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ZERO electric motorcycles

Bruiser

Bruiser

Sport Tourer
A friend of mine owns a Triumph dealership. Last week he took delivery of the first electric bikes here in Eugene. Brand name Zero. Took one for a ride today...very impressive....but also weird.  0-60 in 3 seconds, and totally linear. The only noise is a faint whine, kind of like a turbocharger. Of course, no shifting, and belt drive.  Supposed 175 mile range, and the batteries have a life span of 300,000 miles. It is so odd to sit at a light, and hear.....nothing!  Yet when the light turns green, say bye bye!
If anyone has an opportunity to ride one, it will put a smile on your face.    :)
 
Go to their website. The prices are on there. Can get up there....  Options for more range, bags, etc. Four different models.
 
gsun said:
Go to their website. The prices are on there. Can get up there....  Options for more range, bags, etc. Four different models.
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aint got NO time fo dat!!! that's why i asked!!!  :nananana:
 
But you have all the time in the world to hang around here!! :nananana:
 
Of the 3 models they have out....dirt, dual purpose, and street, prices vary from 12- 18k. I know....ouch!
 
I test rode one at a local dealer event last summer. Expected anemia,  was I surprised. I think it would beat my 750 off the line. You can even change power settings and monitor it from your phone so if you loan it out you can make it slower. Impressed by all but the price.
 
BruceS said:
Of the 3 models they have out....dirt, dual purpose, and street, prices vary from 12- 18k. I know....ouch!
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About the same range as the big irons we all ride now. AND, they are advancing technically far faster (and with measurable improvements in performance and range) than gas burners. Formerly on the fringe, they are front and center and very intriguing. I would love to ride one.

Dan
 
Bergmen said:
BruceS said:
Of the 3 models they have out....dirt, dual purpose, and street, prices vary from 12- 18k. I know....ouch!
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About the same range as the big irons we all ride now. AND, they are advancing technically far faster (and with measurable improvements in performance and range) than gas burners. Formerly on the fringe, they are front and center and very intriguing. I would love to ride one.

Dan
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I don't know if I would say front and center but they are definitely in the picture.  I would like to ride one too.
 
I would love to have one and commute on it, but it boils down to money. For less than $3K I can pick up any number of decent bikes that, with a little tlc, will perform wonderfully as commuters, leaving me with a lot of money for fuel.
 
Sgt Mac said:
I would love to have one and commute on it, but it boils down to money. For less than $3K I can pick up any number of decent bikes that, with a little tlc, will perform wonderfully as commuters, leaving me with a lot of money for fuel.
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yeah, and no increased electric bill.  :eek:
 
Test rode one two summers ago.  Real fun, really no noise.  Kind of like a golf cart on two wheels, that goes better than any golf cart I ever drove!  But the price is limiting factor.  Glad to see they are improving range and battery life.  If the stable ever grows from one to four bikes, there might be electric in the mix.  Everyone should try one though!
 
I think they need to get 100+ real world range at below $10k before they really take off.  Oh, and be able to charge in say 4 hours or less.  You can get the range and the charge time but it all adds up to $15k plus right now.
 
Uncle Rob said:
I think they need to get 100+ real world range at below $10k before they really take off.  Oh, and be able to charge in say 4 hours or less.  You can get the range and the charge time but it all adds up to $15k plus right now.
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+1

Yeah, still in its infancy.  The technology will be there soon and they'll go mucho further for mucho cheaper, plus mucho FASTER  :beerchug:
 
stevewfl said:
Electric is the future
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:sign0135: We won't go! :sign0135: We won't go!!  That would be just buck weird to drive or ride something you can't hear. I do think your right though.. its inevitable!!
 
EZ said:
stevewfl said:
Electric is the future
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:sign0135: We won't go! :sign0135: We won't go!!  That would be just buck weird to drive or ride something you can't hear. I do think your right though.. its inevitable!!
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Remember they said cell phones "is a fad" in the late 80's too. Never replace copper line phones due to dropped calls, reliability, expense, and poor battery life. 

Technology in our lifetime will make electric motorcycles so cheap and so fast one will be insane to ride gas.  Cars too.  Can't bet against tech  :beerchug:
 
Automobiles are a passing fad,  they will never replace the reliability of a horse.

Television is a gimmick,  radio is king.      :))
 
Flat-spot said:
Automobiles are a passing fad,  they will never replace the reliability of a horse.

Television is a gimmick,  radio is king.      :))
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:eek:  :eek:    :eek:

smoked my example  :beerchug:
 
Sgt Mac said:
Commuting or a weekend ride is one thing. What about a multi-day or longer high mileage trip?
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These are certainly intended for local riding, commuting being the most attractive use IMO. I would hate to run out of electrons while goofing off in the mountains.

Many companies have solar panels that provide free re-charge capabilites while at work. That would be an ideal way to commute if the RT mileage works out.

Dan
 
I am a huge fan of internal combustion.  It's in our soul, if you will.  It's all we know.  But keep in mind in 1900 there were no gas stations.  There was no pavement.  There are early motion pictures of model T's bouncing and grinding along muddy, rutted one lane "roads".  Very slowly.  The first coast to coast trips took many months. 
  This will be a long paradigm shift or sea change.  The gasoline supply is finite, electricity is not.  We won't live long enough to see it complete, but range and infrastructure will grow and improve to be able to drive an electric vehicle anywhere and as far as you want.  The same way gas stations and pavement eventually expanded to....everywhere.  It will be done with a level of technology that does not exist yet, but many extremely smart dudes and dudettes are working hard on it. 
  Not to worry,  in the meantime enjoy that sound out your tailpipe.
 
Flat-spot said:
I am a huge fan of internal combustion.  It's in our soul, if you will.  It's all we know.  But keep in mind in 1900 there were no gas stations.  There was no pavement.  There are early motion pictures of model T's bouncing and grinding along muddy, rutted one lane "roads".  Very slowly.  The first coast to coast trips took many months. 
  This will be a long paradigm shift or sea change.  The gasoline supply is finite, electricity is not.  We won't live long enough to see it complete, but range and infrastructure will grow and improve to be able to drive an electric vehicle anywhere and as far as you want.  The same way gas stations and pavement eventually expanded to....everywhere.  It will be done with a level of technology that does not exist yet, but many extremely smart dudes and dudettes are working hard on it. 
  Not to worry,  in the meantime enjoy that sound out your tailpipe.
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The toughy is that electrical generation is mostly by fossil fueled power plants. Coupled with the increase in electrical vehicles there will have to be a change in the manner in which we generate electricity. Nuclear power plants need to be taken seriously again (like Europe does) as well as hydro-electric and appropriately applied solar.

All this of course will result in more gasoline for our current motorcycles (and other vehicles of course), including my FJR. Yowza!

Dan
 
Bergmen said:
Flat-spot said:
I am a huge fan of internal combustion.  It's in our soul, if you will.  It's all we know.  But keep in mind in 1900 there were no gas stations.  There was no pavement.  There are early motion pictures of model T's bouncing and grinding along muddy, rutted one lane "roads".  Very slowly.  The first coast to coast trips took many months. 
  This will be a long paradigm shift or sea change.  The gasoline supply is finite, electricity is not.  We won't live long enough to see it complete, but range and infrastructure will grow and improve to be able to drive an electric vehicle anywhere and as far as you want.  The same way gas stations and pavement eventually expanded to....everywhere.  It will be done with a level of technology that does not exist yet, but many extremely smart dudes and dudettes are working hard on it. 
  Not to worry,  in the meantime enjoy that sound out your tailpipe.
Click to expand...

The toughy is that electrical generation is mostly by fossil fueled power plants. Coupled with the increase in electrical vehicles there will have to be a change in the manner in which we generate electricity. Nuclear power plants need to be taken seriously again (like Europe does) as well as hydro-electric and appropriately applied solar.

All this of course will result in more gasoline for our current motorcycles (and other vehicles of course), including my FJR. Yowza!

Dan
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Thats decreasing fast too as technology increases.  New ways of generating are being developed. Tesla, Google, and Apple are driving a lot of the new technologies.

Of course Al Gore will sell us some "solar panels" though  :rotflmao:
 
The growth rate of solar is pretty amazing right now.  Utility owned solar more than doubled in the last year and the combination of commercial and private solar is even bigger.  If this trend continues, solar will be the biggest source of electricity in less than 15 years.  Sunpower is planning to triple their capacity in the next five years and believe that the Solar market will grow by a factor of 10 in the next fifteen years.  I think Sunpower's estimate is somewhat conservative, and it would make Solar 20% of the market by 2030.  The cost of a 250MW utility solar power plant has gone from $1.6 billion 5 years ago to $600 million today.
 
Uncle Rob said:
The growth rate of solar is pretty amazing right now.  Utility owned solar more than doubled in the last year and the combination of commercial and private solar is even bigger.  If this trend continues, solar will be the biggest source of electricity in less than 15 years.  Sunpower is planning to triple their capacity in the next five years and believe that the Solar market will grow by a factor of 10 in the next fifteen years.  I think Sunpower's estimate is somewhat conservative, and it would make Solar 20% of the market by 2030.  The cost of a 250MW utility solar power plant has gone from $1.6 billion 5 years ago to $600 million today.
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THIS. (And I'm a fan of the IC engine...Red Barchetta always comes to mind).

Recent improvements in solar panel tech - both in efficiency and reduction in use of toxic materials during manufacture - mean we should see more consumer installations in areas previously less desirable (places with lower sunny days). Combined with Musks Gigafactory for batteries we should see more home installations providing sufficient power to be "off grid" most of the time for a greater percentage of places. (Musk intends to make batteries for home solar that will store enough power for 3 days of household running, so when you have low solar input days you won't have to rely on the power company).

This will help by reducing the amount of power that has to be generated, AND reduce the losses for power transmission. Of course we'd need to see the lifetime power production vs power consumption during manufacture to make a fair comparison.

I think distributed power generation and increased intelligence in power distribution (i.e. excess power from your neighbor can be distributed to you) will be a bigger breakthrough than anything else, by heavily reducing transmission losses. In a way, the power distribution network will benefit from the last 30 years of advances in internet traffic shaping, since they're both networks contending with determining the most efficient way to route traffic (data for internet, power for electric)...which in the end is all the same thing - electrical signals - just that the power system uses a wider amplitude.

To be honest, I'd read about this direction nearly 20 years ago - so it's not all my creation. Even then power engineers (not the power companies, but research types) were experimenting with how to store locally generated solar energy (or wind) in CPE (Consumer-Premises Equipment), and then have network intelligence redirect that power preferentially to closer storage systems (neighbors). They were thinking sodium batteries in homes about the size of refrigerators (the state of tech at the time). If a significant number of homes had this setup, then power could be locally distributed, reducing losses, and reducing the need for primary generation and long-range distribution.

I give this about 20 years before it's somewhat common (kinda like how common solar is today), and 50 before it's standard. Of course the tech will change along the way, but the basic idea is pretty well established.

In it's entirety, we should see variations of these techs employed, depending on solar capacity, infrastructure "intelligence", marketability, etc. Since I live in the west (Colorado) which both has gobs of sunlight (320 days/year) and plenty of opportunity to be somewhere there's no "grid", ( plus a large enough population that's both technical and tree-huggerish), I'd expect to see a lot of this coming in here.

PS..I tend to disregard wind because not many places have the right conditions for it, and there's a very limited amount of energy to be extracted from wind, currently (based on the efficiencies of current windmills). Solar is far more promising, generally, for now.
 
There's sposed to be a demo of the S, FXS, & DS in a few days.  It's ~260 mi from here, a fine excuse to take a Conc cruz!  I'm not in the market, it's jest for  ;D
 
My GMC truck gets 18 MPG so fo $17,000 and $3.00/gal average cost, I can drive it for 107,000 miles for the cost of the E-bike.  Even more for the Connie and even MORE for the Wee-Strom.

Having said that, once they get the cost down to be competitive, and a few other things,  I'd be glad to ditch the oil changes, valve adjustments, air filter cleanings, yearly carb R&R, etc.
 
ALTA Redshift costs right at $15,000 as of 2017. Made in USA. 40/hp and 120/lb torque. When Harley-Davidson comes out with one....then Electric will have arrived.
 
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