I got a chance to ride a Zero electric bike today, the DS (dual sport) model. It's cool... turn the key on and twist the throttle. No clutching or shifting. It so quiet you can use this bike any time of day and nobody will hear you. It goes about 60 ish on the road. You can scare the crap out of the road pedal bikers when you zip by so quietly. I'm not totally sold on it, but it's going in the right direction. It's around $9,000 with a end of the year tax credit of a $1,000 dollars. This model can not compete with a current DS bike as far as power. I think it's designed to be a fun around town bike. Very small suspension on all the models. I'm waitng to try the wood version, soon I hope. www.zeromotorcycles.com
This would shed a whole new prospective on commuting. Hopefully the price will drop considerably or more incentive rebates. But all that aside the Zero is defiantly moving in the right direction.
E-bikes are here to stay. Doubt they will take over ICE bikes anytime soon but they will find their niche
I wonder what symbol the USFS will come up with for the signs that limit trails to electric only bikes. I can see it comming.
The limited range always seems to come into play as the deal killer. Of course old guys like me might be able to use that to their advantage. I can see a bunch of us sitting around the campsite and the senior crew saying "sorry guys, we're going to have to sit out that 90 mile rock crashing ride, our bikes only have a 45 min. charge life."
Man, the people that eventually tweak the battery tech are really going to reap some dough! The supermoto version looks like a blast. 9g's is high for the range and suspension. Still a novelty.
zero ds I like the though of... no vibration threw the bars or foot pegs no hot exhaust or exhaust system no buying fuel no gear oil no hot antifreeze no sound(for off road only). I did not like it for the street. I felt invisiable. not having to worry about a clutch or there parts wearing No need for an auto clutch anymore no engine braking not having to kick start a bike. no engine flooding.
Now you got me curious... What happens when you chop the throttle? Does it free wheel? Or is there motor breaking? When you decelerate does the motor turn into a generator and send power back to the battery? Man... I want to ride one too.:ride:
I am curious about its ability to freewheel on downhills. I have some really nice hills by the house I could burn some secret trails on and nobody would have a clue. Basically a motorized downhill mountain bike so to speak. Ride up coast down.
It just freewheels. There is no generator for charging the battery that I know of. If you look at the pictures you my see that where the engine should be is where all the electrical and battery is located. And where the swing arm pivot would be is where the motor is with a sprocket on it. The dirtbike model has what looks like a clutch lever, so I'm interested to see what it is for. I say this because the model I rode there is no way to clutch the bike for say a log that you need to clear. Click on the link above and watch the Jay leno video. You guys in Cali will get around $3,500 back after the sale.
I'm sure we will all be forced on one someday, but in the words of the late great Ronnie VanZant, "Lord take me and mine before that comes" ...
I took a demo awhile back... these are fun... the ride was fun... hands down a fun bike.... the only problem I noted was rear brake fade after about thirty laps.... acceleration is great ... handling is great... even jumping the thing was fun... Some pics from my demo ride... I would love to have two of these for cruising PCH and the beaches... they would be a blast... T
