Can an electric bike meet a sports touring brief? Snaggy sends the $42,800 Zero SR/S into the wild blue yonder and comes up with the definitive answer. Buckle in…
What we like:
- Absolute rocketship fast
- Built beautifully
- Extremely economical to run
Not so much:
- Range inadequate for sports touring
- Lack of charging stations
- Hefty purchase price
After being in this caper for a thousand years, there’s not a lot of categories that I haven’t ridden or tested in some way. So, of course the boss Spencer sent me to a totally unknown realm, that of the electric motorcycle… I’m sure I heard him snigger as I left his palatial office.
OK, so it’s a whole new thing, and one that makes bunches of sense. Not just for me, but for the planet as well. I like to perceive having no idea about a subject as a real plus in this case. Kinda starting from Zero. You like that? Hang around, try the veal.
Truth is, I’m kinda on-side with new technology, and if you aren’t, well have a try for the sake of this exercise. Fact is, it’s not all beer and skittles, there are real challenges faced by this bike and indeed the whole phenomenon. In my opinion the SR/S represents a stepping stone to a more efficient model. Except. It’s thrilling now. And that always get my attention. I like it fast and if you are worth your salt, so do you. Yep, fast is good. The SR/S is mind-bendingly fast. Oh yessiree Bob.
There’s 190Nm of torque and that rush hits instantly and just keeps on keeping on and there’s 84kW of power. She’s no lightweight at 235kilos, but the powerplant doesn’t seem to notice.
Shod with fat Pirelli Diablo Rosso III tyres, the thing grips up and slingshots you into the next realm of utter lunacy with such surefootedness, that you’ll be seeing off just about everyone on this. Bragging rights? You betcha.
Now, were I to give you a full technical and spec-laden rundown, well we’d be here all night, I’d bugger some factoid up and you’d be bookmarking one of those down home, gee whizz, everything is great, ‘you pay we say’ bike websites that masquerade as objective journalism. Yeah, that one especially. You get it. Perish that thought, right there.
So, without further ado, let’s take a Snaggy look at the Zero SR/S. Tested in real world going, with real world expectations, smack bang in the bike’s design brief, that of sports tourer.
First thing that hits me is that this thing looks like a motorcycle, not a prop from a failed B Grade sci-fi series, as some of them do. It actually reminded me a fair bit of a certain latin reddish brand at first sight and that’s a plus for Zero, in anyone’s language. It really is a beautiful thing.
Build quality is premium good. Fasteners, fairing, solidity of switchgear, and an information-laden 127mm TFT dash that does everything but brew you a latte. That’s in the pipeline I’m sure, but not here yet.
Lovely big four piston J-Juan calipers on fat 320mm rotors stopping the thing, plush stitched seat and machined pegs, bars and levers add to the general hardcore quality that thing thing possesses in spades. Big tick in the build quality box for mine.
Some things to which to attend before we get underway. Now, before hitting the street, you’ll need to download the Zero NextGen app. This gives complete access to the bike’s many functions and controls. I stuck it on a Quad Lock and used it quite easily over the course of the test.
The app allows the creation and management of modes which include Rain, Eco, Standard, Sport, and Canyon. Owners can add custom modes which set power, torque, top speed, engine regen (closed throttle engine braking), and regenerative braking. There’s a heap of other functions and capabilities on offer here, suffice it to say that the parameters, information and useability is supremely competent. No internal-combustion-powered bike comes close in regard to adjustability and comprehensive suite of intelligence. Of course, heated grips and cruise come at standard.
A critical learning I underwent during my test time with the Zero was in the area of charging management. It’s simply imperative to schedule charging to suit your needs, which is especially useful if you use solar or have an off-peak arrangement. Owners can set the time and plug the bike in. This is particularly helpful for the 90 per cent of users who charge at home.
Given the brief of ‘sports tourer’, the charging regime and planning become vital. Using Plugshare is the go and the app shows all available chargers suitable for a Zero.
Interestingly many public chargers offer free charging.
Now a bit of a bugbear here. You will need to carry a 240v/10amp standard charger lead and a type2 to type2 cable for (some) public chargers where no cable is supplied. That’s a pain in the arse and you’ll need to buy a suitable seat bag to accommodate this setup
There is no escaping the elephant in the room. The brief of sports tourer is a tough one for any electric motorcycle. The very designation demands meeting two main criteria… Performance and extended range. Well, the simple fact is, at this stage of development, the infrastructure and battery capability falls short. How so?
Well, it’s a pretty simple equation, even for a dumb cluck like me. This bike is ripper fast (and again, I’m talking supersonic) and handles well, with fully adjustable Showa gear suspending it superbly. So there’s the sports brief met. Easy huh? Except, when you are up the SR/S for the rent, it sucks power like a potential president.
It eats the range to the point that you have to get outta the berries and ride conservatively, in order to make it back home or to your prearranged neat, but a little chintzy, rural Airbnb. Grouse, fast sports running, followed by anxiety. That’s not hitting the brief. And let’s face it, a furrowed brow and sweaty pits doesn’t augur well for any potential ‘marital activity’.
Let’s look at my real-world figures while using the SR/S. First up, I set off from Balwyn in Melbourne to Geelong. That’s an 88km trip. The bike was indicating that 72 per cent charge was available to me and the projected range 176km. Freeway running at 100km/h was the scenario here. I arrived at Geelong with 14 per cent remaining.
The next charge was using a public (and free) 12kwh Chargefox station in Geelong. This took 75 minutes to deliver 100 per cent charge. Pretty good I thought, allowing for a breezy lunch. The key take away here was that range projection dropped dramatically at highway speeds.
The next trip was from Geelong to Creswick near Ballarat in Victoria – a distance of 135km. At that point, the projected range was 198km. Using the modes functions, I rode half the distance in Sport mode, and half in Standard mode. This involved some spirited, very hard riding, mostly quickish sport touring. And competent in this going isn’t the word. It hammers.
I used the full 100 per cent charge over that 135km, arriving in Creswick with one per cent charge remaining. One charger was occupied by an ignorant so and so who parked his Tesla while he charged his car and took off for the day. Sadly, the other charging unit was out of order. None of the bike’s fault, but something you will face.
Next journey was Ballarat to Torquay, a distance of 111km. The bike indicated a 189km range with 95 per cent charge on board. The going was pretty standard 100km/h B road stuff. I Arrived with 4km showing.
Now I hasten to reiterate, that this issue cannot be sheeted home to the bike alone. In Victoria, the ad hoc nature of charging stations and their state of repair is a major contributor and all reports indicate that issue is Australia-wide. Governments of all colours talk a good game in regard to renewables, but my stint testing the SR/S suggested the infrastructure needs to improve.
Start by doubling the amount of charging points and keeping them unvandalized and working, and it will be much easier for good people like Zero to improve product. In fact, the SR/S, with a better range and the opportunity for easier charging changes this test markedly. Watch that space.
So, it’s so quick as to blur the world all Salvador Dali, it is finished and built beautifully. I really want Zero to be successful, because it has the intestinal fortitude to cast a wide net, build a bike that thrills and chances its arm when many don’t. Truth is, the legislative infrastructure for electric motorcycles needs to match that effort.
Snag’s career in motoring journalism spans 30 years with stints at major bike mags Australian Road Rider, Motorcycle Trader and AMCN along with contributions to just about every other outlet worth a hill of beans. He was editor of Unique Cars magazine and hosts his legendary podcast ‘Snag Says’ when he gets off his date.
