Zero FX Supermoto Racing Against Gas Bikes + Video

Troy Siahaan
by Troy Siahaan

Whenever we post a story about electric bikes on this site, there’s always a much greater number of pessimists and detractors than there are fans of the technology. Well, here’s another gas vs. electric video, so get your keyboards ready. This time we have a story of a Zero FX converted to supermoto trim, and raced by Doug Smith against gas bikes in the Supermoto USA series at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California.

We use the term “converted” loosely, as the most basic change is a swap to the S wheels and street rubber. However, stock, the FX puts out 70 ft-lb of torque — considerably more than your average 450cc MX bike. Its 44 horses is on par, if not slightly lower than some 450s, but the FX really suffers in the weight department. Still, this doesn’t stop Doug Smith from hanging, and passing, plenty of his competitors on gas bikes.

Smith admits in the video he still has to work on his skill and racecraft on the bike, but we can see he’s clearly holding his own. Now, for those e-bike detractors out there here’s a question for you: if you were a racer and an electric bike gave you an advantage over your gas competition, would you make the switch?

Troy Siahaan
Troy Siahaan

Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.

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