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[MostlyBonkers]

Reading time: Approximately 5 minutes.

Part 1 of 2 - see comments or replies for the rest.

I took my CB1000R out for a spin recently on a regular route I take around some of the country roads here in Hertfordshire, England. A mixture of windy roads with a few opportunities to go fast, albeit briefly.  No dual carriageways or motorways and a lot of villages and speed limits, as you might imagine.  I happened to notice the time I set off and thought it would be handy to know how long the route takes as I'd recently added a bit extra on. 1 hour 22 minutes on the Honda.   Not bad at all considering it's approximately 50 miles and the nature of the roads.  It got me wondering how much longer it would take on my Zero; the Honda has more maximum torque, gears to make the most of it and almost three times as much peak power. The Herts TT was on!

The following morning I set off on the Zero with a full charge.  I was keen to ride in a spirited fashion, as I had done on the Honda the evening before.  I knew there would be no contest in performance terms and I also wanted to stay within reasonable safety margins.  I like to ride hard when the road allows it, but I also do my best to slow down at corners sufficiently so that I can stop in the distance I can see.  The roads are often narrow and there are cyclists, horses and tractors.  Oncoming cars often drive too fast so that can get hairy too.  I also have no wish to upset people by blasting through villages with no care about the speed limit either.  I've seen a guy do 70mph through a town centre before and it just gives us bikers a bad name.  I'm no slouch, but no hooligan either.  On the Zero I rode fast enough for the motor to go into thermal management and have the power noticeably restricted on a couple of occasions.

It was a fun ride and I also got the feeling that it was a clearer run in terms of the traffic I met.     How much slower? 6 minutes... faster!  It only took me 1hr 16 minutes on my Zero!  Uh?  There is never THAT much traffic on the back roads and surely the Honda's extra performance would more than make up for it?

There was nothing for it, there had to be a rematch.  I literally jumped off the Zero and onto the Honda to do the route again.  Same weather (although it was dry the previous night too) and no chance of extra traffic from people going home at the end of the day.  I had enjoyed a spirited ride on the Zero and was determined to make the most of the Honda's extra power on this run.  It was fun, but certainly not how I ride most of the time.

The final time was 1 hour 12 minutes.  A whole four minutes faster than the Zero...  In order to achieve that I'd had to ride a bike with much more power, more grip from the large and sticky road tyres versus the skinny dual sport tyres on my DS, far superior suspension, better frame geometry for cornering and much better brakes. Don't forget that the 2014 Zeros still had the Fast Ace suspension and the brakes have improved a lot since then too.  To put it in perspective, by the time I'd parked my Honda and was ready to switch it off, another two minutes had ticked by since I arrived home.  I'd saved about as much time as it takes to park, put the bike's cover on and remove my helmet and gloves, whilst risking a prison sentence on some of the faster sections of the route...

"Only double the national speed limit Officer?  I could have gone faster if the roads weren't so bumpy!" 

"Get in the back of the van!"

[MostlyBonkers]

Part 2 of 2

So in conclusion, it seems that the amount of traffic, even on relatively quiet roads, is a much bigger factor influencing the average speed than what bike you're riding!  I've no doubt that the Honda would wipe the floor with my Zero on a racetrack, but on the road it makes no difference, or so little as to make none.

From a cost point of view it becomes difficult to justify taking the Honda out on a ride like that: £7.50 in petrol versus £1.50 in electricity, tyres that last 5,000 miles versus 10,000, servicing costs, higher insurance (although I tend to lie about the number of miles I do a year when getting quotes), brakes don't last as long and cost more.

Fun should  probably be the most important measure when assessing motorcycles used for pleasure.  The answer isn't so straightforward there either!  I can't deny that the Honda is an exquisite piece of machinery and an absolute blast to ride.  However, when going out for a ride, it's nice to take in the scenery a bit and enjoy being in the countryside.  That's a lot easier on a bike that is quiet and provides effortless power.  The Zero is a fun and very rewarding bike to ride; it handles a little like a BMW GS with a low centre of gravity and a planted feeling on the road.  It glides around corners with confidence, no fuss and just lets the rider enjoy the experience.  I can accelerate hard without bothering the locals or attracting unwanted attention.  Overtaking is more satisfying as I pass by vehicles making almost no sound.  No bother, no drama, just solid, safe, effortless and fun.

It won't surprise you that I'm very happy with both of my bikes.  I shouldn't really compare them as they each provide their own experience.  Much like having more than one wife, I imagine.  The added bonus is that they don't argue with each other...  ;-)

I hope you enjoyed reading about my  little experiment.  I found it an interesting experience and wanted to share it with you.  Please comment or reply as I'd love to hear your thoughts or any similar experiences you've had.

[flattetyre]

What a ridiculous concept. Next you'll conclude the Zero isn't as good for pulling wheelies at 130 MPH. News flash: easy to ride well-rounded commuter bike that's twist and go beats a race replica in city traffic. You don't say??

[MostlyBonkers]

What a ridiculous concept. Next you'll conclude the Zero isn't as good for pulling wheelies at 130 MPH. News flash: easy to ride well-rounded commuter bike that's twist and go beats a race replica in city traffic. You don't say??

On the face of it, yes. However, it sounds like you've just made a knee jerk response to reading the topic rather than the full article.  I think there are some interesting observations to be drawn from the exercise. Am I the only one to not have realised how little difference a bike's performance makes on public roads?  It must be reassuring to anyone concerned that a Zero is nothing more than a commuter bike.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

It helps to actually provide a detailed examination of an intuitive or widely-assumed belief, to reinforce or refute it.

One aspect of commonly-held beliefs is that they're not automatically shared by everybody. Testing a belief and writing about it helps everyone, even if they only discover that they disagree, or unfortunately, that they just need to posture about it.

Thanks for writing this up, and for your essays in general. I'll see how I can refer to it usefully on the unofficial wiki.

[MostlyBonkers]

It helps to actually provide a detailed examination of an intuitive or widely-assumed belief, to reinforce or refute it.

One aspect of commonly-held beliefs is that they're not automatically shared by everybody. Testing a belief and writing about it helps everyone, even if they only discover that they disagree, or unfortunately, that they just need to posture about it.

Thanks for writing this up, and for your essays in general. I'll see how I can refer to it usefully on the unofficial wiki.

Thanks Brian, much appreciated. :-)

[Moto7575]

2 lines summary ?

[MostlyBonkers]

2 lines summary ?

MostlyBonkers does a bonkers comparison between two very different bikes, with some surprising and enlightening results.  The Zero comes out golden.

The last sentence could be viewed as a spoiler though.  Is that a reasonable summary?  ;-)

[MostlyBonkers]

A little addendum...

I've just done the route again on my Zero.  This time to see what time I'd get riding normally.  1hr 19m...  That's only seven minutes slower than gunning it on the Honda and still three minutes quicker than the Honda with a little more traffic.

What statements can we make from this?  I can offer a couple or so:

1. Traffic is a bigger factor when riding the twisties than the performance of the bike.

2. A five year old Zero DS is no slouch and can do the job with more refinement and less cost than the best piston powered bikes available today.

3. Buy the bike that delivers your style of fun the most and is practical for your needs.


I do wonder how many purchase decisions are made that are heavily influenced by the perceived performance of a bike.  In the real world on public roads it makes very little difference.

I think I've done this to death now, but if anyone can draw other conclusions from this experiment, I'd love to hear them.