There’re a lot of things that irritate me in our modern world and nothing has ‘rubbed my rhubarb’ lately more so than the ridiculing one gets when they see you turn up on a ‘mere’ electric bike. Ha! “What’s that silly little thing you’re on today Bill?”, is the sort of comment you have to get used to on the Zero SR. Yes, I agree, at first sight it does look like a ‘silly little thing’ until you leave wherever and follow the ‘fossil fuel brigade’ up the road and disappear into the distance at a ridiculous and slightly comical rate. So let me just clear one thing up here, nothing I’ve ever ridden can prepare you for the shock (excuse the pun) of the performance virtues of this amazing motorcycle – quick, you’ve no idea until you experience the voltage up your bum of the Zero SR.
I’ve already ridden a Zero, the DS adventure bike version, and I thought that was respectably quick but the SR model has 25% more horsepower and a mind-bending 56% more torque – have some of that! Zero claim 67hp from their demonic SR, which I thought was a bit of a lie because it feels stronger than that but the silent manner in the way it churns out its stunning acceleration could be deceptive so I just had to take the SR to Noddy’s, no lies, Dynojet dyno because that had to be my first port of call…
We had to severely strap down this tiny bike to stop it spinning the tyre on the dyno drive drum and eventually we got a reading. Wait for this – 84 rear wheel horsepower folks WTF! What happened to 67hp? No wonder the 180kg Zero SR feels quick and, even though we couldn’t attain a torque figure, the SR is reputed to make the same torque as a Suzuki Hayabusa!
What this equates to is 0-100km/h in just over three seconds and 0-160km/h in just over six, which will destroy any modern supercar at our altitude and don’t forget altitude doesn’t affect an electric bike’s performance either – sweet or what? But with one gear and no clutch or gearbox this immense power is there instantly and turns this SR into the naughtiest little ‘mother’ I’ve ever ridden. I even attached a Racelogic data logger to the SR and discovered that 50-70kmh takes 0.7 seconds, how’s that for instantaneous overtaking manoeuvres? In fact, around town, nothing I came across could catch the SR. 1200 Adventure bikes, superbikes and all were left behind looking at the skinny 140 section rear tyre in total disbelief. And when they caught up at the next traffic light I was showered with violent expletives – oh what fun with a capital F. 
You do get thousands of questions thrown at you about the Zero SR and obviously the most common are charging time and distances you can expect. Well in mental, mad, catch me mode (Sport) you’ll get around 90km. In Eco mode, where the SR regenerates power to the battery when the throttle is closed more so than Sport mode (a bit like an F1 car) it’ll go well over 200km. Then there’s a Custom mode where you set the parameters how you like by pairing the bike with your iPhone or similar, which will be a good idea if it rains otherwise you might end up using the hospital’s electronic appliances in an unpleasant manner, if you know what I mean?
Charging the beast from flat takes around eight hours, or three hours if you decide to buy the fast charger. Also, and this is very, very cool, you can buy an inverter and run your house off the giant battery when you have your power rudely chopped off again and then the SR becomes a big silent generator. And, if you’re wondering how long the lithium-ion power pack will last, Zero claim 550,000km, which means it’ll probably last longer that you will.
Zero also give a three-year warranty but you’ll never need it because there’s nothing to service besides tyres and brakes and the belt drive needs relatively no maintenance either. I did go through the front brake pads in a thousand kilometers though, which isn’t really surprising when you’re being constantly propelled like a silent missile. This really is a Zero cost to run motorcycle, especially if you plug it in everywhere you go and ‘steal’ everyone else’s electricity, which I never did, honest.
The Zero SR isn’t just about the engine, sorry electric motor, though, because the chassis is superb too, after all they do race at the Isle of Man TT-races. The fully adjustable suspension is a bit firm but works equally as well and the front brake takes a good beating but stops the SR quickly, which is a good thing. And it’s comfortable too as you’re held firmly in place with the dished seat enjoying the cute, and very classy, instrument pod, which lights up in a soothing electric blue at night, ahhhh.
So would I buy one you ask? Most certainly YES because the Zero SR is, in my mind, the world’s best commuting motorcycle for more reason than one. At R149,000 it’s great value because, well, just look at the fuel you’ll save every month. Cayenne, the importers, will sell you a finance package for around R2,200 a month and you can whirr away on the SR today, depending on the exchange rate of course. So if you’re sitting at home wondering about the future of motorcycling, you’ve just read about it and I’m just about to sign on the dotted line.
Go to www.cayenne.co.za to book a highly recommended test ride on the Zero range.
