While India rides with Hero, California based Zero Motorcycles; a specialized company engaged in producing all-electric motorbikes showcased their updated range for 2015 at this year’s Intermot Show. Though the basic designs are still unchanged from last year, these super-silent, tree-hugging runabouts pack some major technical upgrades.
The range starts with the Zero S, a naked street fighter with 54 hp of power and 68 ft-lb of twist, and then moves on to the blindingly quick SR performance variant with 67 hp of power and 106 ft-lb of shove! The SR does 0-60mph in just 3.3 seconds- that’s electric twist for you!
Then there’s the dual-sport iteration, called the DS which boasts a bit of off-road credo along with the sporty intents. The range ends with the lightweight FX “Stealthfighter” which comes with a unique frame and swappable batteries, delivering a nearly instantaneous 70 ft-lb of torque, 44 hp coupled with a low weight of only 289 lbs.
New for 2015 are fully adjustable suspensions sourced from Showa and specifically tuned for each model, a Bosch ABS system, and Pirelli rubber. All bikes get new mirrors, softer handlebar grips and a stouter throttle. The S, SR, and DS receive a different seat, and a new set of cast alloy wheels. While all the bikes get lighter axles and bigger bearings, the FX also gets new, slightly wider wheels.
Already the longest-range electric motorcycles in production today, the Zero S and Zero SR now offer riders 10% greater range by way of a newly optimized battery cell configuration. That’s up to 185 miles of range, if opted with the 2.8-kWh Power Tank option which buys one a total of 15.3 kWhs of energy. The two different basic battery packages are now sized at 9.4 and 12.5 kilowatt-hours.
For the S and SR, those 185 miles are achieved using the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS), while at a steady 55 miles per hour, range drops to 115 miles and then drops further to 94 miles at a constant 70 mph. In a nutshell, the bikes return an astounding 462 MPGe in the city, and 236 MPGe on the highway.
Zero also builds fleet vehicles. For the military, it offers its MMX, SP and DSP models(Read more here). For 2015 it adds an FX-based police version appropriately badged as the FXP, offering all the stealth and the performance necessary to do the job.
