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[CrashCash]

I got my Zero on the 31st of December, and I've ridden it every day since, and it's been my only transportation for a month now.

I didn't really plan it that way, but it was just too much fun. My FJR-1300 has sat forlornly on its side of the garage.

Unfortunately, there's not many places to ride to in Central Florida that aren't a restaurant, so I've gained about 15 pounds. There's been grand openings for 3 pizza places here, and I've ridden to every one.

I've taken pictures of the SR in front of the Winter Park Christmas tree, an old B-52, the UCF Duke Energy Welcome Center, and the Stanton Power Station.

I've charged "off-site" twice. I got annoyed at how hard it was to get to the UCF solar-powered station, so I made that a special mission. I also charged up in Sanford, where it turned out to make the difference as to whether I got home or not. I charged from 50% to 67% while I was having lunch, and I got home with 11% left.

The lowest I've been was 3%, when I got a call from the dealer saying my top rack was in, so I dashed down there after already running around town all day.

The only time I've had "range fear" was when I got on I-4 and missed my exit, and I saw how quickly the charge evaporated at 80mph. On the other hand, I got to meet Len Nelson of Cyclepedia at the rest stop.

I have a power tank on order and that should let me get to the warbird & space museums in Titusville, where there appears to be a complete lack of charging facilities. A pair of Elcons from Hollywood Electrics are definitely on the shopping list after the power tank is paid for.

What's been a complete surprise is how much of a "cruiser" bike it is... it'll gladly putt along at 7mph on brick roads looking at shops and the scenery for as long as I want.

I've hit Winter Park a ton of times since it's so fun to get there and so fun to just cruise on in and park anywhere I want.

On the other hand, I've said "and now, Mr. Sulu... Warp factor 8, if you please" probably way too many times. I had a BMW M3 sitting there revving its engine. Silly wabbit. There's also been a couple times I've said "I'm tired of this guy going 30mph in a 45, I'm outta here"

However, it's not "high-strung" like a sportbike that just wants to go 80 all the time and isn't happy below 50mph. It doesn't buck and stumble trying to do a 5mph U-turn like the FJR does.

It's nice to drive a block to lunch without having to warm it up or worry about condensation in the oil. On the other hand, I've missed the 1300cc space heater when it's been 50F out.

There's been two types of reactions: One is "Is that electric? Really. Isn't that... quaint..." and then there's the people that love it so much they try to impress me with how much EV tech they know: "Did you hear about this new carbon-based battery technology...?"

The only thing I don't like is that the mirrors are about an inch too short, and I see a lot of elbow. I've had this problem on just about every bike, so I'm thinking it's me and not the bikes.

My left hand had no problems dealing with no clutch, but I find even a month later that sometimes my foot tries to bang out a couple downshifts when I come up to a red light. And I must admit to stylin' and profilin' by putting my left hand on my knee at times, especially as I blew past the guy on a Harley wearing the chrome Nazi helmet or the helmetless guy on the Hayabusa.

I got the top & side racks, and with 3 Givi E45s I can carry more groceries than the FJR, but I usually just go with the E21s, where I can drop rain gear in one side and a magazine to read at lunch in the other. I carried 4 gallons of waste oil to recycle, and that felt really weird.

Now I have to figure out a reason to ride the FJR other than "I need to" - and I can't!

[Doug S]

However, it's not "high-strung" like a sportbike that just wants to go 80 all the time and isn't happy below 50mph. It doesn't buck and stumble trying to do a 5mph U-turn like the FJR does.

I've had my SR for just over a year now, and though I do still drive my BMW 528i, more often than not it's just to make sure the battery stays charged. My goal when I got the bike was to be sure I commuted four days a week on the bike, and I've beaten that easily. One Friday this summer I had to drive the car to pick up a large package and I was irritated, because if I'd ridden, it would have been an unbroken string of 6 straight weeks I'd ridden to work instead of driving. Of course it's pretty easy to do in San Diego, where the weather is rarely uncooperative.

I expected the bike to be a world-beating commuter, and it's surpassed that expectation. I expected it to be a 106 ft-lb beast, and it certainly is that. What I had no idea was what you touched on --that the bike would be so bloody RESPONSIVE to my wishes, without fail.

I'll be commuting to/from work, doing 70-75 mph on the freeway, and decide I need to get around a truck to make my exit or whatever. Rolling on the throttle, there's NO throttle lag, no lean stutters, no need to shift down three times to get in the powerband, just pure, sweet torque, a ton of it, available at my whim. Same thing is true in a parking lot at 5 mph, or even at a dead standstill (which still boggles my mind --this motor is RUNNING, with full torque on tap, at 0 rpm!).

It's almost hard to talk about an EV being responsive. Just using the same words we use to talk about ICE vehicles implies some level of equality between the two, and there is none. The more you ride/drive an EV, the more you realize that we may need a whole new vocabulary to talk about EVs. They're really very different animals.

[MichaelJohn]

The more I ride mine (1000 miles and counting) the more I like it. I went to a cars and coffee gathering today in a shopping center parking lot near an auto museum in Danville, CA where once a month hundreds of wonderful cars come together for show and tell. Tons of Ferraris, Lambos, McLarens, Cobras (replicas and originals) Vipers, muscle cars old and new...just about everything - even an Ariel Atom. I was able to cruise around at will on my silent magic carpet to get up close and personal with many cars and their owners. I never would have dreamt of doing that on a gas bike. I think I got more attention than most of the cars. One guy asked me if it was freeway legal and I chuckled and assured him that it was. His response was "but it's a scooter isn't it". I really didn't know what to say to that other than my "scooter" could probably out-accelerate most of the cars in the lot. That actually got him quite interested and he turned out to be a very nice guy who peppered me with questions. Later in the day I went to visit a friend of mine who is a motorbike-a-holic with a double garage packed wall-to-wall with everything from 70's Nortons to modern literbikes. I hadn't seen him for a while and he didn't know I had the Zero but his face lit up when he saw what I was riding. He is a very open-minded guy who, as it turns out, had been researching Zeros. He is a very accomplished rider so I insisted that he take the Zero for a spin. He was actually touched - he compared sharing a motorcycle with sharing a woman - he loves his bikes that much. I told him to go for it and just pin the thing so he took off grinning like a kid with a new toy. When he got back he was dumbstruck. He said that he thought it accelerated as hard or harder than his 185 HP R1! He absolutely loved everything about it and it left him shaking. When I left he was trying to figure out which bikes to sell so he could buy a Zero! These bikes are such a new paradigm that you just have to ride one to understand.

[benswing]

I went to a cars and coffee gathering today in a shopping center parking lot near an auto museum in Danville, CA where once a month hundreds of wonderful cars come together for show and tell. Tons of Ferraris, Lambos, McLarens, Cobras (replicas and originals) Vipers, muscle cars old and new...just about everything - even an Ariel Atom. I was able to cruise around at will on my silent magic carpet to get up close and personal with many cars and their owners. I never would have dreamt of doing that on a gas bike. I think I got more attention than most of the cars.

Great story!  I do the same thing in Northern New Jersey, lots of wealth and plenty of exotic car lovers up here, too.  When I ride my Zero into the lot to join some other EV drivers (BMW i3, Tesla Roadster, Tesla Model S, Leaf, etc.) there is often a line of people following me and they start peppering me with questions before I even dismount!  It's like being the Pied Piper!  Over the past 2 years, more of them have become knowledgeable about my bike and instead of asking "What is it?" they start with "Which one is it?". 

Also, last summer I rode the tail of the dragon 6 times and talked with dozens of guys on Harleys and they were all fascinated by my bike!

[Richard230]

These are all great personal electric motorcycle experience comments that really say a lot about the joys and practicality of riding electric.  Perhaps a letter or two to a monthly motorcycle magazine would be in order to get the word out to a larger audience. 

[KenMac]

Love hearing all the stories, guys.  Thanks for posting!  I just put down a deposit on Saturday so the dealer would order my SR.  I'm in NC and ride most of the year with the exception being less in July in August than any other time due to the heat & humidity.  Trading my DL1000 and getting 2015 SR with a top bag.  Dealer is expecting shipment the end of February.  Can't wait for it to arrive and hoping for a similar experience.  Perhaps I'll be able to do a little more riding in July in August since I won't have a big 1000cc heater below me.

[AustinSZF8.5]

I kept my 97 Magna and 08 Versys for long rides. The battery died on the Versys and the Magna's carbs clogged because I wasn't riding them enough - the Zero gets all the attention. Once I get the idle needles cleaned out so the bike runs right, I'll likely sell the Magna. The Versys gets a battery tender for now, looking at maybe trading it for an FJR-09 at some point but I'll have to keep the tender. 

I've said it many times before and will say it many many more times I'm sure: I cannot think of a better weapon for combating the commute than a Zero. It is just the perfect around-town blaster. It has exceeded my expectations and I'm still thrilled with my purchase.

We'll see how much attention I get when I ride it with a passenger to the MotoGP event here in Austin next month. Hopefully I'm not kept in the parking lot all day and can see some of the race!

[dkw12002]

In heavy traffic where you must creep along a couple of feet at a time, there is nothing easier than an electric bike, although a scooter comes close. With the electric bike you can essentially walk the bike if you want. Worst is a super sport which gets hot plus you are continuously on the clutch or brake. The liter bikes especially do not like to creep along in 1st gear. I don't think there is a better commuter than a Zero...provided the range works out.

[Richard230]

Another advantage to the Zero in slow traffic is that it will run all day using very little of the battery charge. Two weeks ago I rode my Zero about 5 miles around San Francisco's congested downtown area for 20 minutes and only used 1% of my battery charge.

[oobflyer]

Our lease on our Nissan Leaf is up this year. I plan to use my Zero SR as my only transportation after I return the car. My wife has a Prius which we only use now for long trips.
I've had my SR for about six weeks now and love it. I got the top box and side cases so I can easily carry whatever I need. I have one Quic charger and thinking about getting another for the longer rides. I already have winter riding gear, so I'm ready 

[Worksoptony]

I was riding home from work today, filtering past standing traffic, when I heard someone shout out 'Your riding a Zero'. Oh yeah, I thought. What a pleasure it is too. I have only had the bike 2 weeks, but I'm getting more accustomed to the handling. The bike is perfectly balanced, slow riding is just so easy, no wobble, no vibrations, brilliant. I have found that my riding is now much more considered, I feel that I am anticipating stops much better, it has become almost a challenge to maximize the regen braking, but that in itself gives a much more controlled ride. But also watching the battery decrease gives me much more awareness of the amount of energy being consumed, on my previous ICE bikes I didn't even consider it. Oh and by the way, I love being to commute 200 miles for £3.60. Safe riding everybody.