10 Things You Need To Know About the 2020 Zero SR/F

Here at MO, we’re pretty excited about the 2019 Zero SR/F. With it, Zero has given us the third generation of its electric platform. In reality, however, this is the first time that Zero has delivered a full-sized-feeling electric motorcycle. After 13 years, Zero’s engineers say they finally have the tools to create the type of electric motorcycle they wanted to build all along. While electric motorcycles are still an extremely young technology, the fit and finish of the SR/F show that it is leaving infancy behind and moving beyond the bleeding edge of early-adopter status into the realm of everyday usability. 

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Exclusive: 2020 Zero SR/F Review - First Ride

It’s mind boggling to think that mass-produced street-legal electric motorcycles have only existed for 10 years. In 2009, Zero Motorcycles launched the Zero S and ushered in the electric age of two-wheeled street-legal transportation. During that model year, the S wasn’t just the only electric motorcycle in production, it was the only electric vehicle of any kind being mass-produced. To say that Zero was ahead of the curve is an understatement, but that early start has given the company the time – 13 years from its inception – to develop into its PR claim of being “the global leader in electric motorcycles and powertrains.” If your products created an entire category of vehicles, this is more than PR fluff. It is a demonstrable fact.

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Zero SR/F to Introduce New Generation of Electric Models

Zero Motorcycles is teasing a new SR/F model through its social media channels, promising full details to come on Feb. 25. While a new model is notable, the more important news is that the SR/F will introduce an entirely new platform that will eventually expand to include other future models.

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2019 Zero DSR Review - First Ride

Funny thing about electric motorcycles: if you’re already an early adopter of the technology, the name Zero Motorcycles is all too familiar. If you still think electrics are as evil to the motorcycling landscape as Jar Jar Binks was to Star Wars… well, you might as well stop reading here. No matter where you stand, the staying power of Zero Motorcycles is hard to ignore. For over 13 years, Zero has been leading the way in electric motorcycle technology, and its staying power has seen it outlast all its competitors. For 2019, Zero is further staking its claim as the leader in electric motorcycle technology, perhaps bracing itself for the arrival of the Harley-Davidson Livewire in 2020.

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Urban Electric Motorcycles: BMW C Evolution Scooter And Zero DSR

Once upon a time, electric motorcycles had such short range and high MSRPs that only the most devoted of early adopters had a reason to consider owning one. Well, in the past couple years, improvements in range have resulted in electrics now being a viable option for riders who are looking for a greener alternative to internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycles, which are relatively dirty compared to four-wheeled road users. So, we’ve taken the 2018 BMW C Evolution scooter and the 2018 Zero DSR as representatives of two different approaches to urban electric motorcycles to see how they stack up for everyday use. Note: This is not our typical comparison where we try to determine the best motorcycle out of a pairing. Rather, we are looking at two different electric bikes to determine their viability as urban transport.

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2018 Zero DSR Review

Riding the Zero DSR quickly turned me into a child. Laughing hysterically as I sneaked through traffic and by unsuspecting pedestrians, getting a kick out of the shocked faces on these innocent bystanders was one of the first reasons I enjoyed the Zero DSR, the second involved the R part of its model designation. I came for the ninja-like stealth, but stayed for the claimed 116 lb-ft of torque. Any time there was dirt in sight, a patch of gravel, an unbordered planter in a parking lot, I would bee-line for it, lighting up that rear tire quicker than the aforementioned innocent bystander could shield themselves from the dust. I’d like to say I’m sorry to the man in that car at the Rose Bowl parking lot who endured a large cloud of dust blowing into his open car windows.

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Is Electric Bike Racing The Next Big Thing?

Over in the car world, the Formula E series has gained massive interest from manufacturers. The all-electric racing series is the pinnacle of electric sport on four wheels, and while the early days of the sport were laughable – the cars were slow and there was a mandatory car switch at mid race for range purposes (the next generation Formula E cars are reported to be able to last a whole 50-minute race) – there’s no avoiding the fact that almost every major car maker is embracing electric propulsion as part of their model range, whether its standalone electric cars, or as part of a hybrid system. And just as it’s been true about internal combustion engines, there’s no better way to improve the electric breed than by going racing.

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Zero Electric Motorcycle Range

When it comes to a (relatively) affordable mass-produced electric motorcycle, Santa Cruz, California’s Zero is the most prevalent manufacturer of e-bikes. Sure, Italy’s Energica has a high-end line of electrics and KTM and BMW are bringing to market electric dirtbikes (the Freeride E-XC) and scooters (the C Evolution), respectively, but we’re still waiting on Harley’s LiveWire and an Indian version of the Brammo/Victory Empulse platform. Then there’s the ultra e-bike, Lightning’s LS 218, which is offered in small-scale production, as well as the RedShift dirtbike from Alta Motors.

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2018 Zero Motorcycles Lineup Announced

Today, Zero Motorcycles announced its 2018 model line, and while the lineup remains unchanged from a model name standpoint, that doesn’t mean the electric motorcycle company has been sitting still.

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Best Electric Motorcycle Of 2017

The truly all-purpose do-everything electric motorcycle still hovers just out of range (due to lack of range), but for those fortunate enough to own more than one motorcycle, and a job with a non-ridiculous commute, an electric bike is a fantastic way to go. Plug it in when you clock in in the morning, plug it in again while you swizzle your martini when you arrive back at the estate. Ride right past gas stations and all the naysayers who bray that electricity production burns fuel too. In 2016, nearly 10% of California’s energy came from solar; the goal is 33% by 2020.

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Is an Electric Bike Perfect For Courier Duty?

Sometimes story ideas originate from the strangest of places. Back in November, 2016, Robert Abbasi, president of RTI Properties in Gardena, California, asked us if we could help him post a job listing at his company that was looking for a motorcycle courier. We happily obliged, not thinking much of it (and, as it turns out, it was through our post that Abbasi found the candidate he was looking for – Enrique Villegas and his Kawasaki KZ1000, a former police bike).

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Evoke Electric Urban S Coming Stateside

Ever hear of Evoke? Us neither, but according to reports, the Chinese e-bike maker has plans on introducing its Urban S model to America this July. While Evoke may be an unknown OEM, it claims that a partnership with Foxconn – famous as Apple’s iPhone manufacturer – is what’s allowing the company to expand, ramping up production from 120 bikes last year to an estimated 2,000 bikes this year.

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UK's Plug-In Grant Benefits Its First Customer

Today, U.K. resident Fred Murphy became the first Briton to benefit from his government’s new “Plug-In” subsidy for electric motorcycles. The grant was first introduced in January 2011, but only electric automobiles were eligible at the time. In 2015 the grant was extended to qualifying motorcycles, with details finalized in October 2016. The full requirements can be found here. In the U.S., electric motorcycles may be eligible for incentives and rebates depending on the state.

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2017 Zeros Launched at EICMA

Today at EICMA 2016 Zero Motorcycles unveiled its 2017 lineup of electric motorcycles. Although the company didn’t announce any new models, per se, there are some spinoffs of existing models to better suit price points – a request from customers that Zero paid attention to. We’ll cover the model improvements and spinoffs in a moment, but first we’ll start with big news that affects the entire 2017 line.

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2016 EICMA Show Coverage

It’s that time of year again: New Bike Season. We’ve already gotten a taste of what’s to come in 2017 thanks to the Intermot show in Cologne, Germany, and AIMExpo in Orlando last month, but when we really want to drool over what awaits us in 2017, EICMA is the show to pay attention to. No less than 30 companies will be making big announcements over the course of the three days that span Nov. 7-9, and our man Evans Brasfield will be on the ground in Milan covering the action as it happens. He’ll even be shooting some video footage we’ll post right here on these pages.

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