QUICKSPIN I 2023 Zero Motorcycles DSR/X
P94
ADV riding is known for
eating up the miles, so range
is important. Zero claims the
bike's 17.3-kilowatt-hour bat-
tery will get you 180 miles in
the city and approximately 85
miles on the highway. Zero
told us their testers can ride
200 miles of off-road trails
at an, in their words, light to
medium pace and about 155
miles at what they consider an
aggressive pace. If accurate,
that's pretty darn good.
The belt-driven Zero DSR/X
rides on cast 19- and 17-inch
wheels with Showa suspen-
sion to match. Up front, you'll
find 47mm forks with adjust-
able spring preload, compres-
sion and rebound damping.
Out back, there's a Showa
shock with a piggy-back res-
ervoir and adjustable tool-less
spring preload, compression
and rebound damping. An
easy-to-use twist-knob on the
shock allows riders to dial in
their preferred preload set-
tings. Travel runs 7.48 inches
front and rear.
There's no need for a
clutch on an electric bike like
this, but you will find a host of
electronic integrations. Front
and rear ABS, a smartphone
app, and five unique ride
modes are standard on the
DSR/X. Each mode is fully
tunable with on- and off-road
designations and regenera-
tion settings that work while
off the throttle or under brak-
ing.
Since there's no clutch
or gears, Zero's developed
a new Vehicle Hold Control
system that locks the brakes
for three minutes when the
bike is stopped on an incline.
Simply squeeze the front
brake for a few seconds while
stopped and the computer will
turn this auto-lock on. Pire-
lli Scorpion Trail II tires and
four-piston J-Juan brakes do
the dirty work while the rider
sits atop the 32.6-inch seat
height. All this weighs in at
544 pounds.
Zero wants to purify the
adventure. No engine sound,
no smell of exhaust, and no
vibrations. Just you, the bike,
and the road. And they nailed
that part. You simply turn the
bike on and go. No warming
it up, no heading to the gas
station. Simply get on and
go. Starting with no sound is
still taking some getting used
to for me since the bike is
on even without the rumbling
of an engine. With purity in
mind, we headed out from our
Park City base camp and into
the surrounding hillsides.
Riding the DSR/X is
smooth, like your favorite
foamy latte. There is no
