VOL. 52 ISSUE 17 APRIL 28, 2015 P75
the classical and commercial
commotion. Someone is blast-
ing Train's archaic hit Drops of
Jupiter at full volume. I hate this
song. This audio parasite and
I have enemies since I was 16.
The fact I'm hearing this wailing
is squarely the fault of the Zero.
What I wouldn't give for a pair of
Termis and a thumping Desmo
right now. That's a song I can live
with. I glance back and locate
the offending vehicle. Inside is a
man I'm sure is Stone Cold Steve
Austin's little cousin. Same mean
head, same sharp goatee glee-
fully mouthing the lyrics, oblivious
to the pain he is causing me.
Realizing that on an orange Zero
DS I look as angry as a pot belly
pig I think better of an encounter,
crank up the juice, zip away like
so many Energizer bunnies and
reside myself to the words "deep
fried chicken" replaying over and
over in my head until eventually, I
stop for deep fried chicken.
Should've brought my head-
phones.
The above is just one in a
series of experiences when riding
an electric motorcycle. We are
conditioned as motorcyclists to
enjoy the mechanical melody,
to embrace it, and the total lack
of anything bar wind noise and
Drops of Jupiter make electric
bikes a totally unique proposition.
Zero's latest incarnation of a
bike who's development can be
traced back to the company's
formation in 2006 is a far cry from
the last machine I rode bearing
the DS badge back in 2010. The
throttle on that bike was from an-
other planet – it would only feed
power to the rear wheel when
you'd reached the same throttle
position you were at previously if
you were doing the same rolling
speed, so you could open it up
to over three quarters of its travel
and still get no drive depending
your velocity, and the weight was
so high and its distribution so
(Above) J-Juan
calipers and
Bosch ABS
mate together
extremely
nicely. (Above
Right) Brake
line routing
is messy and
spoils the
cockpit.
"BRAKING POWER ITSELF IS
QUITE IMPRESSIVE FROM
THE FRONT J-JUAN CALIPER
ALTHOUGH THE ROUTING OF THE
FRONT BRAKE LINES OVER THE
DASH LOOKS LIKE AN EXPLOSION
IN A SPAGHETTI SHOP."
