve to get one - or two - Zero's. I'm eager to see more of your content. Make it so!
Very kind of you Rick and thanks for the sub!
Great review of an awesome bike. Replacing the battery pack must cost an arm and a leg or two at the moment but battery technology is constantly improving so expect the writing is on the wall for the internal combustion engine in the not too distant future. An offroad variant must be a thing of amazement as well. Cheers TMF !
I think the need to replace batteries is going to be the Achilles heel until technology has developed further. I read that it can cost from one third to one half of the cost of the bike to change the battery, at which price, it would make more sense to buy a new bike rather than salvage a second hand one. On the other hand, in five years time, battery prices may have dropped substantially. It will be interesting to see if the batteries could indeed hold up to 5 years use - wonder if they put a mileage quotient on that. In terms of the experience, having that torque on hand is likely great fun, but I'm not sure that after a while the whole exercise doesn't become a soulless compared to the petrol combustion experience (which is probably what horsemen said when the mechanical horses first arrived....)
samsara My hope (just wishful thinking really) is that battery packs would become commodity / generic items and be 'hot swapable', that is stop at the fill station and just swap over depleted for a fresh battery pack and be on your way within minutes, instead of having to endure the overnight charging hassles. That would require a whole lot of infrastructure to implement but with modular battery pack systems it could be made to work with bikes, cars, trucks etc and give back the 'unlimited' range we curently enjoy with gas fuels.
I worked with a fellow up until I retired who owned and drove a Honda Insight hybrid. He was down to ‘gasoline power’ only as he was quoted around $3k to replace the failed battery pack. He stated the car operated MUCH better in hybrid (battery-gasoline) mode. I suspect we’ll see many hybrids kicked to the curb as their owners are unable to properly maintain their cars.
Check out Zero's claims on battery life. They are adamant that the battery will last at least as long as the rest of the bike...
Great review they certainly aren't boring TMF! Had a go on one myself and really enjoyed it if you can approach it with a open mind you will be amazed.
Agreed....
That is very interesting indeed! Hmm bit of an eye opener..
...it certainly was, see if you can get yourself a go, would be interested to hear what you think being a sports bike man....
Yes will drop them a message, thanks for the insight, great review as always
Change to a set of Monza type bars with a flyscreen and the ride is more comfortable.
Great review!
Nice to see a review where you tested it with an open mind, and not jump on the “it don’t make any noise......blah blah”
I would love an electric bike and as soon as the prices fall I am on one!
I drive a small electric car every day and the battery is coming up to 6 years old.
There has been no noticeable drop in range over all those years.
Most electric car batteries are over 99% recyclable.
Come a very long way since the milk float I once drove.
Indeed they have.....
But were you faster than Ernie?
Haha. Me too. My first electric experience was indeed driving a milk float. Later, I had a GM EV1 for a week. Loved it but the range was only 50 miles which wasn’t enough to get to work and back. Definitely interested in an electric bike or too, next year.
Great review! It's almost two years since I was dragged kicking and screaming by my wife into a Nissan dealers to test drive a Leaf. I wanted to hate it I really did, but was blown away by it. Electric vehicles drive so refined and smooth (and quick!). The only thing putting me off one of these is the lack of fast charge. I did a bike tour of Scotland this year covering 1500 miles in 4 days. At 9hrs charge for 150 miles, I would have spent nearly 4 more days charging :-). If I had the cash and space for two bikes, I'd love one of these.
Me too!
The true telling factor: When push comes to shove, could you envisage selling the STriple, or the Panigale, or the R1200GS, in order to buy one of these?...
I was disappointed to see that it has a halogen bulb headlight. A bike like this should definitely be all LED lit. Led's are brighter and far more efficient, which becomes important on an electric motorbike, and you don't have to replace bulbs, and they look cool.
Moreover, I was also disappointed to see the single disc, no-name brake on the front. For the price of the bike, a pair of twin disc Brembo M50's would be appropriate, especially in view of the performance and potential speed of the bike.
All good points Sam - for me the looks don't quite do it - it does look good compared to other electrics I've seen, but if it were shaped like a Street Triple or a Panigale, then yes, I would sell one to buy one....
...and you will be doing a lot of pushing and shoving!
That's the dual sport style one though. if you try the S or SR They're closer to a naked street bike like the Street Triple.
With regenerative braking you don’t need much mechanical braking.
Our electric forklift drivers at work only use the brakes to come to a complete stop.
Have you driven on the M25 when traffic comes to a stop from 70mph.
Tried the exact same model last summer with a buddy of mine, loved it, quite the interesting ride. We were both amazed at the torque and acceleration of these bikes, just a little pricey but a lot of fun!
100% agree....
Great review, your enthusiasm is almost addictive. I'll definitely be taking one out for a test ride soon. Not crazy about the looks though, wish they just put a conventional mudguard on the front.
Martin Frost The Zero S model has the looks of a standard naked bike. I guess this DSR model is their attempt to jump onto the scrambler bandwagon.
I think they do a super moto/enduro style bike too. There is a Super Sport electric bike too, but I can't remember the name of it.
Lightning :)
Zero FX trail and FXS supermoto. SR is the more 'naked street' model. The Energica Ego and Eva are the super sport electric bikes. Awesome.
First time I've seen a review on an electric bike which left me thinking I wanted one. Excellent stuff.
They are great fun Nick.....
I think the future lies in removable battery. Each fuel station would have an attendent like the old days who has a special tool to remove the flat one and swap it out for a full. The amount of charge left on your old battery would determine how much you pay. The attendent would then place it on charge and keep it stored for the next guy.
ChompsLewis blimey. You'll be wanting two gallons and a shot of redex next.
Deek Anderson yeah if it were to happen there would need to be only a handfull of standardized sizes like we have for normal batteries. But technology may get to a point where the chargers are that good that they might only need to be pluged in for 10 minutes for a decent charge. Even with bikes and cars now you dont always go for a full tank, just enough to get you going.
I would want 10 miles for £1 at least
And 20 minutes of my time is worth at least £5
Would be prohibitively expensive. And make your battery trivial to be stolen... shits like $3k+. Anyone that's ever worked at a gas pump will have access to that tool.
At that point you may as well just pay for gas. Cars will likely move away from pure EV to some kind of onboard charge system (HFC? Generator like Volt? Solar?) that temp stores in smaller batteries.
In the meantime, EVs have 1 niche that they'll dominate... commuting/groceries/errands... the daily grind.
If you want to drive long-range, bike or car, it'll be with a petrol engine for the foreseeable future.
Rode one last year ....not sure if I'm ready but it is without a doubt the future for some riders.
Thank you for sharing ....fantastic video.
Thank you...very kind of you to say so...
14:23 "It ain't a normal, internal *congestion* bike" :D
What a fantastic machine!! If they could do these with some wind and weather protection, could that be the perfect commuter? Practical, economical, easy to maintain, and stacks of fun!! Very exciting times :-)
This is the future, make the most of your traditional combustion engine, there days are numbered. Great review.
Agreed......
How long have we got left?
Matt cc
Oh I'd say till the end of the month.
John Richards
I'll be sending my valve grinding paste back for a refund then.
I think we are looking at the future,I didn’t think you would be disappointed,we need a long term review,brilliant stuff
I'd love to try living with one of these for a period....if any electric bike manufacturer wants to get in touch I'm very open to the idea!! :0)
Its 3.51 pm in Perth au so this is an ealry start for the flyer
Well spotted :0)
Cosbro got to uncoil all that cable you see... that’s got to take a few hours. 😉 Great review TMF, looks wild riding such a silent machine.
Just invested a couple of hours watching all the reviews i could find on this....brings a smile to most of there faces
We can't all be wrong can we?
Where the heck are the British manufacturers?
Good question!
in bankrupcy
One odd thing (in a positive way) to get accustomed to is riding from a cold start.
My entire riding life it's been; pull bike out of garage, preride check then start engine, finish suiting up with zipping the jacket, donning the helmet (adjust choke down as this is happening) slip glove on, mount bike, blip throttle to check responsiveness, begin riding when engine is ready.
Zero: Pull bike from garage, fully suit up, mount/turn key on, ride away. Right now. No delay. Sorcery.
Yes all sorts of new stuff to get used to when you go electric - and most of them good!
Nothing like saving gas and saving the air too!!! It's the future!
Cool video and the pick up looks fabulous. For me,the bikes engine sound is one of the reasons many buy a bike. I`d still like to try it though. Well done
That instant torque more than makes up for the loss of noise believe me - grin inducing stuff...
It could be a Harley thing for me then, my Night Rod with full Akro sounds slush.
My wife has a BMW i3, it's a proper hooligan tool. Off the lights, you can leave pretty much any car (faster 0-40 than the latest BMW M3) and keep up with regular motorbikes. The only downside...chews through tyres because of the instant torque. The bike looks great, but rear tyre will probably last 3-4k miles. Also, the charge socket should really include a faster charge facility, 9 hours is too long. Can charge i3 at home using fitted charge point in 3 hours and has a much larger battery. Can fast charge at motorway services in 25 minutes. Also, unless you have a garage or off-street parking not really practical. But still think the bike is brilliant. Could embarass some much larger bikes. BMW is rumoured to be launching a mainstream electric bike this year. Thanks for the great review TMF.
I agree electric cars are great fun, instant massive torque surprises most car drivers. Only drawback with the i3 is the skinny 145 width tyres and the equally massive understeer when you try and negotiate a roundabout! A Kia soul EV is a better bet, a normal car but just electric.
My Zero's tyres are on 5k miles with no noticeable degradation, and I do my share of hard acceleration. You can actually buy faster chargers for Zero but it costs, you guessed it, loads more money :D
That sounds good about the tyres. I am sold on electric cars, but electric motorbikes...definitely don't want to be too stealthy on a bike.
Regarding cost, I will point out a few things, courtesy of a friend who owns one.
Maintenance.
Adjust drive belt as needed. No lube.
Replace tires once worn.
Brake pads when worn.
Replace brake fluid about 36 months.
Wheel bearings at some point.
At some point the drive belt will be due replacement, but that's many years and miles away. He's certain the seat will be due to be recovered before that.
No oil, no oil filters, no fuel filter, no coolant, no coolant hoses. Seeing the picture?
Trust me I see the picture very clearly - these are the way to go.....great fun too!
I can't help but feel like electric motor makes more sense in a scooter frame. Low maintenance, short ride, lots of room for battery...
BMW have one of those. It's insanely quick for a scooter. Can't remember what it's called but there's vids for it online.
BMW C evolution and evolution Plus. The dog's doodahs. As fast as the Zero up to the restricted top speed of 80mph, but have traction control and Reverse as standard. And cheaper!
@@pnblondon1087 I looked it up and it's $14K in the US, which is as much as a Zero DS and has less range.
@@kalel33 In the UK, the BMW C evolution Plus is cheaper than the Zero DS (14.4kwh version) and the range is comparable - a real-world 80 miles ridden in a mixture of city, suburb and open country. I say that having ridden lots of Zeroes several thousand miles since 2009 and both production versions of the BMW, plus the original C evo 2012 prototype many hundreds of miles. Zero range claims should be taken with a large pinch of salt unless you're happy to ride very very slowly....vintagetovoltage.wordpress.com/the-authors/paul-blezard/
finally a proper realistic review of an electric motorcycle. would be i terested in your reviews on other makes of electric motorcycles.
I´m sure that my next bike will be electrical. I´m so fed up with the never-ending maintenance and problems of the gas engines. They should place the rear brake in the left handle like in scooters though, you get used to it pretty fast and it´s much more comfortable than using the feet. As soon as the range problem get´s solved and the charging network widens, it´s bye-bye for the gas machines imo. We´ll see in 5y.
Interesting times ahead!
ROKUGAN I agree the brakes would be better that way in this case, balances the look out better
How 'bout variable regenerative engine braking connected to the left lever and additionally retain the rear brake as is . You would probably end up vary rarely using the actual rear brake, but would still be nice to have it at lights etc.
ROKUGAN - Cant get away from the maintenance i would argue electric bikes would cost you more to run than a gas bike in the long term. batteries and brakes will need replacing eventually they wont be cheap plus u still have the usual tyres chains bearings and bushes etc then instead of an engine your gonna have one huge motor run by bucket loads of electronics..
At least with a gas engine they can be repaired/serviced easily
Electric bikes likely have to replace anything that fails which wont be cheap
Not bashing on the electric bikes i just think they will be more of a weekend toy instead of a replacement for the foreseeable future.
CEO Kato at Honda Motorcycle div. last month stated Honda does not have the technology to produce a viable 2 wheeled electric vehicle. Speculation is that an electric Honda would cannibalize sales of all gas models. To me, this is the most exciting thing to look forward to in the future. Thanks for the review!
Lol at the noise during the splash screen, love it.
Remember, they don't need to worry about long-range comfort with the seat, because you'll have to stop after an hour to recharge anyway.
Electric motors are great, but batteries are not the storage solution, imo. All the eco-mentalists (JC's term) are up in arms about how electric vehicles will save the world, just wait until the batteries (or components thereof) all end up in a landfill somewhere.
iamtherealzombie With a 150-200 mi range you're looking at 2-4 hours of riding time. And I'm sure you will be able to use quick chargers at designated charging stations that should nearly give you full capacity in 30 minutes. Also, batteries have been and are fully recyclable. The recycling rate of car batteries is about 99%. Compare that to engine oil and coolant if you want to have a real debate. I don't know what you do with your rechargable batteries, but it's illegal already to put them in regular garbage.
SV650NYC There's a 6 month owners review of this bike on youtube. The actual range is 100 miles and that's in eco mode with a brand new battery.
The batteries won't 'end up in landfill'. That's way too much precious resource (96% of which can be recycled) to just throw it in the general trash.
The sad part honestly is the amount of pollution they have to produce in the mining countries like south America, in order to make a battery. It's not just the mining equipment's pollution - The chemical waste is horrendous, nut to mention how much lithium you have to mine in order to get 1 oz of the stuff. I've read (old publication, hopefully) that it's 1 metric ton of ore for 1oz. Of lithium... Truly horrendous, & you do that processing all with chemicals... ='(
Lithium is no longer commonly mined as an ore, instead its pumped out of the ground as a brine, and left to evaporate.
www.amusingplanet.com/2015/10/the-lithium-mine-fields-of-atacama.html
As always cracking review....like you I like the sound of the internal combustion engine but the Zero does seem to get up to break neck speed very quickly....I know a chap who uses the Zero set up for American Flat Track Racing and has had a fair bit of success with it. Thanks for sharing TMF 👍
I'd like to know what the life expectancy for the motor is. I've burnt out many a scalextric motor in my time :)
Things got a lot better with the advent of brushless motors :)
Things got a lot better with the advent of brushless motors :)
DC brushless w/permanent magnets are probably half the bike's price. And weight. They went for the most expensive and most efficient electric motor imaginable.
That motor will last forever... early BLDCMs are rated for upwards of 10k hours of use. The batteries will be dead and chassis unusable long before that happens.
The lithium batteries are fantastic. I drive a 2013 Volt with about the same capacity battery as the Zero. Over 66k miles, the battery still gives the same range of about 40 MPC. One Volt driver has gone over 400,000 miles , with NO BATTERY DEGRADATION! Mine is warranted for 8 years, and the Zero's is warranted for 5 years. What other motorcycle has a 5 year warrantee on anything?
Zero reckon the batteries will last 200,000 miles, minimum.
Great to see they plan to make electric bikes fast and entertaining rather than some boring eco device because like it or not, piston engines are under legislative threat. Still some way to go with development but i reckon there'll still be a 'buzz' to be had from riding electric bikes in the future.
Great review of the future of motorcycling! You have amazing legs as your inseam seams to grow and shrink regularly. One day its 30 inches and the next it's 32! How do you do that:-)
You're paying far too much attention....
It's 32 on a cold day!
He puts in different inserts into the replacement knees, obviously! I need to get a set of those myself.
@Chris Hart Don't you have that backwards? ;)
Please oh please, will you abstain from describing yourself as “short” at 5 feet 8 inches; only one inch below the 2017 national average for men.
Spare a thought for those like me who are 5 feet 3 and an inseam of 26.5 inches! Clearly a challenge on most bikes which is one reason why I chose a Diavel: both feet down!
Best regards.
Good review.
I rode one. The Sport version. Loved it. Will get one once I make room in the garage.
I've had electric cars for a while and you just get absolutely addicted to how they go. Makes everything else feel old-fashioned.
I agree - as a recent convert to hybrid cars (just bought an E-Class Merc Hybrid) I don't need any more convincing....
I hear everything you say, and clearly it’s quite a hoot. But, no. Not until they dont need charging or any contact with the ground at all. When they can do that, for six grand, I’ll have one. Now where is that GS.
Thanks for sharing TMF. Does make you wonder what we'll be riding in the next few years. Keep up the good work.
Come on Mr.Flyer. The sound,the rumble,the smell of burnt fuel,the clutch/ gears, simply standing back and admiring the beauty and complex fine finish detail like a triumph possesses. These bikes possess no character what so ever. This is the boring future. Like a family household having dinner together nowdays,bugger all chat and everyone staring in silence at there devices. Its bloody scary
Oh dear, things sound grim in the Sandrino household....
Have you ever ridden an electric motorcycle? Don’t knock it until you’ve tried one. It means we can continue our hobby without destroying the planet, it’s a win/win in my book. Then there’s the benefit of much reduced servicing, no more ‘valve checks’. Personally I can’t wait.
Haha no Mr.Flyer we actually have good conversation in our house hold during dinner etc. (No devices allowed during certain times). I just observe general society these days and it seems most are not only fixated on devices but are also turning into one themselves (like lifeless bots). The lazy ones love Technology. Its all to easy. Ill get back to the point. You said it yourself TMF, that is that you feel invisible riding one of these - thats not what ridings about. Just my opinion.
Will Davis lol. Ive had my fair share of dodge em' car rides and slot car sets as a child. Once stepped up to combustion engine theres definently no turning back
We will all be surplus to requirements soon, next the self drive motorbike as the car is already made!!
Really interesting review, and would like to see a long term test of a electric bike, including costs of ownership, insurance, security, charging times, cost of a new battery and depreciation. Hope you can get one for a few months, and a great start to the new year for your channel. Great stuff.
Now that would be good....
Excellent bike for those who don’t want to live any more.
Have you tried one??
Don’t knock it until you’ve tried one......
DervMan get on a silent motorcycle? No thank you, I value my life.
MUNRO MUSIC 1, motorcycling is statistically the most dangerous mode of transport so if those things are important to you stop riding now!
2, By the time electric bikes are mainstream there will be an option of an augmented exhaust note, wether that be via helmet speakers or external loud speaker option.
3, Saving the planet is far more important than burning fossil fuel and annoying people with overly loud exhaust pipes.
DervMan for #1: really? So you are saying motorcycling is dangerous, and if you are riding that means you don't value your life a bit... Nice one! I bet people wearing protective gear while riding doesn't make sense to you either. Riding is dangerous so why bother, shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops is more than enough :D
Ive seen some of your Royal Enfield reviews! You are something else mate! Love your work and follow your videos with my lunch and dinner! Love em! Keep rocking.
Thanks for the kind comments - much appreciated! All the best - TMF
Invisible on a Motorbike? Not good.
Well you’ve convinced me TMF, once that range has touring capability I’m there. The lightness and eerie quietness is very intriguing mate........thanks a lot. Beans
You're welcome - good to hear from you as ever....
Cheers TMF, ride safe.
Funny styling. It has the raised front guard and semi-knobbie tyres of an adventure bike but a sport seating position. It would be interesting to see an adventure / dirt bike variant.
Interesting bike, like to have a go someday. There was a video on TH-cam where the reviewer took it to a local biker spot and challenged some bikers to a drag race on their R1’s.......having ridden one, you’ve guessed it, they declined. Love the number plate!
One only has to have a look at the lap times at the TT zero race to see how these bikes are evolving , if these are the future then maybe it’s not looking too bleak after all , excellent to see an electric bike getting a thoroughly good bit of TMF treatment .
Cheers Adrian - these things are great fun, I think the future is very bright!
Luv, luv, luv. I’ll miss the engine noise, but this is clearly the future. Please make sure to review the 2018 model when its available.
If I get the chance to I sure will, cant wait to have another go!
silence is golden, but for filtering couldn't be to hard for zero to put a speaker on it to add any engine noise we desire via mp3! for safety of course,,,, and a bit of fun, as for missing that smell i am sure there is some aftershaves that come close,,lol. great video well done TMF.
great to finally see an electric bike. The more the merrier. I think the electric bike is a really cool alternative. Perhaps zero might let you do a long-term review.
Wouldn’t that be nice!
fantastic review! welcome to the world of e bikes , I test road 4 this weekend , I pick up a 21 DSR next week . Ergos really suited me . Pricey but man are they fun. If you wanna know what torque is , hop on a Harley Live Wire you wanna hang on to that I only twisted half throttle.
The magic carpet of motorcycling! I love mine. 12000 commute miles and nothing but joy. I save my gas engines for the weekend.
This looks amazing. Thanks for another great review. I would love to try one and I think this is the future for bikes. The price will come down in time like any new technology and I'm sure these will sell like hotcakes. Keep up the good work TMF.
No oil and valves to worry about servicing. Seems simple to fix. A battery and a motor. No bad vibrations. Nice.
Yes lots of upsides with electric bikes....
Rode a DSR today from Amped Motorcycles in Newport & absolutely loved it. Great handling with powerful, smooth and predictable throttle response. Seriously thinking about getting one - bit of a hefty price tag though!
I do kind of like the idea of the two wheeled milk float. The worry as you pointed out is the lack of sound making us more invisible than ever. I think the future has to also in the vehicle to vehicle tech accident prevention. I have yet to see an electric motorbike that actually looks good to me but that will come. The BMW future bike looks interesting and a bit space age, doesn't fall over, head up displays through glasses. One day maybe, but the sound and smell of a petrol bike gives the bike personality. Maybe a good commuter option.
If only they can get that full charging time down! Would love to try one though. Great review as usual Mr Flyer!
thanks
I know a few bikers especially the more old school bikers maybe against the idea of an electric bike, it’s nice to have not just the speed but the noise to go with it, I’ve not ridden one of these electric bikes but I have driven an electric car and I’m with you the torque is intoxicating and the acceleration and speed of the Zero DSR looks very impressive.
Wether I’d go full electric for a motorcycle I’m very much “on the fence” as I like the purr of an engine pushing me along.
Great review, thanks.😎👍
Thanks for watching!
Glad you're OK at last, and the bike isn't actually totalled. The torque characteristic does seem a potential culprit - and definitely something the manufacturer needs to take seriously.
Nice looking machine! Glad to hear that our electric future isn’t actually going to be too bad :)
I think it’s very bright once prices come down a bit and range goes up....
These bikes are great at doing what they were designed to do, but they have so much more potential. It wont be long before you will find all kinds of firmware upgrades on ebay, and tuning advice on youtube. I love my e bike for backlane scratching as well as riding to work. Just no good for a whole day out unless you have somewhere to stop for half a day to recharge, and at twice the price of a real bike they have some way to go before they sell in masses.
Nice Bike..being so quite would worry me..my main fear on the road happens to be wildlife..I only ride an R3 with stock pipe but that noise gives me some presence I feel really valuable..anything electric should bleep in my opinion to make sure anything that can’t hear them still no they are there..keep up the good work my man..another great review well done you..!!
I've liked Zero bikes for quite some time now and they're the brand I'll eventually buy. Good job TMF.
We laughed at Diesel cars in the early 80's, The first Diesel Cavalier was an underpowered joke, unless you were a cabbie like me at the time and went from 22-25mpg on your Cortina to 44mpg on cheaper Diesel - So why is unrefined diesel costing more than very refined petrol? Thank you Mr Chancellor
Anyway giving one of these some serious thought for my commute, thanks for a great review!
Thanks for being honest about the carpet ride.
Most people, when presented with the best new thing, a disruptive thing, a thing that replaces and makes obsolete the current thing, will instinctively REJECT it...usually with FEAR and VIOLENCE almost....it's like a caveman smashing a TV. "UGH! BAD! KILL!". The new thing triggers a dark part of people's brain and it's scary to see and especially be on the receiving end of. Tesla owners take a lot of shit because of this. It's actually fascinating and terrifying at the same time. I've always been curious about how new things change the old way. Like when people first saw really any new invention. Often, the new person is attacked and driven off or sometimes killed. Humans are dangerous, irrational animals.
Great review. Will definitely check out one for a test. One small issue is that the price does not justify the means. For £14,000 you’d buy a v clean used Ducati multi or BMW GS. Zero is the future for sure but until the price is reduced will most bikers go for combustion power - let’s see!
Great review as always from TMF! One thing around braking is the existence of regenerative braking based energy collection that these EVs handle. You mention it, but in many occasions actual brakes are not needed as resistance from regeneration slows down quite a bit. I believe the regen level is adjustable in custom mode.
As an MT10 owner, I can't imagine not having the sound of a beautiful IC engine beneath me. However, you mention having 54 miles left and the charge at 74%, which seems to suggest a range of mid 70s. You also mention a charge time of around 9 hours!!! So, it seems, that these are ok for a very short and quick blatt and that's it!
Fantastic review, must admit I really look forward to all your reviews and found this no different, just brill .I'm now wanting an electric bike😊 keep up the good work.
I really enjoyed watching that review TMF. Thought provoking for owners of conventional bikes like us. When is your illustrated guide to pub car parks being published?
Why hadn't I thought of that!
Great review TMF , Going to be an interesting few years for these machines, Indeed BANANAS!
Agreed!
Initial purchase price may be high, but besides the very considerable fuel savings remember there are no regular maintenance requirements with these bikes besides brakes and tires. The belt never needs adjusting (or replacing for that matter), no oil changes, no tune-ups, no winterizing needed. The motor has ONE moving part, which makes a gas engine seem like something out of the Flintstones - *for a commuter*, I think they're brilliant.
100% agreed Peter...
Great review on a popular subject . I honestly believe within 5 years we will have a smaller lighter faster charging solution . Bring it on
Ditto that!
Another excellent review. Loving the torque and acceleration. Also love the looks. It has the headlight from the 660 cc Yamaha MT03 but with more supermoto styling. I'd consider one if (big if) I could ever afford one
A few years ago (2011/12) one of the elec' bike manufacturers invited members of London Advanced Motorcyclists to do some market research at Farnborough Airport. They'd populated an enormous indoor area with various bike related stuff, asked us to fill in questionnaires etc etc.
The finale was a go on their prototype elec' bike around a little track they'd set up on the airfield. Much like you TMF, I was blown away by the acceleration/noise/flickability combo. We weren't told who the manufacturer was although at the time there was some speculation it was HD?! Not sure where that came from. Now I'm thinking it may have been Zero. Either way elec' bikes are the future as soon as the price goes down and the range up.
100% agree (and I remember Harley doing the rounds with an electric demo bike a few years back, wonder what became of that....)
Great first ride review. Perhaps a cost of ownership review, service costs etc. If this is the future of motorcycling then its not bad at all.