![]() When we started this project it was all about, now there’s no fences. ![]() Askenazi sums it up: “This gave us the ability to get it all from the start: industrial design, mechanical engineering, powertrain engineering, electrical engineering. With the SR/F, the decision was to take all they had learned with the first two generations and apply it to a blank sheet of paper. “We had these things that had been integrated from a technical and experiential standpoint, but from an aesthetic standpoint, kind of came in at the end of the project.” ![]() “We had a battery box and we had this motor,” noted Askenazi. However, with so much brain power focused on the mechanics of the machine, the industrial design was a later consideration. So, in addition to expanding battery capacity and motor output, Zero also upgraded to Showa suspension, J.Juan braking componentry, Bosch ABS, and Pirelli tires. The second generation Zero S came in 2012/3 and looked to make it more motorcycle-like. ![]() The primary effort, says Askenazi, was spent answering the question: “How do you make an electric powertrain work?” The Zero S released in 2009 was the result. The electric market, however, is still very young, and the SR/F represents the third generation of Zero’s vision of electric motorcycling, the generation where the myriad of requirements for the company’s vision of an electric motorcycle can finally come together.Īccording to Abe Askenazi, Zero Chief Technology Officer, the first generation Zero focused almost exclusively on the powertrain. How many motorcycle manufacturers get to say that the bike they are releasing is the one that they’ve always wanted to produce? The internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycle market is so mature and is segmented into niches within niches for marketing purposes that this statement is virtually unheard of. So, while the rest of the world gets to learn about Zero’s StReetFighter in a press release, MO will be giving you a riding impression. With this as the context, I recently gathered with the representatives of Zero and the editor of a well-known German publication to get an early glimpse of – and ride on – the 2020 Zero SR/F. Meanwhile, Zero has been there toughing it out in the trenches longer than any other manufacturer, creating the electric motorcycle market. Lest you think that simply producing exciting electric motorcycles guarantees success, consider for a moment the demise of Alta Motors. Lightning Motorcycles, the boutique brand whose LS-218 superbike conquered Bonneville and Pikes Peak, has recently announced its Strike model will be unveiled next month, and Harley-Davidson has finally given a launch date – in August as an early 2020 model – for its Livewire. Energica has created a niche within the boutique electric performance market with the Ego, the Eva, and the Eva Esse Esse 9 – and hit the big time with the FIM naming it the supplier for the five race MotoE series that will tour with MotoGP in 2019. Other motorcycle manufacturers have noticed the writing on the wall and are entering the market. Urban Electric Motorcycles: BMW C Evolution Scooter And Zero DSR
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