2015 ZERO SR, S, DS AND FX
FIRST RIDE
P50
which right now means mainly
Europe and Australia. It is, how-
ever, forging ahead with deliver-
ies to Asia and South America,
according to its CEO Richard
Walker, a British-born former
Hewlett Packard executive who's
headed up Zero Motorcycles
since 2012. After slimming down
its range in 2014 to its four core
models—the Zero SR, Zero S
and Zero DS, plus the skinnier,
lighter Zero FX—at Intermot
last October, Zero unveiled the
considerably uprated 2015 ver-
sions of these now reaching its
dealers around the world.
The chance to, once again,
be the first journalist to sample
these as in each of the past four
years, came by visiting the Zero
factory for a full-day ride on a
sunny NorCal winter weekend.
The 100-mile ride revealed that
Zero has more than lived up
to its mantra of Sophisticated
Simplicity with the new bikes.
They're no longer a collection of
slightly disparate components
united around a cast aluminum
frame housing a relatively mas-
sive battery box and AC motor.
Instead, within the first half mile
you realize these new evolutions
of the Zero platform are much
more refined than anything else
the company has made before.
Equipped for 2015 with Showa
suspension, Pirelli tires and
Bosch ABS, they feel integrated
and together, with improved ride
quality and handling, while still
delivering the same unmistak-
able thrill you get from riding a
well-developed E-bike.
The pace of development of
electric motorcycles continues
to rise exponentially, although
this shouldn't be any surprise.
Just look at your phone and
think back a mere five years to
those pre-4G days to appreci-
ate the rate of advancement in
electronic and battery technol-
ogy that's making this possible.
For even three years ago the
idea of an E-bike with a claimed
Alan Cathcart
takes the Zero DS
for a spin in the
hills of Northern
California.
