went to pick up a trio of oil filters for the drz at my local stealership, and spied something new. to tell the truth, it was a the round headlight that caught my eye first, then the battle axes, and finally the profile. this is the first ZERO i've seen in person. tried several times to get a demo ride, but they aren't serious about selling it, unfortunately. this particular model had 1500 demo miles on it already from the sales staff at the stealer.

the mechanic saw me looking at it and kinda winked that that dual-sport version was in a crate out back, and that the 2012 models would have improved regenerative braking, and extended range ----with more torque----.

i know the great state of alabama will never consider a tax break for it, but the fed does.

I WANT ONE BAAAAAAAAD !

whatca think gstwinners ?










http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/

It looks pretty cool. I wouldn't mind something like that to commute with.

What is it an electric/battery bike?

I saw something like this on OCC and the can be really really fast depending on the motor and power supply

Do want

I thought it was gonna be a bmw gs800. I thought wrong.

Michael

I don't know everything about this particular motorcycle but if it's what I expect I'm not against it at all, depending what it costs, of course.  114 miles of range would satisfy me 90+ percent of the time.  Only on long trips would I want more range, which are rare.

After reading more I wouldn't want an electric bike any more listless than our beloved GS500, and it is.  There's no reason for it, other than range.  Also, I don't believe for a minute that it runs for less than a penny a mile as is claimed.  I don't care how those numbers were collected.  Even at an industrial site getting super-cheap electric rates you're still not gonna charge the battery for less than a penny a mile, ignoring tires, brakes, and all the rest.  Not a chance.  I was born at night, but not last night!  All in all though, there are things about this bike that I like, like light weight and acceleration.  All things considered though, I like what I have now. 

The problem with ALL electric bikes is their range. Looking at their site, the ZF6 can only go 49 miles @70mph. Man, that wouldn't even get me to work and back.

Once a better battery is figured out, they would be more viable. Otherwise, just gimmicks.

Michael

Yeah, one really needs to look at how much it will take to recharge the bike and what the electrical bill is going to be. Battery powered vehicles means your trading fuel for electric, going to cost the same after the utility company jacks up the price because of demand. The battery replacement is very expensive too and once the battery is bad where does it go? The plates can't be reused so to the dump it's headed, I don't think that's too good for the everyman.

Most importantly to me, it's ugly

To me it looks like a rectangular box on wheels, no sex appeal

Quote from: mister on December 14, 2011, 04:08:56 AM
The problem with ALL electric bikes is their range. Looking at their site, the ZF6 can only go 49 miles @70mph. Man, that wouldn't even get me to work and back.

Once a better battery is figured out, they would be more viable. Otherwise, just gimmicks.

Michael

***i would have posted this earlier, but my keyboard's batteries died - irony ?***

Let's step outside the box for a moment and think new things....

The range of your gs is 130 or some odd miles, or 350, or whatever. Let's agree on 100 to make things easy to type. The zero's battery range is (for this discussion) exactly the same, 100 miles. Both bikes can travel exactly 100 miles before needing a re-fill, oh wait, re-CHARGE.

Now that milage is covered, let's rethink the gas station. Instead of only selling gasoline and incredibly high prices carbonated beverages, bottled water for $6 a gallon, and 1/10th of a potato fried for $20/lb, they also have... drumroll...... batteries, with  fresh charges.

Crazy ? Batteries available in standardized sizes which you have slipped into your car/truck/van/bike/whatever and pay a fee for the exchange. Your discharged battery goes in a charge rack, and someone else will use it next time it's ready.

Oh wait, a 'fill up' just dropped from 7 minutes to 2. Literally 2 minutes to open a door and push packs around.

You now have another battery pack with 99% charge, and another 100 miles to ride. Need more range ? Carry a spare, it's only 30 lbs, so it can sit in your pillion's position until it's required.

Yes, it hasn't happened yet, but it's a very simple, very quick to implement system. No hybrid computer crap to take a dump, no oil, no gas, no coolant, no head gaskets, no .... you get the idea.

Charging is cheaper than gas, because of the ease of electricity to travel great distances vs transporting a truck load of gasoline, refining, and markup at every stop.

ALSO, the average price i'm seeing for recharging a bike sized battery is around $.40, that's forty cents.

Just something to chew on.

We live in a Modern World with Convenience. Having to visit a battery exchange business and change batteries - daily - is not my idea of Convenient.

The time it takes to pump 12 liters of gas into the tank is nowhere near seven minutes. I'd say it's less than 2 minutes and it is pretty effortless. Pushing a Heavy battery out of a slot and pushing another heavy battery in is more hassle, more Effort.

This is not to say, things will not get better with electrically powered vehicles. Just that, as it stands Currently, they are not Better/Improved enough over conventional technology that will see it adapted. Unless it becomes substantially better, people will stick with what they know - no matter how much some people may want it otherwise.

CDs took over from records because they were a Substantial improvement that was easier to use.
DVD took over from VHS Video tape for the same reason.

Give me an electric bike with a 600 mile range at WOT and I'll be very interested. Even if the electric matched the conventional it won't be enough. The improvement needs to be Substantial for it to be widely adopted.

Michael

Bugger all this 'leccy crap. What I want is a small atomic reactor between the thighs and away I go for ever Have to wear me lead-lined jeans, of course.

I want one. I just don't have enough money or a place to charge it. Also because of the limited range I would need a ICE-bike for longer journeys. Or maybe not, I could just rent one few times a year.

I'm interested in the technology of these EV:s. I rode a Quantya last year and liked it a lot! One day I will have some electric bike, but not anytime soon.