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[MostlyBonkers]

...and it feels to me that the ICE is wearing very thin!

My courtesy bike is a Suzuki Gladasis 650 V-twin. Nice enough. Arguably better brakes and suspension than my DS, but it feels like I've been downgraded from 1st class to economy.

It's the drivetrain and it feels snatchy. The clutch works fine, it's just that the whole experience isn't as smooth as the  Zero. Then I realised just how many extra little things you do to turn a staggered progression into something a little more civilised. Feathering the clutch, blipping the throttle, being sympathetic to some of the intricacies of a manual gearbox. Rewarding if you have no choice. A nuisance that interrupts the flow of the ride if you've been liberated from it.

I honestly felt like I had jumped on an old Vincent or some other classic bike. An experience, for sure, but I'm already looking forward to my bike being fixed and going back to the future!

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

The "Gladius" (weird name, but not as bewildering as Honda's Deauville or some others) is a refined naked bike version of the SV-650 and (my favorite ICE bike) the DL-650 V-Strom.

I'm getting the same impression using my V-Strom after a while that there's a lot of "mechanical sympathy" involved in addition to the attention diverted into managing the actual powertrain. For what it's worth, my skills have not degraded after close to 3 years preferring the Zero. I'm working towards letting go my ICE bike once I've proven out a touring Zero setup. For now, I'm just glad that the maintenance cycle is much longer since I lay down ICE miles less often.

[Richard230]

Speaking of the SV650, my daughter has a 2006 model, along with a 1981 BMW R65LS and my old 2012 Zero S.     She enjoys riding them all.   

[CrashCash]

Yes, I traded my second SV-650 in for my Zero SR. Best decision I've ever made since buying my first bike.

I rode the SV-650 from 2002 to 2014 and I thought it was a light, awesome, powerful, agile, lovely bike.

Until I took the Zero test ride. Oops.

That was like going from a prop plane to a jet.

I still have an FJR-1300, which is now sort of a garage queen. On one hand, it's nice to have a machine that brute-force bores through the air at 80mph with a total disregard for efficiency. On the other, it's heavy, vibrates like hell, is ROASTING HOT - especially in the Florida summer, and boy, is the clutch a pain - especially in traffic.

I now think of my SR as my short-range jet fighter, and my FJR as my WWII long-range prop-driven heavy bomber.

[mrwilsn]

I honestly felt like I had jumped on an old Vincent or some other classic bike. An experience, for sure, but I'm already looking forward to my bike being fixed and going back to the future!

I know EXACTLY how you feel.  Last summer I rented a Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra and took it for a 72 hour 1700 mile road trip.  I rode my Zero S to the dealer and left it plugged in right out in front of the dealer while I was renting their Harley.  They told me to put it there because it was about the only place outside that they had an outlet and it was under a roof right next to a street lamp so it was easily visible from a busy street.  I found it a little amusing to leave it parked out front 

When I picked up the Harley they made me do a lap around the parking lot to prove I could handle the bike.  I have been riding bikes for a long time and I have ridden many different bikes over the years but this was the biggest bike I had ever ridden.  Despite experience I still couldn't help but think I was going to crash and burn horribly and give electric motorcycle riders everywhere a bad rap.  Or just do something embarrassing like kill it when trying to take off.  Of course that didn't happen and I rode off on the touring icon.  There may be one but I can't think of another bike that would be a more polar opposite to the Zero.

I was painfully shocked that the bike that I quickly named Bertha was not the master touring machine portrayed in brochures.  At a minimum I expected that a touring machine would offer a smooth ride as free from vibration as possible when cruising at highway speeds in top gear.  But for me the vibration at highway speed was exactly right in 5th or 6th gear to vibrate the hairs in my nose so that it itched/tickled essentially the whole ride.  My nose was basically raw after about an hour from rubbing it so often.

After 1700 miles in such a short time my brain felt like my head had been in a paint shaker.  When I finally got back on my Zero immediately after returning the Harley my body felt the same way I do when I have been jumping on a trampoline for an hour and then get off onto solid ground.  It was like my inner gyro had normalized to the Harley vibration and the absence of vibration felt amplified.

Taking a long road trip on a Harley is something I have always wanted to do and I don't regret taking the trip but I would never do it again.  Don't get me wrong there was a lot to enjoy about a three day motorcycle trip but I couldn't wait to get back on my Zero.  Pretty much the whole trip I kept thinking about how much more enjoyable it would have been on my Zero....if only the Zero was capable of doing 1700 miles in 72 hours....someday but that wasn't happening in 2015.  This is despite the fact that the Harley has a much more comfortable riding position and suspension for touring...although the windscreen was a little too short for my height and I was getting really bad buffeting unless I tucked a little.

The ride home from the Harley dealer on my Zero felt surreal.  Smooth.  Much quicker acceleration (and this is an S not even an SR). Much more agile (Bertha felt like riding a brontosaurus).....the size and weight meant I was using counter steer often in order to get that whale into a lean at highway speeds....firmly push the handle bar on the side of the bike you want to lean to and Bertha abides.  That same kind of man handling on my Zero would be an instant recipe for introducing my handle bars to the pavement 

I look forward to Super Charging days in 2016.  1700 miles is probably still more than I could do in 72 hours since I don't intend to invest in a vetter fairing and don't have a power tank.  However, I fully intend to find out exactly how many miles I CAN ride in 72 hours.  Thinking about what it WILL be like to go for long road trips on a proper electric touring motorcycle (when such a bike exists) makes me think the future can't get here fast enough.

[MostlyBonkers]

The "Gladius" (weird name, but not as bewildering as Honda's Deauville or some others) is a refined naked bike version of the SV-650 and (my favorite ICE bike) the DL-650 V-Strom.

Exactly what I thought! I asked about it and apparently Suzuki chose that name with the fairer sex in mind. They were originally going to call it Gladiator, but the marketing department thought that was a little too male and aggressive. After all, it's definitely a mid-size bike with a low seat that most women can easily handle.

So in order to a appeal more to the ladies, they called it Gladisis, which is Latin for sword...

I'm told they're dropping the name in future. SV-650 or whatever variant is just so much safer... I've no doubt the ladies like it though, especially when that V-twin gets going! [emoji6]

[MostlyBonkers]

Erm, just re-reading the thread. Please don't take my last post personally Richard! [emoji15]

As I open my mouth to change feet, again, it's at least nice to see such a strong consensus of opinion on this topic.

mrwilsn, 1700 miles in three days? That's a lot of saddle time. Would you do it again? Albeit on a different bike of course. I've heard that 250 miles a day is a sweet spot for touring. Much over 300 miles a day and you're either spending too much time on highways or not getting enough time for stops. Each to their own of course! It probably depends on whether you have company too.

[mrwilsn]

It all depends on the route, the weather and the bike.  I was determined to go on this ride so none of that really mattered.  To do it again I would be a lot more selective.  I would definitely like to do the same trip on an electric bike at some point but maybe not crammed into 3 days.

[MostlyBonkers]

Is it just me, or has anyone else thought about what a waste the last forty or fifty years of ICE development have been? All along there has been a far superior technology available for propelling vehicles, in the form of electric motors.

If the billions that are being invested in battery technology today had been invested after the war, or at least during the energy crisis in the 70's, we'd be in a very different place now.

Instead we've put up with some very serious geo-political issues, suffered at the hands of them and inflicted lots of pain too. We being western civilisation, for the most part.

If I had spent my career developing the next smog pump, I'd be a bit upset right now. And yet, when I was in my late teens and early twenties, that's exactly what I wanted to do.

It just seems that the oil industry and governments have successfully brainwashed billions of people for a very long time. Oil became a religion, as corrupt and damaging as any other.

Is it just me being bonkers or is it the world we live in? I haven't even started on the environmental aspects. How do we let this stuff happen? I'm going with ignorance and apathy!

[ultrarnr]

I really don't make a big deal about switching between electric and ICE. If range and or charging time is no problem then I ride my SR. If it is then I take my V-Strom. Both are great bikes and both have their place in my life. There is nothing that has four wheels that will make you feel as alive as being on two. It really doesn't matter if that two wheels is powered by gas or electric power. Either beats four wheels.

[MostlyBonkers]

It just got me thinking, that's all. I couldn't agree more about two wheels.

[protomech]

Nothing wrong with four wheels. That's two bikes

[MostlyBonkers]

I have a confession to make. I don't know if I slept better than usual last night (I mostly sleep like the dead - except for the snoring), it could have been the beautiful morning we had or possibly the fact there was less traffic than usual, but I had a blast riding into work on the Gladius this morning!

I enjoyed the engine, flicking through the gears, using the clutch and all that. It felt good and I had fun.

So now I have to apologise to all those that may have got the impression that I'm some kind of EV fan boy.

Bollocks to my earlier comments about ICE development. It was done because there wasn't a viable alternative and engines are fun. Like the Fireblade I had a go on during the summer. That thing does 120 in second gear!

I feel a new balance in the force. My mind is coming to  a rest. It'll probably result in a new topic though... [emoji6]