Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/737253
ation. The electric motor will begin to run out of puff when you start really winding it up in high rpm, but around the relative slow speed venue of Adams MP it's not much of an issue as higher speeds are only attained for a split second. On the brakes the Zero's 41mm Showa inverted forks provide good feel and even on standard settings can take a bit of a pounding into the corner. These forks are fully adjustable so you can play around with them all day long if you like, the same for the rear shock. Matched to the Pirelli Rossi II rubber (not the new Rosso IIIs that have just been released), you get nice, predictable handling and once you've got some heat in there you can easily slide the bike around just on brakes and suspension alone. I rammed the regenerative braking as high as it would go to help with the initial turn-in of the slide, and as you can see from the at- tached video I was having a fair bit of fun getting the thing screeching into the corners! The Zero FXS still has a bit of a playbike feel to it. The chassis is made from ultra- stiff aircraft grade aluminum and transmits plenty of sus- pension feel front and rear, giving you the confidence to push further and brake hard- er. It's exceptionally slim, from the width of the seat to the panels where your knees sit, all of which makes the FXR a fun package to try and squeeze every last drop of performance from. The limiting factor is the battery capacity. When you're really giving it to it on the track, the available power begins to drop pretty quickly, and unless you have a power charger—or indeed a spare power pack—your day will be over all too quickly. A power pack will have you ready to rock from near flat to full charge in about two hours, whereas a normal charge will take eight hours. If you have a spare battery pack, the change is about five minutes, but not everyone who buys one of these bikes will have a spare pack! Regardless of this prob- lem, there's no denying the Zero FXS is a blast to ride on a full charge and hot Pirellis on a supermoto track. These bikes are in their absolute infancy in terms of battery capacity and charge times, and as these packs become smaller and more powerful, so too, will we see more of these little weapons on the street—they already repre- sent a good alternative to petrol power if you live and work in the city or ride only short distances with charg- ing options at each destina- tion. CN VOL. 53 ISSUE 40 OCTOBER 11, 2016 P77 2 0 1 6 Z E R O F X S ENGINE: .............. Z-Force 75-5 passively air-cooled, high efficiency, radial flux, interior permanent magnet, brushless motor CONTROLLER: ......... High efficiency, 420 amp, 3-phase brushless controller with regenerative deceleration HORSEPOWER: ..........44 hp @ 3700 rpm TORQUE: .........................................70 lb-ft CHASSIS: ..................... Aluminum cradle FRONT SUSPENSION: ........ 41mm Showa inverted fork, fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION: Showa monoshock, fully adjustable FRONT BRAKE: ..........J-Juan asymmetric dual-piston floating caliper, dual 320mm discs, Bosch Gen 9 ABS REAR BRAKE: .......... J-Juan single piston floating caliper, 240mm disc, Bosch Gen 9 ABS FRONT TIRE: .........Pirelli Diablo Rosso II 110/70-17 in. REAR TIRE: ...........Pirelli Diablo Rosso II 140/70-17 in. RAKE: ................................................24.4° TRAIL: .............................................. 2.8 in. WHEELBASE: .................................... 56 in. SEAT HEIGHT: ...............................32.9 in. WEIGHT: ........... 293 lbs (curb, claimed). COLOR: ............................................. Black MSRP: ......................$10,990 (additional government incentives may be available) S P E C I F I C A T I O N S