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[StraydogEOMFD]

The onboard charger on the FXS is pretty small and I'm pretty sure a lot lower wattage than the DS (FXS is only 650W).

From what I'm gathering so far it seems like I'd be better off just waiting a few more years and sticking with my 500 for now 

[MajorMajor]

The FXS doesn't really behave like the racing supermotos that you're used to.
It might do fine but you have to keep in mind that it will be a different feeling and you should be sure that you won't feel disappointed.
Not only is the range very limited on the FXS, but a full charge takes 9 hours with the standard charger.
The combination of not having a clutch, almost no throttle feel and not being able to wheelie makes the ride very different and less controllable.

Keep all that in mind, be absolutely positive that you're OK with that, so you don't end up selling another bike within a short amount of time.

[quixotic]

I feel your pain.  It took me 3 months to sell my beemer.  Lots of banging my head against a brick wall.  But now I'm quite happy with my Zero.

[StraydogEOMFD]

The FXS doesn't really behave like the racing supermotos that you're used to.
It might do fine but you have to keep in mind that it will be a different feeling and you should be sure that you won't feel disappointed.
Not only is the range very limited on the FXS, but a full charge takes 9 hours with the standard charger.
The combination of not having a clutch, almost no throttle feel and not being able to wheelie makes the ride very different and less controllable.

Keep all that in mind, be absolutely positive that you're OK with that, so you don't end up selling another bike within a short amount of time.

How would it be less controllable without a clutch?  I thought it would be a simpler ride not having to worry about gear selection or stalling in the slow corners and dirt?  Supermoto racing doesn't need the ability to wheelie like woods racing does so I really don't care about wheelies.  The charging thing is an issue however the 9 hours is from 0 to full isn't it?  Would 15-20 minute sessions on track drain it all the way from 100 to close to 0?  If yes, then yeah, definitely would not fit the bill.

Aside from that, I also did some number crunching and with tax, doc and prep (really?  what is there to prep? but they sure still charge it) the end of the day price tag is quite a bit of cash for me to be putting into something that I'm this questionable on.  I of course think that Zero isn't asking too much for the bike, I just can't afford to justify it even if I sell the 500 because I'll still have to get at least a $3-4k loan.  Sad face.

[MajorMajor]

First of all a disclaimer, I've only ever taken an ICE bike on a track, never my Zero FXS.
I don't have the range to get to a track, I'm working on a solution but this is the situation at present.

As for the clutch.
The Zero has a bit of a strange power delivery. There's a curve where at very small amount of throttle you barely get any acceleration and then it quickly ramps up.
The problem I'm having is that even just a crack of throttle is still jarring.
Say I'm going into a corner. I let off the throttle, get on the brakes, get off the brakes and lean into the turn, crack open the throttle and smoothly roll on. I just can't seem to get it to be smooth. The acceleration is jarring, like the smallest amount of current possible is still enough to kick the bike a bit (just a bit, but I want it to be smooth).
On an ICE bike you can use the clutch to smooth the power delivery.

[MrDude_1]

How would it be less controllable without a clutch?  I thought it would be a simpler ride not having to worry about gear selection or stalling in the slow corners and dirt?

Simpler does not mean "more control".
If you're racing supermoto, you are probably not a beginner... so things like gear selection should be automatic to you and stalling is unlikely. Being simpler to operate does not help.

You have less control over the final power output of the bike.. and thats ok for commuting around and riding"normally". Its when you're being highly aggressive or technical that you start to miss having the additional control over the bike.

[Fred]

I can only base my views on a test ride of a SR on the road, but I found that the power delivery was pretty smooth. I remember thinking how nice that would be on a track, especially on the exit of a corner where you'd be clicking up a gear on an ICE bike.

Anyway, when i was racing (a TZR250 about 20 years ago) I'd use the back brake to trim the power delivery rather than the clutch.

[MajorMajor]

I don't really like the rear brake on my FXS.
It's weak and doesn't have a very good feel to it.

I suppose it's weak because 90% of the time it's used in combination with regenerative braking, but that also hurts the control over it.

[Shadow]

I don't really like the rear brake on  FXS.
It's weak and doesn't have a very good feel to it.

After the brakes are bedded in, try spraying water over them with a power washer. The rear brakes on my DSR squeeked and performed especially badly when new until I tried this.

[MajorMajor]

Where exactly should I spray?
How much pressure?

[Richard230]

Where exactly should I spray?
How much pressure?

What I do is to hand wash my brake discs with soapy automotive-wash and rinse off with a garden hose.  I direct the clean water from the hose between the disc and the caliper brake pads.  Then I dry the discs with a clean rag and immediately go for a ride and brake easily while coming down a local hill to warm up the disc and calipers to thoroughly dry everything out.  So far I have never had any brake squealing using this cleaning method.

[Shadow]

Where exactly should I spray?
How much pressure?

What I do is to hand wash...

I just hit everything with a pressure washer from further away, and then from a short distance on the mirrors, headlamp, tires, and rotors.

Be careful (more careful than I was) about getting close with high pressure washer output, the bike is designed to survive the rain and some puddles, not a monster attack.

[StraydogEOMFD]

How would it be less controllable without a clutch?  I thought it would be a simpler ride not having to worry about gear selection or stalling in the slow corners and dirt?

Simpler does not mean "more control".
If you're racing supermoto, you are probably not a beginner... so things like gear selection should be automatic to you and stalling is unlikely. Being simpler to operate does not help.

You have less control over the final power output of the bike.. and thats ok for commuting around and riding"normally". Its when you're being highly aggressive or technical that you start to miss having the additional control over the bike.

It's pretty easy to stall in the tight dirt section stuff.  I'm also not a highly skilled supermoto racer, I just have the most fun riding SM over all other types of riding.

 Reading the above posts about power delivery, is there no programmable exponential for power delivery? I would think that wouldbe easy to do with an e-bike.

[MajorMajor]

The power delivery isn't programmable.
Yes, it's very easy to do, but Zero hasn't made it available to us.

You can only program max torque. This also affects throttle response in an undocumented way.
On a track you want max torque anyway so it's irrelevant.

[mguw]

Hi.   

Go for the FX.  Put on sale my ktm duke 690 one week after getting my FX although I intended to keep it for the range.   But riding it felt too prehistoric.
After 1 year I have 6000km on my FX and still love it.   
Nevertheless was thinking some range wouldn't hurt and I went for a ducati hypermotard 939 trial.   Nope,  no fun with it,  will have to wait a few years for the range...

A+
Marcel