TAKE THE LEAP
Zero make it easier than ever to join the revolution,
Arecent survey by a motorcycle insurance company suggested that around half of us are interested in making the switch to electric – and market leaders Zero Motorcycles are trying to sweeten the deal by offering a charging upgrade to buyers of 2020 examples of their SR/F all-electric streetfighter, MCN’s 2019 Electric Bike of the Year.
One of the challenges of making the switch for experienced riders can be the differences in terminology and learning new ways of ‘fuelling’ the bike. By offering the faster charger on the SR/F, Zero are hoping to tempt potential buyers who have been delaying the decision to go electric due to concerns about how they’d charge their bikes.
The good news is that charging a Zero is simple and for most riders it’s something they do at home. Charging at home usually takes place overnight (a Zero SR/F takes around six hours to fully charge from a domestic power supply) and every day you’ll wake up to a ‘full tank’. A typical home recharge of a Zero will cost less than £2 in electricity and will give around 100 miles of riding. For many riders that’s more than enough, but for those looking to do more miles in a day, the Zero SR/F (and the faired SR/S) can be powered up at almost 40,000 UK public charging points. These can be found on Zero’s app, or with independent ones like Zap-Map. Zero use an industry standard ‘Type Two’ connection, which means that the bike can be plugged into most of the charging points you’ll find at supermarkets, in town centres and at motorway service stations. Many of these are free to use, while some of the faster ones will cost around 30p per kWh, meaning a full charge will cost around £3.50.
From the factory, a Zero SR/F comes with either a 3kw (standard version) or 6kw (premium version) charger. With a full recharge typically taking around 12kWh of electricity, that means that a standard version will take around four hours for a full charge, or half that for the premium version.
The Zero’s design allows for the fitment of either a ‘Power Tank’ a range extending battery which adds 25% more mileage capability, or a ‘Rapid Charger’ which normally costs customers an extra £2735 but is being offered free with the 2020 SR/F.
With the Rapid Charger installed, the SR/F premium charges at 12kw when connected to a motorway service style public charging post. That takes a full charge down to less than an hour, making touring and long-distance riding on an electric motorcycle an increasingly viable option.
‘It means you can charge in under an hour’