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The Electric Motorcycle Thread

was going to sell my bike to fund a stark varg but decided to just ride and enjoy my 72v Ron,

the stark is just too much bike for me

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Nice I have a Light Bee and a Redshift SM and it's like comparing apples to oranges. You can't really compare the two. The difference in size and weight. The funny thing is I can put similar lap times between my Redshift and Light Bee at supermoto races. I have to say the Light Bee is constantly breaking and I'm constantly pushing the limits. It's constantly depleting my wallet. The Redshift costs a lot of money but it doesn't need much maintenance. Tires I guess. Alta built one hell of a bike.

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Hi, I just started looking into EVs after riding a friend's Zero. I usually ride on fairly quiet two lane roads, and I'm wondering how much if any added risk comes with riding an EV in terms of people and animals not hearing you're coming down the pike. Any feedback would be appreciated- thanks.
 
moonlitnight said:
Hi, I just started looking into EVs after riding a friend's Zero. I usually ride on fairly quiet two lane roads, and I'm wondering how much if any added risk comes with riding an EV in terms of people and animals not hearing you're coming down the pike. Any feedback would be appreciated- thanks.
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Neighbor has one and the high pitch whine grabs my attention.
 
Yeah maybe I'm overthinking it. In some circumstances the noise of an ICE seems beneficial, but there's always risk when two-wheeling.
 
I ride mostly on asphalt. On a vid it was mentioned that the E Ride Pro SS 2.0 had dual sport Shinko 241s- would those hold up strictly on asphalt? Some brief googling isn't showing many alternatives.
 
moonlitnight said:
Hi, I just started looking into EVs after riding a friend's Zero. I usually ride on fairly quiet two lane roads, and I'm wondering how much if any added risk comes with riding an EV in terms of people and animals not hearing you're coming down the pike. Any feedback would be appreciated- thanks.
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I ride mostly electric by far. IMO, it is probably safter to be on electric because you can hear the cars around youa lot better. And ever notice you often cannot hear even loud ICE motorcycles all that well when on the road, when you need to from a car?

IMO, motorcycles should be seen and not heard!

-Don- Ave of the Giants, Redcrest, CA (RV trip with my 2017 Zero DS).
 
This is very helpful and encouraging, thanks so much. Good point about not hearing ICE bikes that well in a car, plus drivers seem more distracted than ever by staring at screens, music etc.

There seems to be a fair number of used Zeros for sale, most nearing the end of the 5 year battery warranty or with an expired warranty. Don't know much about the track record of their batteries, will continue to research.
 
Hah- and maybe somewhat ironically, one of the reasons I'm interested in going electric is to make less noise as I usually ride pretty early on weekends and feel bad zipping through quiet inhabited areas where people may still be asleep.
 
moonlitnight said:
Don't know much about the track record of their batteries, will continue to research.
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I find every EV battery problem shows up during the battery warranty period, which is five years unlimited mileage on Zeros, IIRC. Get past that and EV batteries seem to last forever. When the battery is old with many miles, there will be a reduction in range, but usually, you will not notice it unless you're checking for it a lot. And besides that, it makes little difference if you can make it between charge stations. Usually when the battery capacity drops, let's say all the way to 50% (meaning a ten KWH battery is now 5KWH) it also will charge twice as fast to that lower 5 KWH. That means you can get places just as fast as always. Just double the charge stops but for half the time. That comes out about the same.

However, EV batteries can be misused. Zero batteries should be stored at 60% SOC when not used for a long time. If somebody stores it at less than 5% or whatever, that will greatly reduce its life. Also, to store it at 100% is not good, especially when in warmer weather.

BTW, the Zero DS 6.5 (smaller lighter battery so it can be carried on my motorhome hitch) needed a battery replacement under warranty in less than one year. They ran out of the 6.5 KWH batteries, so they gave me a new 7.2 KWH battery at no cost to me. Now in 2025, my Zero DS has better range the day it was new in year 2017.

I was glad my original battery crapped out during warranty! My old battery dropped to about 25% of its normal range. It also charged up to full that much faster. Charging up too fast to full at a similar charge rate can be showing a battery problem without even riding the bike. I noticed both at around the same time.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
 
moonlitnight said:
to make less noise
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Zero makes the quietest bikes. Energica has a gear box and a drive chain which makes more noise than a simple belt from a motor to the rear wheel. But if you want ridiculous power and torque, you want Energica. Energica also has DCFC, which Zeros do not.

OTOH, the new Zeros can charge at 6.6 KW on AC. 13.2 KW with an optional charger but that will reduce your storage space. The Energicas can only charge at 3.3 KW on AC, but can do 24 KW on a DCFC.

What electric bike to buy should have a lot to do with the type of charge stations in the areas you wish to ride to.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
 
DonTom said:
I find every EV battery problem shows up during the battery warranty period, which is five years unlimited mileage on Zeros, IIRC. Get past that and EV batteries seem to last forever. When the battery is old with many miles, there will be a reduction in range, but usually, you will not notice it unless you're checking for it a lot. And besides that, it makes little difference if you can make it between charge stations. Usually when the battery capacity drops, let's say all the way to 50% (meaning a ten KWH battery is now 5KWH) it also will charge twice as fast to that lower 5 KWH. That means you can get places just as fast as always. Just double the charge stops but for half the time. That comes out about the same.

However, EV batteries can be misused. Zero batteries should be stored at 60% SOC when not used for a long time. If somebody stores it at less than 5% or whatever, that will greatly reduce its life. Also, to store it at 100% is not good, especially when in warmer weather.

BTW, the Zero DS 6.5 (smaller lighter battery so it can be carried on my motorhome hitch) needed a battery replacement under warranty in less than one year. They ran out of the 6.5 KWH batteries, so they gave me a new 7.2 KWH battery at no cost to me. Now in 2025, my Zero DS has better range the day it was new in year 2017.

I was glad my original battery crapped out during warranty! My old battery dropped to about 25% of its normal range. It also charged up to full that much faster. Charging up too fast to full at a similar charge rate can be showing a battery problem without even riding the bike. I noticed both at around the same time.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
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Exactly the kind of information I'm looking for, much appreciated. Charging protocol seems similar to my Nissan Leaf, which I keep between 20%-80% SOC. It also sounds similar to my sister's 2013 Leaf, which has steadily lost range but just keeps going and going.

Your battery replacement was a stroke of great luck! Sounds like your DS has a long life ahead of it.

Is one of your Zeros 14.4? If so, how does it compare it to the 7.2? I ride pretty slow and rarely on steeper grades so I don't think I need extra power, but just wondering- thanks.
 
DonTom said:
Zero makes the quietest bikes. Energica has a gear box and a drive chain which makes more noise than a simple belt from a motor to the rear wheel. But if you want ridiculous power and torque, you want Energica. Energica also has DCFC, which Zeros do not.

OTOH, the new Zeros can charge at 6.6 KW on AC. 13.2 KW with an optional charger but that will reduce your storage space. The Energicas can only charge at 3.3 KW on AC, but can do 24 KW on a DCFC.

What electric bike to buy should have a lot to do with the type of charge stations in the areas you wish to ride to.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
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The Zero seemed pretty quiet to me as well. Good info on charging, I'd mostly be charging at home overnight but will check on charging stations. I ride to relax, driving like my grandmother lol on quieter roads for the most part, and won't be eating up range at highway speeds, but it's good to cover bases. Cheers for the positive vibes!
 
moonlitnight said:
Is one of your Zeros 14.4?
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Powerwise is the same, only the range is different. And even on my 7 KWH battery on the roads here, I can get around 100 miles. But half that range when on the freeway.

I do NOT have a 14.4 Zero, but I do have a 17.3 KWH, my 2023 Zero DSR/X which I think is the very best bike Zero ever made.

FWIW, I am no speed freak. I never have the sport mode on with any of my bikes. No need for it. They are all too fast for me even in the normal street modes.

The Sport Mode is only good to impress others, IMO.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
 
100 miles of range is plenty, sounds like the smaller battery would work just fine for me, thanks. The DSR/X sounds very nice indeed.

The electric option is quite appealing- I have a couple ICE bikes for longer rides, and would probably use the electric most of the time. Kind of similar to how having a Leaf and a Prius suits my needs.
 
moonlitnight said:
100 miles of range is plenty, sounds like the smaller battery would work just fine for me, thanks. The DSR/X sounds very nice indeed.

The electric option is quite appealing- I have a couple ICE bikes for longer rides, and would probably use the electric most of the time. Kind of similar to how having a Leaf and a Prius suits my needs.
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Yeah, just remember that every time you double your speed, you get around half the range. If charge stops are needed and you're in a big hurry, ride very slow!

-Don- Redcrest, CA
 
Will do, thanks. Another reason I like EVs is that it can make you more conscious of the energy being used.
 
moonlitnight said:
The DSR/X sounds very nice indeed.
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Yeah, and it can do 100 miles on the freeway. 200 on slower roads. And I can keep the stupid range meter off on that bike! Those things are in stupid the way they work. If you ride with the wind or downhill and it says you have 50% range left, no way can you make it home!

Since the Zero DSR/X gets one freeway mile for every 1 SOC as average, that is all I look at. Much more accurate than the stupid range indication that is based on current riding only.

FWIW, for average mixed riding in miles, multiply your battery KWH by 7.

IOW, expect 70 miles from a 10 KWH battery of normal riding on just about any bike. From their adjust for the conditions (in your head). But do not waste your time to look at a "range left" meter. Only Tesla does that the correct way, by basing it on SOC%. Expecting your ride to be 100% the exact same conditions is about as unrealistic as can be and that is what the range meters do. I have seen mine say ~400 miles range left to say 15 miles just ten miles later! That is the difference between downhill and uphill! It's 100% useless, especially in hilly areas.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
 
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