The State of Zero in 2012 and Beyond - Video

[Administrator]

Original Article:
The State of Zero in 2012 and Beyond - Video

Please discuss the Motorcycle.com article The State of Zero in 2012 and Beyond - Video in our Motorcycle Forums below. Use the reply button to let others know your comments or feedback on the article. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, along with your thoughts and personal opinions on the bikes and products we have tested.

[schizuki]

I'm sold. I was doubtful of electric vehicles after hearing all of the overblown hype and listening to thirty years of "practical battery technology is just three to five years away", but then I figured, if just 1/10th of one percent of the people who say they want electric vehicles actually buy one, that's a HUGE number. And sure enough, Volts and Leafs are flying out of the showrooms, and Fisker is hiring workers and building cars as fast as they get their factories up and running. Once these vehicles begin incorporating the new Solyndra solar panels for supplemental power, the sky's the limit.

Green technology is definitely the wave of the future.

[Buzglyd]

Hey, be cool dude.

Ken is really, really, really thinking about not buying one of these someday but hectoring those who don't.

[schizuki]

Hey, I'm not picking on Ken. He's only one of millions. And IIRC correctly, he has a deposit on a Brammo, so it looks like he's putting some money where his mouth is, which puts him ahead of the other 999,999.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by schizuki

Hey, I'm not picking on Ken. He's only one of millions. And IIRC correctly, he has a deposit on a Brammo, so it looks like he's putting some money where his mouth is, which puts him ahead of the other 999,999.

Yeah, what's the latest you've heard from Brammo about your Empulse?

[The Spaceman]

Originally Posted by Kevin_Duke

Yeah, what's the latest you've heard from Brammo about your Empulse?

First, let me say thank you, Tom, for another great article on E-Bikes. Regardless of the skepticism of my fellow MOrons, there is no doubt in my mind that E-Bikes are going to be mainstream in a very short time. Argurably they already are, if you look at the dirtbike segment. And with gas prices expected to go over $5 this summer, those snide remarks about Leafs etc. may die down.

I get emails from Brammo from time to time; the latest two were one in November '11 regarding selling bikes to the Hong Kong police, and "Season's Greetings" in December. The December email said:

"We are working hard to ensure 2012 lives up to your expectations."

Too late for that, my expectations are that I would have been riding my 100mph/100mpc (miles per charge) Empulse for a year by now; wowing the guys with the bike's high-tech, and picking up Greenpeace hotties at environmental rallies around South Florida.

My takeaway from Tom's article is that Zero is delivering what Brammo promised. Their new leadership is hitting the right buttons:

- Build motorcycles, not powered mountain bikes
- Keep pushing the range and speed, which have doubled in 2 years
- Diversify the model lineup - the Zero S is a sexy bike!
- Get in front of Honda and the other mainstream builders while you still can (Honda has a prototype E-sportbike in the print mags that looks dope).

[The Spaceman]

"The Zero S is the world’s first available mass-produced electric motorcycle capable of exceeding 100 miles on the EPA’s UDDS range test. The entirely revamped Zero S features a completely new powertrain that includes a brushless motor capable of achieving speeds of up to 88 mph, new state of the art battery cell technology, regenerative deceleration and a power pack that is designed to last the life of the motorcycle. Offering customers the ability to select the range they need, the new ZF6 and ZF9 power pack configurations give riders the ability to respectively achieve 76 miles and 114 miles according to the EPA UDDS."

By the way, the power pack is rated for 300,000 miles.

[Tom Roderick]

Originally Posted by The Spaceman

First, let me say thank you, Tom, for another great article on E-Bikes.

Thank you, Spaceman. Positive feedback is always welcome. While I've been supportive of electric motorcycles, I, like many motorcyclists, have been unimpressed with their performance. But now, Zero's 2012 bikes, with its Eco/Sport toggle switch, has won my enthusiasm. In Sport mode it has enough power to feel the surge of acceleration. I told Editor Duke the day I rode it to his house; the Zero is officially a cool bike now.

[schizuki]

Originally Posted by The Spaceman

"The Zero S is the world’s first available mass-produced electric motorcycle capable of exceeding 100 miles on the EPA’s UDDS range test. The entirely revamped Zero S features a completely new powertrain that includes a brushless motor capable of achieving speeds of up to 88 mph, new state of the art battery cell technology, regenerative deceleration and a power pack that is designed to last the life of the motorcycle. Offering customers the ability to select the range they need, the new ZF6 and ZF9 power pack configurations give riders the ability to respectively achieve 76 miles and 114 miles according to the EPA UDDS."

By the way, the power pack is rated for 300,000 miles.

Sounds impressive. But claims always are. If there is an electric vehicle made that has fulfilled its promises, I have yet to hear about it. The gulf between projections and performance with EVs is as profound as it is predictable. How many times do we have to go down this road before we all learn?

Don't get my wrong. My fervent hope is for practical, market-supported electric vehicles charged by nuclear power. My annoyance is with vaporware and expensively-subsidized lemons that environmentalists think can be powered by a combination of unicorn farts and good intentions.

When a technology is mature, it thrives. When it's not, you get Fiskers, Solyndras, and billions of dollars billed to our children.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by schizuki

Sounds impressive. But claims always are. If there is an electric vehicle made that has fulfilled its promises, I have yet to hear about it. The gulf between projections and performance with EVs is as profound as it is predictable. How many times do we have to go down this road before we all learn?

The difference in range claims now is that they are now subjected to an EPA driving cycle. Thus we can compare apples to apples, not fairly dust to unicorn farts. Zero says 114 miles on the EPA's urban cycle with the bigger battery, but it'll never go that far the way we ride.