2015 ZERO DS
RIDING IMPRESSION
P78
tional way will leave you all the
more impressed with the electric
motor's flexibility, to the point
where you quickly forget there's
no sound…
The DS chassis is nicely bal-
anced for an electric machine
and turn in resembles something
of a normal bike over the box of
2010. Learn its language and the
Zero becomes a lot of fun – you
can embarrass larger, noisier
bikes in the tight stuff as you lean
on the nicely damped Showas
(just be a tad careful of the Pirelli
tires – they don't love scratch-
ing too much) and be all thumb-
nosed knowing you're not hurting
polar bears on the freeway.
The DS is the enduro/soft-
roader in the Zero line up. So
with that in mind I think it only
fitting to hit up some of the trails
near my place and see if it could
hold its own. Two things stand
out here. First, if you're any-
more than Michael J.Fox size
the chassis is just too small for
stand up trail riding (and we're
not talking single track, it ain't
built for that). At 6'1" I feel like
I'm on a kid's mountain bike with
a generator strapped to it when
I'm trying to ride up a snotty 4x4
track. On the road it's different;
because you're seated-the fit is
much nicer and the ergonomics
make more sense, especially
as the height of the handlebar is
lower and it's closer to your body
than a traditional dirtbike.
Secondly, when you do decide
it's time to hit some trails, try as
hard as possible to keep a good
rolling speed going. Riding on
rocky trails up hills with a bit of
slippery top dirt, if you come
Kinda looks
like a cross
between a
mountain
bike and a
Supermoto,
don't you
think?
"YOU GO FROM
NOTHING TO
FULL TORQUE IN
THE SLOW BLINK
OF AN EYE. THE
ACCELERATION IS
EXTREMELY RAPID,
LIKE MASON
CROSBY HAS
GIVEN IT A KICK UP
THE BUM."
