Zero mx electric mx ride report

I received and invite last week from Zero MX to come out and demo one of their new 2009 Zero MX ( for MX) electric motocross bikes at Lake Elsinore MX park today.

I grabbed my gear bag and headed out today and found that Zero had a full line of their bikes sitting there ready to ride:



They also had some of their street versions to view as well:


Several varieties were available and the the key for me was finding the one that was best suited for me... I'm 6 ft 244. They selected an MX bike that had beefed up suspension ( not enough) but the best on hand. Some were set up DS. Some were set up street. Some had trials tires on them. All in all they gave me a good general overview , had me sign waivers and then I suited up to head out onto Lake Elsinore MX 85-125 cc track.

First things first. No rear brake pedal. Rear brake is with your left hand using a MT bike style lever. Front brake is on the right side.. again just like a Mt Bike. Turn on the key. Turn on the power. Select torque load setting switch, select 25MPH or 50 MPH switch.... absolutely no sound. Throttle pulls well immediately... at first I thought the bike was way to small for me.... I was wrong.... this is more of a MT bike type ride but a hell of a lot funner. Bike corners very quickly. Only weighs 160 lbs. Rear end actually likes to break free if you hit the throttle. Throttle pulls hard and long:





It is very well balanced but very light. easy to pull the front end up but mainly because it felt like riding a full suspension Mt Bike . With the smallest bump you can lift the whole bike up. Easy to steer with your knees, very very flickable. Very easy to maneuver around traffic on the track. Found that I was standing almost the entire time... very rarely sat on this bike. Easy to air out and very stable in the air.









Alll in All I ran almost 24 laps on this track with the majority of them at hard pace

To sum it all up:

Pros:
Lightweight
Green
Very easy for newbs or bicyclists to ride
Flickable
Balanced
Smooth power delivery
Great for Camping and trail riding around a campsite or paved beach walkway
No Noise... none.. zilch.. nada.. can only hear the chain slap from time to time

Cons:
No rear brake pedal
Mt bike brake shorty levers to small for my hands
Brakes fade ... do not feel 100% useable
Small cockpit.. ergos could be bigger for me but at 6 ft 244lbs I don't think i'm the target market
$9000 price tag
30 minutes /24 laps at hard pace and the power was starting to diminish... did not have the same hit
Suspension to soft
Spokes wheels hardware are light.. not enough to support my frame size for the long run
Battery life = 5 years at two to three rides per month ( less if you ride a lot) . replacement $3000.As quoted to me by Zero guy.

Overall Summary: Fun to ride. Generates looks. Different. Worth $9000.. no

Spent the day with my son Logan;


Watching tow planes and gliders:


And about 3 million crazy ..ss skydivers... even some of these tandem guys:



Logan wants to skydive now.........told mommy when we got home... mommy not impressed

Many thanks to the Zero MX crew. They put on a great demo with a lot of bikes, plenty of techs, ice cold Gatorade on hand etc..

T

Great report HuskyT.

Answered a lot of question I wanted to ask. Thank You.

But I still have a couple more. Do they have them street legal yet?

And you did say just the battery replacement was $3000 US..right?

Like if you were going to ride it to work every day 5 days a week.

20 miles round trip...:ride:

If a kid want a puppy, ask for a pony.
If a kid wants a motorcycle, ask to skydive

Nice report, it (sort of) matches mine I did a while back.

Yes...according to the tech I was working /talking with they are street legal. Each Bike has a VIN and each bike is platable with a light kit installed.

DS versions were there and they had much lighter wheel spokes and smaller front fork tubes.

I noticed that the street version had a rear brake pedal and som carbon fiber lower frame protection??? why??

I think they are trying to keep the weight down on the MX version. IMO the MX version needs a brake pedal. I found that I was using the brakes a lot and very much like a MT bike. Not like my Husky TC 450 at all. The bike coasts when you chop the throttle. If you want to slow down, you have to brake hard. They started fading on me but I was riding the bike hard.... show no mercy type ride. I wanted to see how it would hold up with both battery power and brake fade as well as suspension. Not quite fair to have a guy my size on it! After the first 10 or so laps I started feeling really comfortable on it. Started passing a few other dudes on the track. It is very easy to maneuver this bike.

Battery life is as stated to me by the tech. Will last five years if you ride a track twice a month or about 1000 charge cycles can be expected.. numbers don't quite match but replacement cost is $3000 USD.

Battery / Motor will fade on long uphills quite quickly.... will not be racing it at Glen Helen!!!

It was a lot of fun. I liked it. Was very happy with the way it handled. Does not feel like a motocrosser.... feels like a very ultra cool Full Suspension Downhill MTB.

T