2010 Zero MX Electric Motorcycle Review

[cleanairaus]

you guys are not educated if you think ICE is more powerful than electromagnetism. like come on... electricty and Electrons are a hell of alot more natural than your crappy internal combustion engines.. crappy ice motors with their efficiency at the most 30% .. People who use EV's are normally getting around 70% + ... @ dcwholaver, This is a real motorcycle. More real than your smoking noisy piece of crap than needs to be filled up with precious resources...

[lilruc]

@cleanairaus WHO THE FUCK CARES ABOUT EFFICIENCY?!? I WANT POWER AND NOISE

GRRRRRRRR

[dcwholaver]

7500 hahahahahha you can buy a real motorcycle for that much

[xlxshanexlx]

@dcwholaver not electric.

[b57ecv]

Dosn't the nerd realise you can buy a real motorcycle for that sort of money.

[chrisrider28]

that looks so boring

[wabashofutah]

With every effort to make "greener" bikes, motorcycles have become shittier. First they tried to ditch 2 strokes and go to 4 strokes. A CR250R will STILL smoke a CRF250R and run with a 450X! If that wasn't pathetic enough, now you're trying to get rid of combustion all together. Screw you guys, i'm keeping my high emission 2 strokes!

[campionblackman]

With companies like this and the NISSAN LEAF...the future looks bright

[FrenchValleyAirport]

you guys are just jealous..

[cyclevain]

I would brake that in 4 seconds

[gasdive]

@cyclevain do you mean "brake that in 4 seconds"? It stops pretty quickly. Or do you mean "break that". I doubt you'd break it quickly. It's lighter and stronger than almost all dirt bikes.

[iPhoneShieet]

weak.

[gasdive]

@iPhoneShieet No actually the alloy frame is strong, light and rigid.

[rocky123garcia]

well thats a gay ass bike

[themadhouse209]

i could just imagine if the pros rode them,they would talk to each other while racing

[jackhammer11000]

braaaaaaap sounds better than v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v

[stevewoods1024]

I would rather get a gas motorcross for $2k then spend the other $5.5k on gas and parts. KNOWING it wont fail on me. after 2 hours.

[gasdive]

@stevewoods1024 I've seen bran new gas bikes fail in less than 2 hours. You're never going to "know" that it won't fail. However, with only one moving part, no heat and no vibration electrics are far more reliable than petrol bikes.

[QuadRider004]

Ill stick to the smokers/thumpers...you know keep the motocross tradition alive

[gasdive]

@QuadRider004 So you're keeping the "motocross tradition alive"?  You ride what, a BSA Scrambler with 3 inches of suspension and 15 hp that weighs 200 kg? Get real, motorcross tradition is about the lightest fastest bikes. This is about 20 kg lighter than a 125 motocrosser and just as powerful with a powerband from idle to full speed.

[PktMma]

I got really curious about electric bikes since I saw Bikezilla. I'm really interested in the Brammo Engage at this point. However at this point there are just no independent reviews on it, plus the guys at Brammo censor the comments on their videos which make the whole thing pretty suspicious.

[findlukeaballdate]

riding looks gay without a petrol engine. this is a bike for gays.

[luckyfoot2]

I would put a few playing cards in the spokes to get the motorcycle sound.

[auaaron11]

I think you will have to do a lot of work to convince a hardcore rider to switch to something that sounds like an R/C car. I do love the concept, but I feel something is still lacking here for a motorcycling experience.

[gasdive]

@auaaron11 After a year living with one, you're right. They do indeed lack a lot of things. 20 hour teardowns. Oil changes. Holed pistons. Camchain rattles. 5 minutes spent warming them up before you can go anywhere. Waking the neighbours. Stalling. Kick starting half way up a gnarly hill. Mixing fuel. Buying fuel. Lifting jerrycans. Fouled sparkplugs. The petrol smell making you store it in a shed where it can be stolen instead of in your bedroom next to your mountain bike.

[gasdive]

@auaaron11 Oh, and the main thing it's lacking... 20 kg compared to my KTM 200 fueled up and ready to go.

[CopiusAwesome]

why couldn't they make it LOOK more like a traditional petrol bike??? It looks really shitty as it is

[gasdive]

@CopiusAwesome Because it's designed to work, not be a fashion statement.

[SMarti018]

make my commuter car electric or my work vehicle but no way will you ever make me trade my 450 in for one of these... lets look at alternative fuel sources if anything but i will never ride a MX bike with a sewing machine motor between my legs!

[TheSolarmike]

I love it. I have owned 22 dirt bikes so far and I now have an electric dirt bike and I love the thing. No fouled plugs no oil or gas or blown pistons!

[motoman9477]

"19 front and 17 rear" thats is not MX sized tires...and at 140 lbs...you wont be allowed to race it...not that it would matter...that bike would get bet every time on A full MX or SX track...I'm sure it makes for great conversation tho...

[dogwafter]

I do not want or care for these electric bikes, I will stick to my RM250 2 smoke and have that beautiful noise ringing in my ears and the smell sticking to me all day, and have more fun. I can appreciate the engineering that has gone into these machines, but cmon guys this is not a real motorcycle, it's more like a toy.

[Mdudez]

lol grant frum mithbusters

[wickedsmart]

Cool bikes. Thanks for sharing.

[LUIDEBELGIE]

It's a sad fact here in europe, that mx meetings have been lost due to noise pollution. As road traffic increases (double in 20 years) cars are heavier run on wider tyres, the car and bike modding industry had grown substancially prodcuing noisier vehicles.The public seem to be stressed and fed up and the only people they can pick on with success are organized events. A harley davidson with straight through pipe will produce *double* the noise level of our mx bikes, but nothing done about them.

[xDrommesx]

this is what the future of mx is going to be??? ohhhhh my........god fml

[LUIDEBELGIE]

@xDrommesx no, compare this mx to the early mx gas bikes with far less power, things will improve. We still had a lot of fun. Some towns in europe its either electric mx or nothing. If roads were this quiet perhaps the general public would have been more forgiving. Sadly many people are woken early in the morning by harleys or kept awake at night by crotch rockets. MX riders also remove internal pipes for a few extra HP +30% increase in noise.There needs to be compromise or greens will win.

[motorbikemike21]

peice of shit

[Dyerdude]

This is the way of the future, give it a few years and they will be as good, if not better than than the gas guzzlers we have today. Dont get me wrong I have have a KTM 300 exc and i love the feel and sound and everything, but its time to start looking towards furture and looking after our planet. If we were born into a world that only knew electric motorcycles, we wouldnt know any different......

[punkenduro]

its a mx bike with a 19"/17" set up? my 250 dual sport is 21"/18"....

[rs2freak3]

Life batteries....

[surg23]

Ride for 30 mins .. charge for 2 hours, good if you want to spend your day watching Batteries charge.

Stick a mini Isotope battery in there and let the good times roll!

[gasdive]

@surg23 You can get a second battery and charger for less than 3 services on my KTM200. It can charge while you ride.

[intheshitter]

I wish the shit heads down the street had these. Im sick of hearing them screaming up the street and fuck the assholes that blip as well.

[rodionzaitz]

unfortunately you are the future

[aforanti]

It'll only be a couple of years before these things have way more power than gas units.

Also, you just buy extra lipo / LiFe batteries and swap them between charges "1 minute". And that is going to change as the storage capacity of these batteries are growing rapidly.

[gasdive]

@aforanti Already has more power than a gas 250 fourstroke

[ProCircuitHonda]

Now people can hear you say,"OHHH SHIIIIIIT!!!!"

[JakeB777]

@ProCircuitHonda haha yeah!

[Relinquish8t]

give it 10 years but for the time being i want my 2 smoke... and who wants to charge the damn thing when you could just pour fuel in it and go all day. and why is it this thing has more torque but cant even lift the front wheel?

[firematt382]

Not really a "Review" as much as a sales pitch. 

[LUIDEBELGIE]

@firematt382 Neal Saiki always seems to do a good job of not sounding like a typical "sales pitch" Good luck to him and his product. For some of us it means the chance to get out tracks back taht were lost to the increase in local noise problems and fixed events being the easy target, nothing to do with oil burning and global warming.

[robotking34]

This takes away the loud engines, the high pitched screams of two-strokes, the smell of gas and exhaust... That's half the damn fun! I guess it appeals to those who feel like they are better than us for "doing good for the environment", but I just don't get it.

[Shift404]

its not motocross without the sound

[daswada9]

@Shift404 will see who laughs last when the petrol runs out in a couple of years !

[ccubsfan94]

@daswada9 it won't run out in a couple of years. there is a shit ton of oil. we just need to get it.

[daswada9]

@ccubsfan94 but its gonna run out

[relevation]

@Shift404 you can listen to your favourite music while you ride now. :)

[GOOSESandMOUSES]

Gay

[daswada9]

@GOOSESandMOUSES will see who laughs last when the petrol runs out in a couple of years !

[stevenpetzsdad]

these electric bikes are gay as hell and it pisses me off. so you charge the fuckin thing for two hours then you can only ride it for an hour or less? and they cost the same as a gas powered where you can just keep adding fuel and rip all day.. wtf? these bikes are never going to succeed..

[gasdive]

@stevenpetzsdad They cost the same to buy, but they're 20 kg lighter... What would it cost to take 20 kg out of your gas bike? They need so much less maintainence that after a couple of years they're less than half the price of a petrol bike. Much cheaper.

[DigitalGHILLIE]

i'll stick to my 2-stroke

[Echofromsomewere1]

This bike turns you into an ecologist :)

[heartlessvietboy]

I wonder if we can do away with the Chain for the electric motorcycle.

[ELFBARAGETV]

well, this doesnt have a clutch, or gears, all it has is the ability to accelrate to its top speed with about 5 seconds, which is only 60-70 km an h :S i wouldnt buy one

[ghat13]

i would totally buy one, and use/take it to the track if it didnt make me look like a tool.

[aMiller6790]

I thought this was a review? not a product pitch!

[ogicabp4u]

I want one...and so does my wife!

[friendsworstshowever]

PLEASE make some real brakes for these!!!

[djgambitron]

if you have any extras or scratch & dents you wanna get rid of, i'll take one! ;)

until then... i guess i'll keep pedaling.

it's a cool cycle and looks nice too.

[bosnich911]

comon guy you have got to give the bike some credit. its good to see that some electric bike are keeping up the gas ones. not quite as good a gas bikes, but almost in ten years gas bike may be completely obsylete

[drugy128]

@bosnich911 gas bikes will always be ahead of the electric ones. at least on a competative/pro lvl.

[pagopaca]

@drugy128 that's what they said about 4 stroques... give it 5 years...

[myrrtan]

is that an old KTM front fender? The rear panels look like they've been put backwards... and the radiator shrouds look like something's jammed under the seat...

Great work guys, now to refine this into a finished product ;)

[hydromikey]

gay

[EliteTechMonkey]

for first time motorcycle riders does anyone recomend dis byke

[slopestylemtb]

The best thing about this bike is that if you have 5 acres you can have a backyard sx track and your neighbors won't complain about the noise. Hard to pull that off with a real mx bike. . .

[derman077]

After having driven a few electric vehicles i can say its often hard to answer the question of ride time. even though its the most important detail. when asked how long it drives, i say idk i was having so much fun i forgot to count.

[Doomeous]

I own a 2009 Zero X and I'm confused on why some people only think the bike does 30mph? Mine does 50mph in high mode which for me is perfect for pretty much all situations. IT actually does a little more than 50, but thats plenty as most of the trails I can rarely do more than 30-40mph anyways. I Also own a new KTM 250 4 stroke that is totally awesome, they both are fun and have their uses.

[Mrninjamonkey100]

@monkeyfart100 have you made any vids about it.

[laxmonster39]

who the hell would buy this piece of shit when you can get a nice NORMAL dirtbike for 1000. also if you buy this your a pussy cause you can ride a real bike. long live 2 strokes!!!!

[yamaha3595]

19 inch wheels in front and 17 in back isnt full size... he said they were. full size is 21 19

[rydhwan]

@monkeyfart100 hi are there any downsides to it? like panicking about the range when your out on the roads? or scared that people might not be able to notice you at high speeds? does it feel too light and feels like your riding a bicycle? are there any parts that are loose or unstable? thanks

[snapshizzlepop]

these so called motorbikes are shit, you are asking $7500 for a bike that cant go over 30mph. Anyone with the right mind would not buy this when you can get a nice motorbike that goes 100mph, these electric bikes will never have the same go as a 2 or 4 stroke bike. When the guest rider was riding it he was all over the place in the air witch is made by the bike being to light and to easy to go off balance while riding it. Only sell these bikes as electric bikes for on road use only. SMOKERS RULE

[gasdive]

@snapshizzlepop Wow, I've never heard of increased wieght as an "advantage" in a dirt bike. Must be getting desperate there. It's more powerful than a 250 fourstroke and 20 kg lighter than a 125 twostroke when both are fully fueled. Sure it only does 50 mph. I know you're a big man who rides everywhere off road at 100 mph, but for me, on my bikes (XR630 and KTM200EXC) 50 mph is generally enough on single track...

[juliethomas01]

dont kill the 2 and 4 stroke engine off. what the hell is this crap, doupt il be watching the world championship round of great britain when this contraption kicks in, bet you wont but one of these electric packs on a harley ei.

[rydhwan]

@juliethomas01 hey i own a petrol bike and an electric moped, I would go on the electric if it went more than 20 miles and went quicker than 30mph as it does.

But i wanted to ask, are you still going to pay for petrol when it reaches around £2 a litre? it doesn't look like it will go down at all atm..

[diablobreaker]

gay!!!!



[hunterwholt]

that thing lood gay wheres the power

[mxhonda2]

I would still take my CR 250 over this any day of the week

[Chiefatarms]

@mxhonda2 Oh hell ya. I sure as hell won't take ANY electronic bike over my CR even if it does offer more power. Just nothing else out there like that two stroke sound and smell.

[mxhonda2]

@Chiefatarms amen!

[moss1transcendant]

when are they available in the UK?

[rydhwan]

@moss1transcendant it is, you just go on the zero-x website and choose the british flag on the bottom of the site

[mynameisrespectable]

This wont be the future for environmental reasons at all. It will be the future however, because of the weight to power ratio. Also you could ride this in central park and no one would have noise complaints. I rode one and the thing I would tell them is to get a company like Fox or Showa to give them real motorcycle suspension instead of bicycle suspension with a stiffer spring

[rydhwan]

FUCKIN HELL I WANT ONE SOO BAD i dont hav the cash tho and i'll need a 2nd battery which is half the price of the whole damn bike

[kxmike]

yea its all good until your battery dies out on the face of a triple. screw this ill stick to my 2 and 4 strokes...

[charley586]

@kxmike

Just like you can run out of fuel on the face of that same triple, which comes much more brutally than a battery that dies gradually...

[kxmike]

@charley586 asshole

[NWMfilms]

yay charge my bike for 2 hours and ride for 30 minutes

not worth buying....YET

once they get better technology i think it will be alot better

[beeqool]

it makes sooooooouuuunnddd?????

[jujitsu62]

The bike can take off by mistakenly being left hot ? Why not install a seat switch ( simular to lift trucks ) ; where the rider must be sitting on it . Or better still , a noise ? You had better get that one fixed before the lawyers get a hold of you . Good luck .

[TheBoneman42]

Imagine going to your favorite ride spot and seeing it closed due to noise, gas, and oil spill restrictions. Now imagine NONE of those arguments applying here. They ran a prototype of their trail bike against a Yamaha 250 gas bike on a show called Mean Green Machines and it was a draw. This against a bike with 40 years R&D! It's only a matter of time...

[jpmorgan187]

Exactly. Once the price of lithium batteries drops, the gas bikes are going to be in trouble.

On a related note, the Brammo Enertia street motorcycle (EV) dropped by $4000 today.

[Liv2xplore]

@jpmorgan187 Brammo just stepped up and made an affordable street bike with high speed and long range for under 14,000. Calling it the Empulse. Can't wait to see what zero responds with.

[jpmorgan187]

@Liv2xplore

Yup I saw that too. Very exciting to see a decent e-motorcycle for a decent price.

[djgambitron]

@jpmorgan187

i think the oil industry is making hard for companies to get hold of lithium & keeping the price high the same way they killed the electric car and the 75gph carburetor (basically a cross section of a snail shell) because when you read up on manufacturers, they have a hard time acquiring materials.

if it weren't for the conspiracy, you could have ANY car converted to burn hydrogen for a couple thousand in mods, much less in a production vehicle. the tech is decades old!!!!!!!

[FMXndMXismylife]

@jpmorgan187 Fuck that idc what happens with batteries im gonna stick to gas

[Muzyl88]

@jpmorgan187 no the gas bikes arn't going to be in trouble because any real racer wont want an eletric bike unless they improve ALOT and most real racers already pay 4-7 dollars on race gas such as torco or vp fuels so you are a retard

[jpmorgan187]

@Muzyl88

You'll eat those words in a few years. When you do, please be sure to come back here and apologize, thanks.

[gasdive]

@Muzyl88 Any "real" racer races what the class restrictions say or they don't race. If it's an electric class then they'll ride electric bikes or they won't ride in that class. Like saying "real" racers ride 500 twostrokes...

[DefiantKMYKE]

Great points TheBoneman42, people complain about having no where to ride yet don't want to give up the sound smell, or pollution of a gas bike. Also always complain about the things it doesn't beat a gas bike (with a HUGE company behind and millions of dollars) at, but can't see the things it greatly improves.

[laxmonster39]

@TheBoneman42 never ever will there be a time when 2 stroke dirtbikes are replaced. there will always be a want for one. if your a true rider you would know what its like

[TheBoneman42]

@laxmonster39 - didn't say it would replace the 2 stroke! It will fill a niche where certain people get at least 2 stokes banned. Even the magazines agree on that one.

True rider?! Ok, have to pick myself off the floor since I've been laughing so hard. Dude, you should be a comedian! Nice sense of sarcasm!

BTW, I've tuned 2 strokes enough to last me indefinitely. I prefer riding to maintenance.

[vspec2wrx]

I still believe electric technology for bikes and quads should only be for utility veichles.

[7ru]

I like the progress they're making, but it's still not at the level that I would seriously consider purchasing one. That "beefier" suspension still looks weak.

Once it's fully competitive with standard MXers and at a similar price I would certainly consider owning one.

[parrotpilot]

Agreed that the suspension looks week, but you have to consider the weight; very light. This is the future, so it's good that riders are sceptical or not impressed; this pushes improvement, competition among manufactures, and lower prices when production increases! You must agree that when electric surpasses gas my a mile it all looks good!

[gasdive]

@7ru well they're just as powerful as the 250 fourstrokes and 30 kg lighter. Probably about time to consider owning one then.

[muhddzar]

its kevjumba!

[biglandfarm]

SHITTY REVIEW

[blasterowner]

Sounds good but i think its expensive verry ..

and the motor woul be verry expensive to replace!

[RcZolPL]

Well  first check engine/motor (gas/electric prices) and then post comments.

Electric motors are much cheaper.

[DefiantKMYKE]

@ blasterowner - unlike a modern 4 stroke that needs rebuilidng after a season?

BTW - its alot less then you think and last ALONG time. Electric motors are extremely reliable

[TheBoneman42]

Expensive to replace? Why? When the starter motor in a car fails, they either replace it with a rebuilt or you have it rebuilt at a generator shop. And all for a LOT less than a gas motor. Add to that a dramatically smaller labor costs.

[gasdive]

@blasterowner Total cost of ownership is far less than a petrol bike, even including battery replacements. The motor costs less to replace than one major service on my KTM200EXC