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/993191
2018 ZERO FX FULL TEST P90 2018 ZERO FX ($10,495) ENGINE: ............... Z-Force 75-5 passively air-cooled, high efficiency, radial flux, interior permanent magnet, brushless motor CHASSIS: ................................. Steel trellis FRONT SUSPENSION: ......... Showa 41mm conventional fork, fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION: .......................Showa Monoshock, fully adjustable FRONT BRAKE: .....................240mm disc, dual-piston caliper, ABS REAR BRAKE: .......................240mm disc, single-piston caliper, ABS FRONT TIRE: ............. Pirelli Scorpion MT 90 A/T 90/90-21 REAR TIRE: ................ Pirelli Scorpion MT 90 A/T 120/80-18 WHEELBASE: ................................. 56.6 in. SEAT HEIGHT: ................................34.7 in. WEIGHT: ...289 lbs. (ABS curb, claimed) COLOR: .................................. Black, white S P E C I F I C A T I O N S kick in so quickly there'd hardly be any speed retardation happen- ing as the lever pulsed like a dy- ing fish. You can turn the ABS off, but I can imagine many riders not experienced in dirt riding will want the safety net of ABS. Turning it off is a pain, anyway. Topping the brake package off, the master cylinder is ancient with next to no feel at the lever when you're mov- ing quickly. Zero claims a top speed of 85 mph for its FX with the ZF7.2 bat- tery with a top sustained speed of 70 mph. But when on that speed for any length of time, I could see the remaining range drop like some electricity tank that had a hole in the bottom of it, even in Eco mode. This brings me to my biggest gripe with the FX—the range. Zero claims in city riding, the FX is good for 91 miles from full charge to empty. On a highway at 55 mph, they say you'll get 56 miles. Combined city and a bit of high- way riding should yield 69 miles. Now, change that to 70 mph of highway riding, you'll get just 39 miles. Mix in some city riding, you should see 54 miles out of a charge. It's all rather confusing. I put this to the test by charging the battery to 100 percent and riding it until it I had just enough juice to get me home. To give the FX an added chance, I rode in Eco mode and rode sensibly, with only one time where I hit 70 mph between the traffic lights. The rid- ing consisted of my cycling loop around my house, with a 15-mile stretch of traffic light-free riding at 55 mph, followed by 18 sets of traffic lights on the way home, so more city than highway style. I expected to see north of 60 miles of range. All I got out of the FX was 41.8 miles with five per- cent charge left, and as I did not have the power charger acces- sory, the FX was off the road for the next nine hours. This just simply isn't good enough for a bike that has a base price of $10,495. Grab the op- tional quick charger and you can kiss another $600 goodbye. Zero needs to rethink this bike. As far as I'm concerned, the FX has zero real-world practical- ity unless you live in a city that requires no more than 20 miles Dash holds info like range and speed, but most of the adjustment is done through the app. of riding in each direction, and somewhere to charge up for a few hours at each end. Or if you live right on the trail you want to ride because chances are you'll use more than half the available juice just getting to the trail in the first place. Zero has good products and should be commended for push- ing the EV motorcycle space, but the FX is gimmicky, and I, after living with one for a short while, struggle to imagine why you'd want to buy one. CN