Limited range

BRING on the hate mail: I love electric motorcycles.

I love their power, their torque and their stealthy silence. I love their ease of operation and their low cost of maintenance.

Although I am not alone in this, I don’t have a lot of company. Resistance to elec-

Detractors — many of whom have not actually ridden the battery-powered madmachines — describe themselves as dyed-inthe-wool enthusiasts who live for the roar and rumble of a big internal combustion stion engine. They love the smell of the gas, s, the sound of the pipes and the sensation on of pulsing vibration between their legs.

But they also have practical objections tions

much, recharge too slowly and have

even believe electric motorcycles are more dangerous than their internal combustion busey engine counterparts, because they don’t make enough noise to be heard d by nearby motorists.

For two months this year I used a Zero ero DSR electric motorcycle as my main comned commuter vehicle. The experience deepened my appreciation for battery-powered ed transportation, and my admiration for or the Zero line. But it also taught me that at electric bikes aren’t for every rider, or for every ride. Even a state-of-the-art rt bike like the DSR could not satisfy all ll of a dedicated biker’s biking needs.

The DSR is Zero’s top model, and nd the company is right to be proud of f it. Wickedly quick off the line, delivering ering spookily seamless power, the bike feels like a magic carpet ride that violates s the laws of thermodynamics.

The electric battery delivers 70 horsepower and 116 lb-ft of torque on a bike that weighs about 450 pounds. That seems high, but the absence of any rotating mass

makes the bike feel almost weightless when it’s on the move. Zero says the bike will hit a top speed of 102 miles per hour.

Zero has improved its braking and suspension systems, bringing them into line

with a Bosch ABS that uses J. Juan calipers, and Showa suspension p at both ends. The 17inch rear and 19-inch front wheels wear Pirelli

MT- 60 tires. The combination makes the

DSR feel playful but firmly planted.

Since there is no clutch and no gear shift lever, operation is a breeze. Just twist the throttle and go. And because the DSR burns no fuel, requires no lubrication and is driven by a carbon belt instead of a metal chain, there is virtually no maintenance.

Riding without noise, heat or vibration is strangely liberating. Without those things occupying the senses, I feel like I can hear more, see more and even smell more than when I ride a traditional bike.

One night g on the DSR I became concerned cerned about a squeaky sound accompanying my ride up a Hollywood Hollyor canyon road that I’d ridden dozens

- ried that I had a bad bearing or a defective belt. Only when I stopped did I realize I was hearing frogs and crickets from a nearby creek.

and comfortable lane- splitting on the freeway. Somehow the DSR felt lighter, more nimble and even thinner than my other motorcycles — though in reality it is not. I found that, when I needed to run an errand and had the option of the DSR or another bike, I almost invariably chose the DSR. It just seemed simpler, somehow.

The exception? Longer rides. Zero boasts that the DSR, fitted with the optional Pow Power Tank accessory, can go 220 city mile miles or 110 freeway miles on a single batt battery charge.

Th That was not my experience, and will prob probably not be the experience of anyone who does not ride this kind of bike very cons conservatively. Though I didn’t drain the batt battery down to its last bit of juice, my rang range would have been something more like half what Zero advertises. 8 riding miles per hour. Plugging in overnight, I always got up the next morning to a full tank, with plenty of juice to get me where I needed to go.

But that meant a day ride to Big Bear, or even a spirited run up the Angeles Crest Highway to Newcomb’s Ranch or Wrightwood, was problematic. I could

to plug in, and how long would it take to

gas-powered bike on those jaunts.

Zero puts the cost of charging its electric bikes at $1.50 to $2 per tank, and says that

equivalent of 403 miles per gallon. Studies have shown that the cost of owning and operating an electric motorcycle may make it cheaper than comparable gas-powered bikes.

But the cost of entry is steep. Zero’s least expensive machines start as low as $8,495. The basic DSR starts at $10,995. The model