Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 18, 2015 P57 selling model, I'm sure. But it's just the SR that's equipped with Pirelli Diablo Rosso II rubber instead of the Japanese-made IRC tires previ- ously used. This has helped transform it into a serious sportbike with excellent grip and handling. Plus the Pirellis heat up far faster, which is an impor- tant issue on an E-bike where you can ride it hard right from the start since you don't have to worry about warming the engine up. The Showa suspension is not only much more compliant and eats up any bumps and ridges better than the Zero's previous Fastace package, but ride quality is immeasurably im- proved, as well. And the uprated J.Juan brake package is super effective. And there is the added confidence of ABS now allowing you to squeeze as hard as you like. Panic stops are no prob- lem. When the ABS does kick in it does so with a more mea- sured clunk rather than typical machine-gun rattle, and there's good modulation if you need to finger the lever slightly to lose just a touch of turn speed. The SR's midrange roll-on is even more muscular than before while still super-controllable. Winding the throttle hard open anywhere above 20 mph delivers an impressively torquey response that's worthy of a Superbike. I've ridden both the multiple TT Zero-winning MotoCzysz and the U.S. MotoGP support race winning Mission R, and the Zero SR would not be disgraced in a straightline shootout with either of these stellar E-racers. The regenerative braking dialed in to the Zero's controller has two different modes: one comes into play when you simply back off the throttle, and you can indeed feel some residual engine braking and watch the dash recording it when you do so. But there's also a sensor which monitors your using either brake lever which also dials in additional regen, and this is a factor in making the Zero stop so well, in spite of zero mechani- cal engine—err, motor!—braking. But you can also dial up more or less regen via your smartphone, or alter the Custom riding mode and several other parameters via the Bluetooth enabled connec- tivity for both iPhone and Android mobile devices that's included as standard, via the Zero Motor- cycles app. There's an optional mount to clip the phone to your handlebars. Both the 2015 SR and DS I rode appear substantial well- made products, epitomized by the classy-looking dash, and the way it integrates into the styl- ing rather than seeming to be a cheap add-on. Remember, you do spend more time con- sciously looking at the dash on an E-bike than on a combustion one, simply to keep track of the charge—how much you have left, and how fast you're consum- ing it, plus estimated range, let alone your speed! So the infor- mative and readable blue backlit LCD dash displays a large digital speedo, mileage, two trips, clock, motor temperature, tacho, the vital battery charge remaining in percentage terms and DTE, and you can toggle on the go between the three differ- ent riding modes. Zero's products keep getting better. If the company's then all-new 2014 E-bikes were a significant step up over what it produced before, as I judged them to be after riding them, these 2015 models are consider- ably more appealing still in terms of substance, refinement and performance. The 2015 Zero range encompasses increasingly capable and well-developed mo- torcycles which besides being green, are so enjoyable to use. Now the challenge facing Zero and its dealers is to persuade people to give them a try, both committed motorcyclists and newbies alike. But momentum is building, and with Polaris and Harley in the E-mix, as well as KTM and, with a scooter at least, BMW, the market can only get bigger as word gets out just how much fun these bikes are to ride and, increasingly, how practical. Zero's products undoubtedly represent the benchmark by which other future E-bikes must be judged, and they are now proper motorcycles that just hap- pen to be powered by an electric motor rather than an internal combustion engine. They're the real deal. CN

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