Is electric the future of motorcycling? | 2024 Zero SR/S Review

[@TwistofWrist]

5 to 10 years from now, with solid state battery advancement, I think 400-500 km range is doable. I'll get 1 then.

[@mmistermusic]

I don't think many people ride for 5 hours without a stop. The Energica Experia has 250km highway range. That is about 2,5 hour of riding. Outside the highway the range is 300km, which is more than 5 hours of riding. I think that is more than enough for 95% of riders out there. In my opinion we do not need better batteries, we just need to make it cheaper. Today it is too expensive for most people.

[@TwistofWrist]

I'm saying we need more range cause it takes longer to charge than filling up petrol. So 500 km range would be the whole day riding and you can plug in the charger for 12 hr to get another 500 km for the next day. Better that way than ~250km and look for a charger during your day.

[@mmistermusic]

@@TwistofWrist I understand your point and it probably makes sense in more underdeveloped regions. But today in (Western) Europe there are chargers everywhere. Every 30 to 50km there is a DC fast charger. I have fast charging car with a relatively small battery. I am used to quick 10 min stops to top up the battery and I like the concept.

[@TwistofWrist]

Yes, I understand. But with advancement in tech, why wouldn't you use the latest battery in their new vehicles? Imagine a car with 40 litera of petrol tank but in 5 years time they increase to 50 liters tank, at the same price, why wouldn't you buy the new car?

[@0202pmurT]

@@mmistermusic The problem is that EV range estimates are optimized for the most boring form of motorcycling, stop and go slow traffic on flat ground. If they had to advertise "spirited riding over twisty hills with a girl on the back" range every electric motorcycle on the planet would be under 100km. We need batteries to be ~4x more energy dense in mass and volume to be capable of real touring. Being able to ride hard and fast for three hours and recharge in one without dragging the bottom of the battery is an acceptable pace.

[@MichaelCoates]

Not in Victoria. Not when Peter Steven’s is your own service option. Can’t trust them to fit heated grips, let alone diagnose an issue with something this complex

[@ZoranAUS]

Spend enough time in the saddle of Ducati V2 nut roaster to welcome the option of a more efficient commuter option, looking forward to adding the Savic to the stable

[@MichaelCoates]

Electric would be incredible as an inner city commuter, but bike companies seem to refuse to build a commuter with plenty of luggage. Time to rebrand their “tourer” as a practical commuter

[@youreasnake4548]

$40k+????????? DREAMING!!!!!!!!

[@gtx332]

Experts rating chart in the review missed out on categories: Aesthetics and sound. hmm I wonder why.

[@stevenleades]

Can it be road registered in every state in Australia?

[@shastamite2]

yes

[@stevenleades]

With that range the idea this might be a sport tourer is laughable. A brisk ride through the hills for a 6’2” fella around 100kg with some luggage might mean a range of 40-50km before you need to turn for home.

[@mmistermusic]

If Zero is the Tesla of motorcycle. Energica is the Porsche Taycan of motorcycles.

[@SparkySven]

I would love to replace my BMW K1300 R or K1200 S with this Zero SR/S here in Belgium EU because charging infrastructure is amazing where I live and most places I worked also have plugs but 42K € is way too expensive. I can buy a Renault Megane Iconic 60KW full option EV CAR for 39K €. Price must go way down before they will ever get sold.

[@shastamite2]

Keep in mind that is 42k in Australian dollars. It is closer to 25k Euros.

[@SparkySven]

@@shastamite2 My mistake. Then it's in BMW price range but still not cheap. BMW only has some EV scooters but no E-Moto's like the Zero what I don't understand.

[@mmistermusic]

@@SparkySven In Flanders you can get 3150 euro tax credit for an electric motorcycle. If you include fuel cost, taxes and maintaince, this SR/S is way cheaper than a BMW. Do the math. If you do +10000 km per year, this is one of the cheapest motorcycles possible.

[@alexl.3184]

Test ride one and you'll be on the hook. Then buy a used SRF/SRS for around 14k€ ... Their batteries are the most reliable, least degrading you can get. Did 20.000+ km in 2.5 ys on my FXE and the battery is the same as new. Even the belt isn't showing any wear. Only thing I changed is tires, brake pads and fluid.

[@mixalis6168]

For a boring daily, home to work, ok, for FUN nooooo

[@space.youtube]

China will build a better bike with more range at half the price. That will be a proposition worth considering. This one, at $40k+ not so much.

[@alexl.3184]

China DOES build bikes of same or bigger range at half the price. But what you get is more like a still expensive novelty toy. Sub par quality, electronics issues, crappy suspension. You DON'T get a decent motorcycle experience. At least not yet. Zero, Energica and Livewire are so far the only companies that build bikes that do that. Zeros are reliable, predictable and fun. I did 20.000+km on my FXE in 2.5 ys now. You can get it for 1/2 the price used now and | would buy one instantly but HAD to get it when it came out. Going to ride it the next 3 years at least and then get a new or bigger Zero when new battery tech will be hopefully available.

[@bestofalllife]

Do people not realizing that someone in the future will invent WoW sound on electric vehicle

[@yvs6663]

range this, range that. all kinda fails as a long distance mode of transport if it doesn't charge back up in a reasonable amount of time and this bike takes 1h too long.

[@bikesaleschannel]

@yvs6663 The 1.1h charge time is from 0-95%, but no one is actually charging that much unless its overnight. We found that we'd only charge as long as we needed to get home or to our next stop. For example, after 100km, we still had 48% left. So we plugged in for 20mins while we grabbed a coffee, and it charged back up to around 80%. Yes, still not necessarily as quick as fueling up at the bowser, but it's not too bad. And it will get better.

[@yvs6663]

@@bikesaleschannel that would probaly mean a 40 min stop every 120ish km. about the same pace as a Dacia Spring aka the cheapest electric car currently on the market and probably not something people are buying for long distance driving. if they managed to cut the stops in half, it might become a viable option. but i sense that there is a size problem since that might require active cooling and a bigger onboard charger if they stick to AC.

[@mmistermusic]

That is indeed the disadvantage of the Zero's today. The Energica's charge in half an hour.

[@gtx332]

Ducati mated with a warthog...

[@scottgibbons5862]

Its 20000 in united states still very steep

[@apemaster6976]

Unfortunately most motorcyclists would rather die than ride a bike that can’t be heard by every living organism within 50 square kilometres. Sad but true.

[@cypherpunk12]

That is only a small percentage of riders, the Harley riders. I have been riding 26 years I don't have a car nor do I want one. For $42,000 I can buy a Kawasaki H2 SX with a full carbon fibre faring, and a 154.1 kW of power, nearly double this bike. Also I can just pull into any service station, and be out in a few minutes. Why pay the same price for half the power, and limited range? Most riders change an exhaust for a few extra horsepower, the sound is nice, but that's an added bonus. Again Zero will fail. Electric bikes can be good once the technology is better, the Lightning LS 218 was up there, with 218hp, which is above many top tier sports bikes. But the top of the range costing $84,000 USD, wrong nearly twice as much as a sports bike, and having a 150mile range, if ridden slowly on low power, who would want it? It was around 80km when tested in Australia and ridden at high speeds, and let's face it, who.is going to ride at 60kph sipping coffee when you have 218hp to play with? It's a very long way to go before electric bikes become big.

[@scottgibbons5862]

No but noise helps others be aware of you

[@cypherpunk12]

@@scottgibbons5862 That's the biggest mistake a motorcycle rider can make. Like I say to everyone learning to ride, "assume everyone is a bad driver, and they have not seen you." By doing this it doesn't matter if its Lewis Hamilton, or 95 year old, blind, and deaf, Fritsine Fossil driving. In my country (Australia) 8 out of every 9 fatal motorcycle crashes are the fault of the other vehicle. Harley Davidsons, with straight flow though pipes that are as loud as Satan's farts, are no exception to this. I couldn't find statistics for Australia but in Florida the death toll for Harley Davidsons is actually the second highest fatality group, with only sports bikes being higher. Simply put, never trust anyone else on the road, I have been riding 35 years and only crashed once.

[@tribsa7503]

Not sad or true.

[@woutleus]

​@@cypherpunk12I'm an owner of a zero dsr/x, used to ride a Ducati but this in every way so much better. It is quiet and you can even hear birds singing. A stop at a teaffic light and nothing but silence, no heat coming from below, no noise no vibrations.. you have try it to have an opinion. I have had so much non Electric riders commenting negatively but in the end, it cost so much less to ride it, almost no maintenance cost, no black oily hands. It suits my needs perfectly. How many times do you ride distaces more than a 100 miles in one go. I stop, chargers everywhere, have a Coffee, relax and within one hour, I do another 100 miles. To and from work cost me 1 pound 50.. I'm confident I'm having the last laugh. Just try one at a dealer for a day and think of how much you really ride

[@lordofchaosiori]

So much of this video is spent talking about Tesla…

[@cypherpunk12]

$42,000 you are not caring about fuel costs. You can definitely buy something for around $8000 that will be great on fuel. So let's take that off the table. For $42,000 I can buy a top of the line sports tourer such as the Kawasaki H2, SX SE. It's around $38,000 but with a bunch of optional extras, $42,000 is definitely possible. Now you have 154.1kw as opposed to 84kw. 84kw is your lower tier bikes costing under 20k. With the Kawasaki, I'm in and out of the service station in a few minutes, even with the rapid charger it's well over an hour. What a pile of trash this is from Zero, it's time they leave Australia for good. Electric bikes have a long way to go to keep up with their counterparts. While there are electric cars today that are affordable and are as useful as their petrol counterparts, the same can not be said for bikes.

[@elcookiemonsteru]

Looking my 600RR outside and...Nope... I would ride a electric scooter to work, but a full size motorcycle? Hard pass.

[@miketran4289]

EV motorbikes don't work. I love biking because of the noise, the smell, the clutch , engine braking and the hands on maintenance.

[@LewSpeightVisuals]

I agree with all of your comments. But it doesn’t mean they don’t work - they’ll just bring another crowd to motorbiking. Again though, not sure it’s necessary a GOOD thing for us bikers lol

[@TheSmiddy]

Mine gets me to work and back for $2 a week and half the commute time compared to a car so it's working pretty well for that purpose.

[@mmistermusic]

I like the fact that my bike makes less noise. I see it as an advantage. I believe more people will see it as an advantage once they give it a try. Rent an electric motorcycle for a day and decide then. I cannot imagine you will have no fun riding an Energica Ribille, 🙂

[@kelvin1316]

​@@mmistermusicI have always found it funny that many bikers fit loud pipes to their bikes because "it is safer as people will hear me when filtering" (UK here), but I have been sat in my car, slow moving traffic, I saw a bike coming down between lanes and moved over. Only when it passed did I hear the obnoxious loud exhaust it had on. I love my motorbike, but loud exhausts are an ego "look at me" thing, incorrectly justified as a safety "feature". The exhaust is facing backwards and that is where most of the sound is going LOL

[@Drewpride]

Nice try at sugar coating a 💩 sandwich 😂 Anyone who would spend 40k on something as lame as that over a real bike like a Ducati or a GS for the money should stick to their Tesla 😂 A new innovation that would appeal to those type of buyers would be a hand bag holder and makeup stand 😂

[@bikesaleschannel]

@Drewpride, Yep, we agree 40k is a lot, but as a fellow petrol lover, I can guarantee you the Zero is not "lame". Go take one for a test ride and let us know what you think. You might be surprised! And for the record, we dragged both a Ducati and a GS off the line at the traffic lights, and they didn't even get close to the Zero 😉 But alas, we won't be trading in our petrol bikes just yet.