Zero Test Ride

[FreepZ]

This weekend I took a test ride on a 2012 Zero S.

This would be the third electric bike I had ridden after the EnerTrac demo bike and an electric assist bicycle that Polaris was demoing, both at the TTXGP World Final.


EnerTrac

I must say that it was a surprisingly pleasant experience. I found that the power delivery of those other bikes were a little bit jarring, while on the Zero it was very smooth. That made walking pace maneuvers in the parking lot a breeze. I was accompanied by the salesman on a Zero XU, and I it was easy to get enthusiastic about the silence (and lack of vibration) whenever we were stopped at a light or a stop sign. There was plenty of acceleration when I asked for it, although a couple of times I hit WOT and didn't find it accelerating too fast. I hope that the Empulse R will give me a bit more power than I can handle when I hit WOT - I would like to have extra power that I can learn to master with practice. With the Zero I get the feeling that I hit the bike's limit before I hit mine. The lack of clutch was weird, and I found myself grabbing for it every time I stopped, but never while I was moving since there was no vibration telling me that I needed to shift. The belt drive was really very quiet, although even with a chain, the XU was rather quiet too.

My fiancee came with me and she tried out the XU, since she is shorter than I am and the XU had a lower seat. She had just passed her MSF class and was looking for a scooter to buy, so I thought that she should try out an electric. The lack of gears and light weight made it a very easy bike to ride. Unfortunately, I may have skewed her perceptions of two wheeled transport with that electric ride. Later that day she tested out a 400 cc Susuki Burgman scooter. It was a lot heavier, and didn't respond nearly as well; no instant torque, lots more weight for the same power. Good luck finding a scooter that's going to perform as well as that XU.


I was somewhat disappointed by the dealership. The building was basically a warehouse that looked like it had been hit by a couple of heavy storms and hadn't quite recovered from them. Cracked front window, water damaged ceiling tiles, and a generally a dark entrance. The dealership appeared to be more about selling Seadoos and Trikes than regular motorcycles. I know that Brammo is going for more upscale dealerships, which I think will help sales.

Still, I was thankful that they let me ride their bikes. They didn't allow test rides on any of their gas bikes because they didn't want them to have prepped and sitting on the showroom floor for months before somebody buys it. No problems with stale gas in the Zeros! Also, the Zeros were right in the front of the (albeit dark) lobby, so they were pretty much the first thing that you could see when you walked in the building, and Zero had provided a fairly attractive advertisement stand to be a backdrop.

All in all, it was a very nice experience (much better than my first experience with Brammo at the Orlando Harley Davidson dealership). I got to ride the bike and enjoy the electric sensation. If for whatever reason the Empulse doesn't work out, I would definitely be looking at the 2013 Zero S.

[Richard230]

That sounds like the shop where I bought my $275 1969 Garrelli 125 in South San Francisco during that year. Jack's Go Shop could be found (if you looked hard enough) in a war-surplus metal Quonset hut located in the industrial area of the city. You could hardly see anything in the showroom, where a Guzzi V7 was on display, because the windows were so cloudy and dirty.  Much of the building had a dirt floor, as did their "parking lot", which was accessed via an 8' wide gravel path alongside the building.  I would have though that motorcycle dealers had moved on from that experience many years ago - but I guess a few of these types are still around.   

At least the Zero is up to date.  I really think that bike is a good one for a new rider to learn on, as it is well balanced, small, light, requires little maintenance, has very controllable power and is very non-threatening.  Unfortunately, its rather high price likely would discourage most new riders who want to test the two-wheel waters.

[Gavin]

Yeah, Richard...both the Zero and Enertia are great bikes to learn on...almost too easy to ride   Both are twist and go with great balance and minimal maintenance...

As you said, perfect beginner bikes...except for the high "starting" costs.

Gavin

[FreepZ]

The dealership didn't look very good, but the experience wasn't bad.

The building is very white, and the entrance lobby quite dark, but in the hot Florida sun, the provided shade was quite welcoming.


The Zero display, which was the first thing you see looked like this:


And once you get passed the darkened lobby, the rest of the warehouse was a pleasant cavernous space with plenty of natural and electric light.

It's just that things like this gave the place a poor first impression.



But like I said, I can't complain too much, since the salesman was fairly knowledgeable, and they let be go for a ride on their bikes!

[Richard230]

Well, that shop sure looks a lot better than Jack's Go Shop's Quonset hut did.