VOL. 51 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 23, 2014 P57
miles for the bigger version. That
means they will outlive the motor-
cycle they're installed in, so the
substantial cost of replacement
isn't an issue.
That more expensive 11.4kWh
option contains four battery
modules, aka cell boxes, built in
house at Zero using Farasis cells.
The less costly 8.5 kWh version
has three modules, thus delivers
reduced range. So it's not sur-
prising that 85 percent of Zero
owners go for the bigger power-
pack when purchasing their bike.
Using the on-board 1.3kW
charger fitted to all Zero models,
the batteries can be recharged
from empty to 95 percent charge
in 7.4 hours on the four-module
pack, and 5.5 hours for the
three-module one.
But by using the optional
CHAdeMO accessory DC fast
charger hookup, this can be re-
duced to under an hour for a
95 percent charge on the big-
ger 11.4kWh battery pack, and
just over an hour if the 2.8kWh
Z-Force Power Tank is attached
- because it charges straight into
the battery, and the limiting fac-
tor in terms of speed is only the
charge rate capacity of the indi-
vidual cells.
The two of us had contrasting
weather conditions for our rides
on the Zero SR. While Alan rode
it on a cold December day in the
Bay Area, Paul's rides took place
in hot Southern California in the
middle of the summer. Thus
Cathcart's complaints about not
having a hot engine to warm
himself with when he came to a
stop in the frigid weather, wasn't
a problem with Carruthers in the
summer. In fact, not having the
engine heat was a bonus at the
end of July.
The dash on an electric bike
is more important and thus more
looked at than on a convention-
al bike. After all, the amount of
charge you have left is all-impor-
tant – it's your lifeline to getting
to where you are going. Again,
there's no pulling into a gas sta-
tion for a quick splash of fuel.
Thus the dash is one of the big
improvements for 2014 and it's
not just because it has – for the
first time – a clock. This one is
bigger and more informative.
But that's not all that has been
upgraded. While the 2013 Zero S
was a big step-up in performance
over the previous models, the SR
takes another leap forward.
It's easy to scoff at Zero's
claims of 56 percent more torque
and 25 percent more power over
the standard Zero S, but that's
only because we didn't appreci-
ate just how much difference the
bigger capacity controller can –
and does – make.
In a word, the difference in
both acceleration and top speed
is huge. And it makes its torque
everywhere, making it incredibly
easy to get off the line - though
in Sport mode because of the
extra torque, you'll find it hard to
do so without a jerk as you make
forward motion.
This requires a subtle change
to your riding technique even
over the stock 2014 DS, let alone
previous less torquey Zero mod-
(Far left) The front brakes are Nissin
and they work well; the rear brakes
could still use an upgrade. (Left) The
SR, like the rest of the Zeros, use a
belt drive. Zero says they are good for
25,000 miles. (Bottom left) The SR
gets a storage bin where the gasoline
would normally reside. (Bottom right)
The rear shock is a Taiwanese
cantilever rear shock that's a big
improvement over last year's.
