I initially chose the Zero S model to ride, which had good throttle response and handled well in corners.
Having seen the opportunity to take a ride on an electric motorcycle at the 2010 Red Bull USGP at Laguna Seca, I decided it was an opportunity not to pass up. Zero Motorcycles was offering free demo rides for their Zero S and Zero DS models as long as you registered by Wednesday the 21st. A good buddy of mine and I both signed up, being very curious as to what it would be like to ride an electric motorcycle. After registering on Monday evening, I got a call from a very friendly Zero Motorcycles rep on Tuesday morning to confirm our plans to take the demo ride at Laguna Seca. Fast forward to Saturday morning after the GP Free Practice 2 . . .
We show up at the Zero Motorcycles booth located at the end of the Yamaha area near Turn 5. After filling out a little bit of paper work (a small marketing survey and a liability waiver) we chose our helmets and were ready to ride. There were four people in our group including ourselves. The Zero Motorcycle's employee who would be leading us on our ride gave us all a brief introduction to the bikes, which included basic starting and operating instructions. Having no clutch and no shifter the controls were simple and to the point. Twist the throttle to go, use lots of brake to stop! As the rep explained to us, with no engine, there is also no engine braking as you would normally have on a conventional motorcycle. So the heavier use of brakes is necessary. After choosing our bikes (I opted to ride the 'S' or Supermotard model for the first half of the ride, my buddy took the 'DS' or Dual Sport model and we would switch halfway through for comparison purposes) we were off for our ride.
The Zero DS was surprisingly different with more even throttle respoonse compared to the Zero S model.
The first impression when you get on the bike isn't much different from any other dirt bike or motard-style street machine I've been on. Tall, narrow, and nimble. And with a twist of the wrist your off and humming (literally). The 'S' model had a very nice, snappy, throttle response and felt very planted in the corners. Of course with a top speed of 67 mph, those corners weren't the fastest at Laguna Seca that weekend by any means. But what stood out the most was the quiet, almost surreal, feeling that the bike gave you. With almost no engine noise, you pretty much got the ultimate 'wind in your hair' experience!
A few minutes later and my buddy and I switched bikes for the ride back. The 'DS' model was surprisingly different. With a very linear throttle response that simply pulls nicely through the powerband. The bigger dual-sport tires didn't feel as planted as their street style counter parts on the 'S' model but that's to be expected. Again the feeling of the ergonomics is what you would expect from a dual-sport bike, very heavy on the dirt bike influences. But again it’s the almost silent running that makes the experience unique.
The ride wasn't long or technical. But it did give a nice window into the world of electric motorcycles. And although neither my buddy or myself are ready to ditch our R6's for this new breed of machine, we both agreed that for an around town commuter type bike, the electric bike would be a consideration.
We thought the people at Zero hosting the demo rides were very knowledgeable and friendly and we would recommend to anyone who is interested in electric bikes to take a look at Zero's line up.
