VOLUME 56 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 P95
capacity. Additionally, an updated Power Tank will be available later
this year to offer an additional 6kW of capacity, bringing the total to
12kW and allowing a 0-95 percent charge in just an hour, with a full
charge 30 minutes longer.
However, the charging station must be capable of providing that much
current, which many are not—yet. Unlike Harley, Zero doesn't yet include
Level 3 Fast Charging, because 90 percent of the charging stations in
the USA and most of Europe are as yet only Level 2. With a fully charged
battery, the SR/F's claimed range is 161 miles in city use (but adding a
Power Tank will increase this to over 200 miles), 82 miles in Highway
mode (at 70 mph speeds) and 109 miles in a Combined cycle. That's
actually about a 10 percent drop compared to the previous SR owing to
the higher weight, and those larger tires delivering extra drag.
MISSION
CONTROL
T
o interlock and control the ar-
ray of interrelated systems that
are contained in the SR/F, Zero's
engineers have now created the
Cypher III operating system to act
as the central hub, while delivering
four pre-programmed riding modes
(street, sport, eco, rain) and up to 10
programmable custom modes which
allow the rider to customize the bike's
performance via the no-cost Zero
app, and TFT dash interface. Cypher
III integrates the 12V system, 100V
main battery charging system, battery
monitoring system, controller, Bosch
MSC/Motorcycle Stability Control,
TFT dash, app Bluetooth connection,
and cellular connectivity module. The
SR/F is also the first electric motor-
cycle to utilize Bosch's MSC system,
a benchmark for dynamic accelera-
tion and improved stability regardless
of road surface or conditions. When
combined with Cypher lIl, the MSC
delivers straight-line ABS and corner-
ing brake control, traction control and
drag torque control. Everything is
seamlessly connected for easy and
intuitive control that's essentially ef-
fortless—as claimed!
seemed genuinely surprised I would
ask for this—have missed something
here that I hope they'll rectify in future
versions of the bike.
Okay, I can switch to street to
have less intrusive regen, but then I
sacrifice the more immediate hit of
maximum torque I want when I get on
the throttle again to drive out of the
turn, often uphill.
BORN WELL
But it's a mark of how successfully
Askenazi & Co. have re-invented
the street-legal E-bike that that's all
I found to complain about in my two
days aboard the SR/F. Besides the
truly mind-blowing acceleration, its
high-speed handling was deeply
impressive, too, tracking straight and
true on a short blast up to the 124
mph indicated top speed, and deliv-
ering a confidence-inspiring sense of
being truly planted as I flicked it from
Zero's worked
tremendously hard
to make a motorcycle
that corners like a
regular machine.
