Photos by Alex Washburn
A Current Affair Zero DS
2013 Zero DS ZF 11.4 WIRED’s first long-term electric motorcycle test. by Damon Lavrinc
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Two bits of advice TJ provides: Leave it in ECO mode to customize the drivetrain. You can actually get more power in ECO mode by turning up the wick on the app. Secondly, flip the mirrors inward to avoid slapping cars while lane-splitting.
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TJ Aguirre from Zero gives Damon the breakdown on the starting, charging, and running procedures of the Zero DS. A Bluetooth connection to an Android or iOS smartphone provides charge status, miles driven, gas saved, and even allows you to tweak the torque output and brake regeneration.
TJ Aguirre from Zero gives Damon the breakdown on the starting, charging, and running procedures of the Zero DS. A Bluetooth connection to an Android or iOS smartphone provides charge status, miles driven, gas saved, and even allows you to tweak the torque output and brake regeneration.
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The biggest battery pack available on the DS is the 11.4 kWh setup. It’s good for a supposed 126 miles in the city, 76 miles at 55 mph, and 61 miles at a constant 70 mph. We’ll be testing all those claims.
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The raised ride height of the DS allows it to take to the trails as easily as it tackles the tarmac. The inverted front fork is a lightweight design that’s fully adjustable for both rebound damping and compression.
The biggest battery pack available on the DS is the 11.4 kWh setup. It’s good for a supposed 126 miles in the city, 76 miles at 55 mph, and 61 miles at a constant 70 mph. We’ll be testing all those claims.
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The Z-Force motor is a massive upgrade over last year’s design. It’s an air-cooled, brushless motor good for 54 horsepower and 68 pound-feet of torque — nearly double its 2012 counterpart. And because it’s a direct-drive, there’s no need to shift gears. Just twist the throttle and you’re away.
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In a nifty bit of form following function, Zero has integrated a hollow tube into the frame to house the charging cable. Below is the charging port, which accepts the 110-volt cable and connects to a 1.3 kW integrated charger. If there’s an Achilles heal to the DS, this could be it — a full charge requires at least seven hours.
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The rear suspension is made up of a double diamond rear swing arm with an adjustable spring that can be tuned to suit the riding environment. But for a bike that weighs 400 pounds, it seems a little small.
The Z-Force motor is a massive upgrade over last year’s design. It’s an air-cooled, brushless motor good for 54 horsepower and 68 pound-feet of torque — nearly double its 2012 counterpart. And because it’s a direct-drive, there’s no need to shift gears. Just twist the throttle and you’re away.
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The gauge cluster provides a rev counter, speedo, total mileage, trip mileage, and the ever-important battery level. The light in the upper right hand corner glows green when you’re ready to go, while the bank of lights to the left provides information on everything from motor temperature to charging status.
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With a smartphone mounted on the handlebars running the Zero app, you can get all the information from the standard gauges, along with torque output, precise battery level, and a range of other techy details. It’s also the perfect place to have a navigation app running to keep tabs on traffic and get directions.
The gauge cluster provides a rev counter, speedo, total mileage, trip mileage, and the ever-important battery level. The light in the upper right hand corner glows green when you’re ready to go, while the bank of lights to the left provides information on everything from motor temperature to charging status.
With no gas tank or air box, there’s room for an integrated storage compartment that’s surprisingly capacious — more than enough for another charging cable, some lunch, a drink, and other assorted sundries. It’s also both lockable and removable if you’re parked in a particularly shady part of town.
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The twin spar frame is made of aircraft grade aluminum, which keeps weight in check and is designed to keep the motor and battery as low to the ground as possible for both high-speed stability and easy maneuverability. And painted in matte black, it looks perfectly purposeful.
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Nissin provides the braking hardware fore and aft, with two-piston hydraulic brakes up front clamping onto a 313mm floating disc. A one-piston stopper grabs hold of a 221mm vented disc in the rear. The front wheel is an off-road approved 19-inch hoop, with the rear measuring it at 17 inches — both shod in grippy dual sport tires.
The twin spar frame is made of aircraft grade aluminum, which keeps weight in check and is designed to keep the motor and battery as low to the ground as possible for both high-speed stability and easy maneuverability. And painted in matte black, it looks perfectly purposeful.
I want to go electric. I’m tired of gas stations and I’m convinced that electricity is the future of performance. But there’s a problem. Most EVs are as entertaining as a PowerPoint presentation.
Their unwavering dedication to eking out every last ounce of juice in the pursuit of absolute efficiency means they’re better suited to commuter duty than backroad blasts. Add in a brace of batteries and the additional weight that comes along for the ride, and even the torquiest of electric motors can’t compete with the tonnage buzzkill.
Without dropping a massive amount of coin on a Tesla Model S or even a lightly used Tesla Roadster, there has to be something better.
I think I’ve found it. And it comes on two wheels.
From a pure engagement point of view, motorcycles are unmatched. Few things are more exhilarating than a Sunday ride on your favorite twisting macadam road, and they make even the dreariest daily commute a high-speed chess game that requires total commitment and unwavering focus.
They’re also the perfect platform for electrification.
Unlike the majority of mainstream EV offerings — hacked-together compliance cars built atop existing architectures — battery-electric motorcycles are developed from the ground up with electrification in mind. They’re also inherently simpler to engineer — both structurally and mechanically — aren’t saddled with exorbitant levels of safety features or creature comforts, and don’t need the same amount of energy capacity, making them cheaper to buy and quicker to charge. And because of their small footprint, weight is less of an issue.
Naturally, there are drawbacks. Big ones. Death, for example. But the right rider with the right gear and the right mindset has the potential to eliminate many of the issues, all while reducing their carbon footprint, lowering energy costs, traveling more efficiently, and having an absolute blast in the process.
I’m going to prove it.
Over the course of the next six months, I’ll be living full-time with a Zero DS, the dual-sport, 11.4 kWh version of the Santa Cruz-based company’s latest all-electric motorcycle. It’s a perfect fit, with nearly 70 lb-ft of torque and a range that’s good for triple-digit trips. While its 400-pound curb weight is as big of a bummer as its $15,995 price tag, I’d rather go electric than be tempted by the liter-powered exotica I could get for a fraction of the price.
[
](https://more-deals.info/autopia/tag/a-current-affair/%29%3C/p%3E%3Cp class="paywall">But I don’t expect it to be easy. I’ll have to battle scorching summer days and the wiles of winter, deal with the Bay Area’s notoriously hellish commutes (hooray for lane-splitting!), while trying to find time to tear up the amazing backroads without laying it down. I’ll ride it rain or shine, clear roads or clogged highways, to work, to play, and everything in between. The only exceptions will be traveling with my wife and dogs or when I’m conducting a test drive.
Over the course of the next six months, I’ll be living full-time with a Zero DS
I’ll be posting bimonthly updates to cover every facet of living day-to-day with a battery-powered bike. I’ll tackle the issues of range anxiety, efficiency, juicing up on the go, and what it all costs. If there’s a problem, you’ll hear about it. If you’ve got a question, I’ll answer it.
I’ll also be incorporating gear reviews of some of the most advanced, high-tech kits this side of MotoGP as I try to find the right blend of practicality, performance, and price. Helmets, gloves, boots, fully armored suits, even apps — you name it, you suggest it, we’ll test it. And I’ll be joined by a handful of bike-obsessed WIRED staffers to get their own take on what it’s like to live a two-wheeled electric life.
Let the adventure begin…
