2013 Zero S

Electric motorcycles have arrived and will only become more popular as time rolls forward. At the first twist of the throttle I feel confused yet my smile continues to widen. It is incredibly hard to pinpoint what my initial thoughts are on the 2013 Zero S. In a way, I feel like some of my motorcycle senses are missing. Yet, the other senses have become heightened! As I take off, there is no need for the clutch as the engine is a clutchless drive direct. All you need to focus on is not reaching for the clutch. The Zero S will take care of the near silent rapid acceleration. As you effortlessly and quietly zip through time and space you can’t help but think something like this should still belong in the future. It did not take me long to realize that the Zero S is a serious threat to my drivers license. This is when you realize where one of your motorcycle senses has gone, your discipline.

At my first stop I let everything sink in and this motorcycle is quickly becoming one of the most exciting test rides I’ve been on. The incredibly powerful, smooth and quiet power delivery is as close to flying as I will get. The silence is only strange as motorcycles are typically noisy. With such a quiet ride your sense of fun and exhilaration are brought to new levels. Leaning the bike over and into corners is easily done and done with confidence. The light weight and my 190lb body work well enough together to be one with the road. Some bumps do upset the suspension but since the bike was not setup for me, I’ll blame it on that.

Towards the end of my 24 hours with the bike, I spent the last hours figuring out how to bring this bike into the 1st Gear Motorcycle School fleet. At $16,000 new (The demo model I had was $14,000 used) it does put it outside the price range for now…