Yesterday I traveled to my local dealer for a test ride of the 2019 SR/F. I decided to ride my 2013 Honda VFR1200F down to the dealer for a comparison since it is a relatively quick bike compared to my 14.4 Zero S. I love my Zero, it is my daily commuter, but when I feel the need for speed, I hop on the VFR which can move along quite nicely with 170HP on tap.
My first thought after looking at the SR/F before even getting on it, was it is a totaly different level of refinement compared to other Zero's. From pictures I had seen before hand, I wasn't quite sure I liked the look of the steel frame, but once I saw it in person, I really liked the aesthetics. The new motor and battery case in particular are beautiful and the whole bike just comes across as a real work of art. I really like the full color display with its modern readout. I also quite liked the look of bike from the front with the led lights.
I'm not going to say much more about features, other than I appreciate the substantial upgrades compared to the previous Zero bikes. I want to focus more on what it was like to ride the SR/F. Once I got on the bike, I became aware of the higher foot peg height relative to the seat height. I am 6' tall and the space initially felt a little cramped compared to what I was used to, but not uncomfortably so. The seating position feels more sporty than my S, with a little longer stretch to the handlebars and I liked that. After being on the bike for a minute or two I felt completely settled in and comfortable for the duration of the test ride. The seat was very comfortable, a definite improvement over my S. The battery charge was 100%. I started out in eco mode just to get used to the bike. In this mode, the SR/F felt at least as fast as my S in sport mode if not slightly faster. I soon switched to street mode, the acceleration felt on par with previous SR's I have riden in sport mode. From there I went to sport mode, which was "ludicrously" fast. The torque of the new motor is simply amazing! Wether from a stand still or at any speed, a twist of the throttle could result in what felt like face warping acceleration. I should note the throttle never had an on/off feel, even in sport mode there was good degree of variation. At one point I was crusing at about 40mph when i gunned the throttle. Immediately the back wheel broke loose, but before it could slide out more than a few inches, the traction control kicked in and the rear tire hooked with the bike launching forward with almost surreal acceleration. All of this happened before I could ease off the throttle. By the time time I looked down at the display to see how fast I was going , I was doing 90mph. The traction control seemed to be very effective without negatively interrupting forward thrust. It felt very similar to the seemless traction control on my VFR. At that point I had the opportunity to put the brakes to the test given I was on city roads. Brake feel and modulation was excellent. Regarding handling, I didn't have opportunity to ride anywhere twisty, but the SR/F felt very nimble. I would say more so than my S. It just didn't feel like a heavier bike to me, probably due to the lower center of gravity. I can sum up my test ride by saying I was thoroughly impressed with the SR/F. It was a much higher level of quality and refinement than the other Zero bikes and I felt worth every penny of the price they are asking for it. I hope to be able to have one in my garage sometime in the near future. The only drawback I could find is it made my VFR feel slow
Special thanks to Monarch Power Sports for the test ride.
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Topic: Brief First impression of SR/F after ride (Read 654 times)