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[Straightedg4lif]

Only real difference is the engine.  Riding position is the same between S & SR.

That is good to know, thanks for chiming in on this. I thought they looked similar but did not see them in person yet so wasn't sure. Glad that the riding position is the same, so I can make a choice just about the motor and not little things like riding position.

[benswing]

Yes, the S, SR (and DS) all use the same frame, seat, handlebars, etc.  The DS is taller due to suspension. 

One quick note on terminology, there is no engine on an electric motorcycle.  Just a motor.   

[oobflyer]

both are fast bikes, but neither is as fast as a super sport bike

True - above 100MPH, but the Zero SR has more torque than all of the available sport bikes and riding over 100MPH can result in arrest/jail time - trust me I know ;-)

What would you do? Go for the faster bike?!

I struggled with this decision too - I was thinking about the S since it has plenty of power (twice that of my 2012 ZF9), and plenty of range with the PowerTank, but after reading the experiences of others and after test-riding the SR I went with the faster bike. I'm glad I did - it's a blast.

Yesterday I took the bike out of town where there was no traffic and opened it up. I did not get arrested ;-)

[Doug S]

I don't know that I'd call the rider non-professional: he gets paid to review motorcycles.

Yes...so he's a professional journalist, not a professional rider. I'm not saying that means he's a lousy rider, but his job doesn't depend on his ability to wring the maximum possible performance out of a motorcycle on a daily basis. And, of course, 45 extra pounds of batteries and 90 extra pounds of rider don't help, either. (I say 90 extra pounds of rider because according to a drag-racing calculator I found online, a 150-lb rider on a 407-lb vehicle with 106 ft-lbs of torque should be able to do 0-60 in...wait for it...3.3 seconds.)

But anyhow, my point is much more about the differences, or the lack thereof, between the 2014 and 2015 SRs. With essentially the same weight, and the exact same motor, controller, and drivetrain, how is it possible one of them can do 0-60 in 3.3 seconds and the other can only manage 4.5? The correct answer is, only if something is very wrong with the testing or somebody's telling tales. One way or another, we're not comparing apples to apples here.

[dkw12002]

106 lb. pounds is the maximum torque and it is available right away on the SR. While the max torque in 6th gear of the Gixxer 1000 is about 80 ft. lbs, that is measured in 6th gear which has a gear ratio of about 1.2 to 1. The gears multiply the torque so the Gixxer will produce more torque in lower gears which is why you can wheelie the Gixxer, but not the SR. It will take someone smarter than me to figure out the torque, but 1st gear has about a 2.6 to 1 gear ratio. I'm not sure, but I think you would multiple the 80 ft. lbs by about 2.1 and get 168 ft. lbs. of torque max. for first gear.

[MichaelJohn]

I don't know that I'd call the rider non-professional: he gets paid to review motorcycles.

Yes...so he's a professional journalist, not a professional rider. I'm not saying that means he's a lousy rider, but his job doesn't depend on his ability to wring the maximum possible performance out of a motorcycle on a daily basis. And, of course, 45 extra pounds of batteries and 90 extra pounds of rider don't help, either. (I say 90 extra pounds of rider because according to a drag-racing calculator I found online, a 150-lb rider on a 407-lb vehicle with 106 ft-lbs of torque should be able to do 0-60 in...wait for it...3.3 seconds.)

But anyhow, my point is much more about the differences, or the lack thereof, between the 2014 and 2015 SRs. With essentially the same weight, and the exact same motor, controller, and drivetrain, how is it possible one of them can do 0-60 in 3.3 seconds and the other can only manage 4.5? The correct answer is, only if something is very wrong with the testing or somebody's telling tales. One way or another, we're not comparing apples to apples here.

It has to be the weight. Remember the 3.3 time is without Power Tank. Even the Zero website has a .6 second difference in acceleration between the SR with PT and without - that is a huge 0-60 gap and the weight difference is only 44 pounds. If Zero used a 150 pound rider to get 3.9 on a PT SR and the mag tester was 240 pounds with PT that could easily account for the additional time. 4.5 seconds might very well be accurate with a loaded bike like that. 90 extra pounds is a big proportional difference when we're talking motorcycle weights.

[Straightedg4lif]

What would you do? Go for the faster bike?!

I struggled with this decision too - I was thinking about the S since it has plenty of power (twice that of my 2012 ZF9), and plenty of range with the PowerTank, but after reading the experiences of others and after test-riding the SR I went with the faster bike. I'm glad I did - it's a blast.

Yesterday I took the bike out of town where there was no traffic and opened it up. I did not get arrested ;-)

Thanks for your response. I am sure that I will go with the faster bike as well. I wasn't sure if I needed to for the type of riding that I do, but I don't think anyone would be disappointed if they had a faster bike than they needed. I think that is better than getting the S and a few weeks down the line saying "Damn wish I went with the SR."

[dkw12002]

Have they talked about lowering the bike. At 5'3", ideally they would lower it about 4 inches if that is possible.

[Doug S]

106 lb. pounds is the maximum torque and it is available right away on the SR. While the max torque in 6th gear of the Gixxer 1000 is about 80 ft. lbs, that is measured in 6th gear which has a gear ratio of about 1.2 to 1. The gears multiply the torque so the Gixxer will produce more torque in lower gears which is why you can wheelie the Gixxer, but not the SR. It will take someone smarter than me to figure out the torque, but 1st gear has about a 2.6 to 1 gear ratio. I'm not sure, but I think you would multiple the 80 ft. lbs by about 2.1 and get 168 ft. lbs. of torque max. for first gear.

dkw, a pretty thorough analysis of exactly that question is found in another thread: http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=4358.0

There's a lot of great information there that reveals many answers to questions I've had. The ULTIMATE answer to how fast a bike accelerates is thrust-to-weight ratio (a 700-lb rider/bike combination with 350 lbs of thrust will accelerate at exactly 1/2 g), and thrust is a simple function of motor torque and overall gear ratio.

[Straightedg4lif]

Have they talked about lowering the bike. At 5'3", ideally they would lower it about 4 inches if that is possible.

I was told that the bike can only be lowered an inch with the current suspension. I was also told that there are other ways to lower the bike but the Zero representative didn't mention what those ways were. Exact quote: "The bike can’t be lowered a lot of with the factory suspension, taking a guess about an inch, maybe a little more. I have heard of a couple dealerships doing other things to drop the bikes down further."

I know about shaving the seat as well, but wanted to try anything else before that. When I mentioned lowering the bike to my dealership, he said they have not done one before but if Zero says it can be done then they will do it.

Does anyone else no other ways to lower the bike? Any help would be appreciated!

[Straightedg4lif]

So I have a demo date set up for April 2nd! I am really excited about it and can't wait to try the bike out. I made it for April for the nicer weather and hoping my bike sells by then. I have it on Craigslist and Cycle Trader just hoping the weather would cooperate more so people would be thinking about buying a bike. With the cold and snow every other day it seems like, I don't think that many people are thinking about riding. Anyone have any tips on selling a bike faster?

[dkw12002]

I've never sold bikes. I just trade them in, but I think you can probably do better selling it yourself even though it's more of a hassle and there are a few horror stories out there. Actually, dealers like trade-ins because they can play with the total money in the transaction plus they can make money selling your old bike. Since sales taxes are paid on the difference between the selling price of the new bike minus the trade-in value, the dealer can lower the tax he has to forward for sales taxes by offering you more for your trade-in, and/or charging less for the new bike,  but increasing the add-ons like shipping and set-ups which are costs to the dealer and thus tax deductible, while you still pay the same OTD (out the door) price. Not entirely legal, but dealers all do it. So long as you always talk about OTD price to the dealer, nobody gets confused about how much you are paying in the transaction.

[Straightedg4lif]

I've never sold bikes. I just trade them in, but I think you can probably do better selling it yourself even though it's more of a hassle and there are a few horror stories out there.

Yes I definitely want to sell it myself because I know I can get a lot more for it then they would offer on trade-in. I usually get robbed when I try to trade stuff in. I have sold 2 bikes previously and they took an average of a month and a half to sell. Which I know is not that long but this is my first bike that I am trying to sell in the winter. It has only been up for sale for 2 weeks and mostly just spammers have shown any interest. Need the money from my current bike to buy the new one so really need to get this sold.

[dkw12002]

I may be in the market for an SR in spite of my criticism of the seat ht. and weight. I think I'll wait to see the specs on the 2016 SR and then either get one of those or try and buy a demo 2015 SR if there's not much difference. I haven't test ridden one yet, but I'll wait until I'm ready to buy in Oct. or so when the '16 specs are out.

[Straightedg4lif]

I may be in the market for an SR in spite of my criticism of the seat ht. and weight. I think I'll wait to see the specs on the 2016 SR and then either get one of those or try and buy a demo 2015 SR if there's not much difference. I haven't test ridden one yet, but I'll wait until I'm ready to buy in Oct. or so when the '16 specs are out.

Good point, I was debating on doing this as well. I think it will all depend on my finances come the time I am ready to buy. I still am going for my demo day and will make sure that this is really the bike for me! I don't see how it won't be but can never be too sure. I also am interested in the demos since then you know that the bike is in full operating order. My dealer says that per Zero Policy they have to keep the demo until September than I guess they can sell it. I bet it is hard to buy a demo since they probably get snatched up pretty quickly.