8 reasons to buy this type of motorcycle

[DonTom]

See here.


-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Izzy_C]

The “type” is an electric motorcycle... to save people some clicks.

 

[DonTom]

The “type” is an electric motorcycle... to save people some clicks.

But I wanted to suck the ICE bike riders in, so I didn't mention that part.

I figure there are countless ICE riders who will not even try an electric--and will never find out how addicting they can be.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[maidenfan84]

When they hit affordable prices, maybe I'd take a look. But, until then, I'll keep on burning gas and not hauling much ass

 

[RVFRick]

Coincidentally, I got the opportunity to tour Zero's factory and ride a couple of their bikes today. My first time on an e-bike. The morning started in Mountain View where we were met by Eddie Smith, Zero's Sr. Mechanical Engineer who led us via Highway 9 over the hill and into Scotts Valley. We pulled in the Zero Motorcycle parking lot and were greeted by Sean McLaughlin, the Product Development Project Manager and Jeff Jolin, Zero Hero Program Manager.

The first thing Sean said was "Before we begin, I gotta ask who brought the CB-1?" I sheepishly raised my hand to which he said (and I paraphrase) "I probably shouldn't say this since I work for an electric motorcycle company, but I love that bike. I've always wanted one and it's on my bucket list to own one". What can I say, the man has good taste

These three guys generously gave up part of their Sunday to introduce us to their bikes. Half of our group went on a demo ride while the others went on a factory tour. We got to see their production line, learn about the differences between their various bikes and got some detailed insight into their battery construction and engineering. BTW more than half of their production are sold overseas - primarily Europe.

After the tour we signed a waiver and went on a demo ride. First impressions is how quiet the bikes are. No engine vibration just twist and go. Like floating through space. To be safe we started out in ECO mode but quickly moved into SPORT mode after a quick minute of acclimatization. The life force of a combustion engine is replaced by a high pitched whine that is quite audible.

The Zeros have loads of torque - they just pull and pull, no shifting required seemingly endless acceleration. Since we were being chaperoned and on city streets we had to keep it sane. I will disclose that minutes into the ride we had to wait for a red light when hooligan Vlad couldn't resist doing a quick smokey rear wheel burnout (sorry Zero ).

We rode some rural roads around Scotts Valley. I intentionally and repeatedly braked hard and lagged behind the group so I could leave enough buffer to roll on the throttle and enjoy the warp speed thrust of the Zero's electric motor. It's pretty addictive and silly but had me grinning. No clutch was an odd sensation at first but within a few minutes you adapt quickly. Braking was also quite a bit better than what I'm used to but my bike is 30 years old .

Quiet, smooth, rapid and clean. Zero bikes are very cool and I can see that they are here to stay. An experience you should try if you get the chance.

 

[DonTom]

When they hit affordable prices, maybe I'd take a look. But, until then, I'll keep on burning gas and not hauling much ass

Some of them are fairly cheap, yet reliable. My first Electric was my 2017 Zero DS ZF 6.5. It cost around 11K$ and I don't think the price has changed on that model since then.

Now I own four EVs. The three motorcycles and a 2018 Tesla Model 3.

What needs to come down is the price of the batteries. They are usually around half the price of any EV. But they really are amazing batteries, such as my 11.7 KWH battery in my Energica that I can charge at 25 KW.

And these batteries have a longer life expectancy than I do.

The Tesla batteries are expected to last 27 years. My Zero SR around 350,000 miles for the range to drop down to 80%.

Hard to say what will happen to the prices in the future, but I can tell you it will mainly be the price of the batteries that will have to drop to lower the prices.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Whammy]

Thats nice... a tree huger video on the planet warming and how the air sucks.
Somehow Whammy doesn't see this propaganda as a good reason to buy an E bike.
Seen some nice ones but its just not there yet.

 

[ScottRNelson]

I'm not spending five minutes watching that video. List the 8 reasons so I can read them or forget it.

When they make electric adventure bikes with at least a 200 mile range and weighing less than 500 pounds - and not significantly more expensive than my KTM 1090R, I'll consider an electric bike. But I would still be concerned about being able to recharge the thing in Jarbidge NV or Yellow Pine ID. I know I can buy gas in those places.

 

[Maddevill]

Price is too high for me at this point. And I want pretty long range. Also, just because the e-bike is environmentally friendly, how much bad effects are created in it's manufacturing? Still got to mill steel and make the batteries. I haven't really seen that addressed and I'm curious about it.

Mad

 

[orbframe]

I like recharging my gas motorcycle in less than 5 mins

 

[NoTraffic]

FWIW, I laughed my ass off after a friend bought a Tesla, installed the home charging unit - the following week PG&E cut off electricity.

 

[mrzuzzo]

FWIW, I laughed my ass off after a friend bought a Tesla, installed the home charging unit - the following week PG&E cut off electricity.

Do gas stations not need electricity to function?

 

[R3DS!X]

Do gas stations not need electricity to function?

 

[DataDan]

But I wanted to suck the ICE bike riders in, so I didn't mention that part.

Welcome to my ignore list.

FWIW, I laughed my ass off after a friend bought a Tesla, installed the home charging unit - the following week PG&E cut off electricity.

Do gas stations not need electricity to function?

I can buy a week's worth of gas ahead of time. Not so easy to buy and store electrons.

 

[Biga]

I'm not spending five minutes watching that video. List the 8 reasons so I can read them or forget it.

When they make electric adventure bikes with at least a 200 mile range and weighing less than 500 pounds - and not significantly more expensive than my KTM 1090R, I'll consider an electric bike. But I would still be concerned about being able to recharge the thing in Jarbidge NV or Yellow Pine ID. I know I can buy gas in those places.

1. Instant, insane amounts of torque
2. No gears
3. Regenerative braking
4. Not tied to a source of power
5. Charging your electric motorcycle at home
6. Cheaper to run
7. No exhaust
8. It’s almost the year 2020

 

[HadesOmega]

FWIW, I laughed my ass off after a friend bought a Tesla, installed the home charging unit - the following week PG&E cut off electricity.

https://electrek.co/2019/10/10/tesl-powerpack-superchargers-power-outages/

Now if you buddy had solar panels and a tesla power wall they wouldn't be dependent on the grid

I like not having to go to gas stations just plugging it in at night.

 

[ScottRNelson]

1. Instant, insane amounts of torque
2. No gears
3. Regenerative braking
4. Not tied to a source of power
5. Charging your electric motorcycle at home
6. Cheaper to run
7. No exhaust
8. It’s almost the year 2020

Thank you.

 

[pobey]

My personal experience on my zero has brought me to enjoy riding much more. The end.

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

The E-bike enthusiasts remind me of people who ask when I'm going to have kids. (Spoiler alert: NEVER).
It's cool that you like them, but they're not for everyone. I'm not opposed to riding someone else's E-bike, and I have ridden the bulk of the current offerings. They're fine, and I appreciate other people's enthusiasm. The bikes simply don't appeal to me. I have no expectations of the industry changing course in order to lure me to purchase one. Quite frankly, I don't think there's anything that would tempt me to add one to my stable, let alone switch. I think I'd probably give up riding first.
The weird advertising and propaganda actually make me suspicious of the whole thing. You shouldn't have to try so hard to convince people to buy your product.
Electric cars are similar in the constant ad campaigns and focused news websites (cleantechnica, teslarati, elecktrek, etc). If your product can't be newsworthy or notable without biased specialty websites, it's likely not that good.

 

[Whammy]

Whammy says when ebikes can sound like a V4 Interceptor. He might consider buying one.

With all this I can charge here or there crap... Lies and you still need gas.