The J1772 connector was pretty cool. There is a magnet that holds the cover down.
I just rode the SR/F man it's nice! I really like it. I was a little worried about the size of the bike like it was really big but it turns out it fits me just right. It has a very good turning circle too I could pretty easily do tight circles and figure 8's with it. Very smooth throttle that you would come to expect from Zeroes' motorcycles. That being said it's very much like their other motorcycles. It has regen similar to that of a Toyota Prius where it will coast and regen off throttle and you give it a little bit of brake to get more regen. I honestly don't like that I've gotten so use to the Empulse regen that is just throttle dependent. I would like more regen but you can supposedly tune it on the app.
The operating system is ok. It's nice to look at a little finicky to navigate. Its not too hard once you get used to it though. It's a little laggy also. I have to say I still prefer the Energica one, it was quick and easy to use and you can control power and regen on the fly. Changing modes is similar to say like a Triumph. You hold the mode button down till mode blinks then flick it left or right. Choose the mode you want then roll off the throttle. In my opinion too many steps. I know its for safety but I don't like it. The Energica you just select it and it changes on the fly.
It has boat loads of power. I would say similar to the SR and probably more. Probably enough to keep up with an Energica. Will be interesting to see how it does during Refuel TT. It will get up to speed with a quick flick of the throttle. The throttle is SOOO smooth also no herky jerky like the Empulse off throttle. I'd say its about as fast as the Energica Eva.
Cornering with it felt nice. It's the right size for my person unlike my Empulse which is too small. It felt confident leaning it into the corners. Also it has traction control and ABS to add to the confidence thing. You can set the level of traction control also.
Also ergonomics was similar to a GSX-S-1000F, it felt very similar and that's a good thing. It doesn't have that snatchy throttle of the GSXS thankfully. Seat was also very comfortable didn't ride it too long though. It's got a nice storage compartment. Not big enough to put a helmet but you can put your EVSE in it I like that. That was my complaint about the Empulse you couldn't carry anything on it. It looks like it comes with a turbocord EVSE also that's a very good compact EVSE.
The model I rode was the Premium model with the heated grips and cruise control. Those functions were sort of easy to operate. Heated grips hold the mode button to the left and it goes to a heated grip menu then select what heat setting you want. Cruise control is operated using the start button. Use to set speed and enable. My only complaint about that is the start button is so far away from the twist throttle it hard to move your thumb there. I have small thumbs I guess.
Sound well, it doesn't really make any sound haha. Like the other Zero bikes it's almost silent. You hear a faint whirring sound on acceleration that's it. I'd say it was so quiet you could even hear the tires rolling. You can hear it regen a little and it becomes louder if you give it a little brake. Very silent experience and also the aerodynamics was very good. When I had it on the freeway it was pretty quiet. Once of the complaints I have of the Empulse is the aerodynamics sucks even with a windscreen the ride is very noisey, it just the way the bike goes through the air. The SRF was great, no too much sound and buffeting probably because you have a big meaty bike underneath you. It didn't even have a windscreen it had a tiny little plastic fly screen I guess. Tucking was comfortable for me also. The "gastank" was pretty big and not too far from my chest.
So one thing I was thinking is Zero has pretty much just killed their SR bike. The SR starts at $16,500. The SR/F starts at about $19,000. With an accessory like say the charge tank (that's the one I'd get) it's +$2,295. So do the match your at $18,795! That's right there with the standard SR/F. Plus you kind of have the charge tank already, it has a 3kw onboard charger. You can upgrade it to 6kw or just get the Premium edition (+$2000) if you want the full 6kwh charging. So remember the SR doesn't have level 2 charging it's a option. Supposedly in fall 2019 there will be a power tank available for the SR/F increasing the range. So this bike has the ability to be charged at charging stations and have the power tank. So it can do more than the SR. But yeah all those options costs more $$$$.
Also on the website there are like 3 charging options for this bike! The Standard has 3KW charger, then the premium has a 6kw, then you can further upgrade that with some kinda rapid charger. I'm curious how all this works because Level 2 charging's max output is about 6kw. I don't see how you can get more unless you plugs into two charge stations which is how the Supercharger guys are doing it.
Also about range... I rode it down to about 54% SOC so and it was saying it still had about 45 miles range left. So that leads me to believe this bike will do about 90-100 miles of MIXED riding. I can't say for sure because I don't have enough seat time with it. But on my Empulse it has a 10.5KWH battery pack and I can do 60 miles mixed (normal riding). You figure the Zero has a 14.4KWH pack so it's about 3KWH more juice. So that's how I came at that estimate. The empulse does have a 6 speed transmission though so it's probably more efficient.
Exciting times for electric motorcycles. This year you have many flavors to choose from. sport bike (Lightning Strike), supernaked (SR/F + Eva SS), and Cruiser (Livewire). I very much like supernakeds also. Would I buy/own one? Yes, yes I would but that's what I would say about the SR also but like I mentioned the SR/F just killed the SR.
Another question I asked myself on the way home was could you do sport touring with this bike? Yes I think you could... IF you buy all the bells and whistles. That being the powertank thats not available now and the premium edition with the cruise control, heated grips, and 6kw charging. It has some onboard storage in the "gastank". They may have a rear rack/trunk for it in the future. You could pretty easily throw a giant loop on it. Then get a windscreen for more wind protection. You can probably do maybe like 120 miles before needing a charge. It's possible on the Energica bikes because they have Level 3 charging. That's where the SR/F falls short is it's lack of Level 3 charging. I don't see why all manufacturers don't use level 3 charging I don't think it adds weight to the bike because the charging is not onboard. Maybe they're afraid it will nuke their battery? Anyway you get around 1.5hours for a full charge about 95% with a fully equipped SR/F. On the Energica with Level 3 DC Fast charging it takes 20 minutes to get from 0% to 85%. Probably 30 mins to 90%ish. That's still really good compared to the Zero. So I think the Energica still makes the better sport tourer and they've proven then can. I think a 20-30 minute stretch and coffee break I could live with on a long ride. If I have to wait for like say my Empulse to charge it's painfully slow. That being said Level 2 chargers are more plentiful and cheaper than Level 3 chargers.
From Zeroes' Website
RAPID CHARGE SYSTEM
Our all-new scalable Rapid Charge System allows the bike to be configured for 3 kW, 6 kW, 9 kW or 12 kW of charging at any standard Level 2 charge station.* The SR/F Rapid Charge System will be able to charge at 38 miles of range per hour of charging (mphc) on 3 kW, 76 mphc on 6 kw, and 153 mphc on 12 kW which can recharge the battery pack to 95% capacity in 1 hour of charging.
* Note: SR/F requires use of included EVSE cord in order to charge on a standard 110 V wall outlet.
Haha sorry I really geek out on this stuff. Just looking for my next potential electric motorcycle. Will have to try out the other competitors in the future but the SR/F really impressed me
Oh yeah another thing to think about is this bike has a comm system very similar to the Tesla cars. They can update the bike like the Tesla cars. So there is room for growth is what I would like to say. Cause you keep hearing stuff about Tesla pushing these updates and the cars have more power and more features.
From Zeros' website
THE CONNECTED BIKE
The SR/F is connected through cellular networks, transmitting info to the app at all times. Ride information, current bike status and location are always available. This connectivity gives the rider the ability to monitor the bike in four (4) main areas: Bike Status & Alerts, Charging, Ride Data Sharing, System Upgrades and Updates.
