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[ZeroSinMA]

Forget Brammo. Here's a real company with a mature, volume shipping product and a serious distribution network: Stealth Electric Bikes.

Now you might ask, how can a maker of e-bikes compete with Zero's big bad electric motorcycles? By starting at the low end and working their way up.

They make the highest powered and most expensive production e-bikes on the market. At 4500 watts the bikes already have than 20 times more power than an e-bike is allowed to have in the U.S. and still be considered an e-bike. The Bomber and Fighter are legal off-road,  illegal on-road machines that you pedal, but the Hurricane doesn't even have pedals.

http://www.stealthelectricbikesusa.com/hurricane.html

Sure looks like an electric motorcycle to me.

Stealth is planning to announce a new pedal-less model for 2013 called  Fury. If you scroll down the this blog entry from this year's Interbike in Vegas you can see a prototype.

http://www.electricbike.com/interbike-2012/

Can you say Zero MX?

As we all know the hard part of building a real electric motorcycle company is making that transition from hand-made to volume production product, with design for manufacturability and reliability so you don't go out of business managing warrantee work. Upgrading from dirt to street is how Zero evolved as well. But while Zero has a lead in making that transition, Stealth is far ahead in distribution. Today Zero can only dream of having distribution like Stealth's.

http://www.stealthelectricbikesusa.com/retailers.html

Of course these are bicycle dealerships but who's to say that their environmentally concious customer base doesn't make them a far better channel for electric motorcycles than motorcycle dealers whose customers yearn for a loud, fossil fuel burning experience.

Watch out Zero!

[manlytom]

Ja these Stealths are looking good and have performance. Offroad certainly interesting. Have not heard much if they are competing like the Zero MX does in many races - might be a bot much of strain.

In terms of dealerships - cycle outlets - for Stealth can work as really close to pushbikes/ebikes after all.
Went to a bicycle/ebike dealer and they showed big interest into the Zero. But when asked if theyd sell them the feedback was - its a real motorcycle - hence not for us to sell. Not geared up for that!

[ZeroSinMA]

Ja these Stealths are looking good and have performance. Offroad certainly interesting. Have not heard much if they are competing like the Zero MX does in many races - might be a bot much of strain.

In terms of dealerships - cycle outlets - for Stealth can work as really close to pushbikes/ebikes after all.
Went to a bicycle/ebike dealer and they showed big interest into the Zero. But when asked if theyd sell them the feedback was - its a real motorcycle - hence not for us to sell. Not geared up for that!

As an avid mountain biker I am intrigued by the Bomber but more so by the Fighter. It has two gears which I think is perfect for an electric. It's lighter than the MX so it won't rip up the trails here and get me chased off them. And it's excercise... you pedal it. As for taking it illegally on the road, I doubt the cops will care as long as you don't ride it recklessly and endanger people. 

I take your point about bike dealers not wanting to get into the motorcycle business. On the other hand they don't want a significant number of their customers walking out the door to go to a motorcycle dealer to buy what that consumer perceives to be an uber e-bike.

Here's how I see the progresion. A growing number of e-bike riders want more and more power and speed. They may trade up from an e-bike to a e-scooter or to a big e-bike like a Stealth, then to a Zero or go right from e-bike to Zero. I have this idea that Zero will find it easier to sell a Zero to an existing e-bike owner than to a IC motorbike owner. The e-bike market is growing quickly while the motorcycle market isn't, and it's always less expensive from a marketing standpoint to ride a wave to shore than splash around in the middle of the ocean trying to get attention.

[Richard230]

Maybe Zero should design and market a couple of e-bikes to use as a customer lead-in to their road motorcycles.  Considering their mountain bike history, that would be an easy thing for them to do and would help broaden their product line and customer base.

[ZeroSinMA]

Maybe Zero should design and market a couple of e-bikes to use as a customer lead-in to their road motorcycles.  Considering their mountain bike history, that would be an easy thing for them to do and would help broaden their product line and customer base.

Excellent point. A Zero e-bike will serve three purposes:

1. Provide a low cost entry point into the Zero line for new customers
2. Give Zero a foothold in the e-bike distribution network for brand awareness
3. Defend Zero from competitive attacks from below

Zero marketing might counter that an e-bike muddles the brand. That's why I don't think it should have pedals and should be an e-bike only with respect to power and conformance to e-bike regulations but should have many of the design elements of a Zero motorcycle

[Lipo423]

I looked at this manufacturer a bit more than a year ago...I discarded the purchasing because I found the price too high for a powered downhill-style MTB.

- Power output is a bit limited (std controller only manages 40Ah)
- 1-1,5Kw LiFePO4 cilyndrical cells
- It comes with a Crystalite electrical motor (very cost-effective -made in China- reliable cheap motor)
- Price level in $10-14K

There is a nice review here

http://www.electricbike.com/stealth-bomber-review/

Here's another option/manufacturer to take into account -same style-

http://www.hi-powercycles.com/product.sc?productId=120&categoryId=8

If you are interested look at youtube, there are a few videos about them

[protomech]

These bikes look pretty refined. The only real direct competitor to the Zero bikes is the Hurricane, and it is offroad only.

Hurricane 3.0 kW $7700
- 84 lbs
- 3 kW peak power
- 1.5 kWh battery (nominal?)
- 30-35 mile range*
- top speed 32 mph

Hurricane 4.5 kW $9900
- 105 lbs
- 4.5 kW peak power
- 1.5 kWh battery (nominal?)
- 30-35 mile range*
- top speed 50 mph

* very low speeds

2006 Electricross Drift $9250 PDF review
- 140 lbs
- 14.4 kW peak power
- 1.8 kWh battery (nominal IIRC)
- top speed 44 mph (gearing limited)

Electricross evolved into Zero. Let's compare against Zero's latest off-road bike:

2013 Zero MX 2.8 $9495
- 223 lbs
- 20 kW peak
- 2.5 kWh battery (nominal)
- 35 mile range (FX 2.8 city)
- top speed 85 mph

I don't think there's a whole lot of overlap, honestly. Every year Zero moves farther away from their super-MTB roots, and Stealth is continuing to refine the super-MTB design. There are certainly trails where even a 105 lb bike is too heavy, and Stealth offers something in that market. Zero does not.

But then.. if weight is not an absolute gating factor, the Zero MX is a hugely more capable machine. Just depends on what your expectations are.

When Brammo ships product, they will be a direct competitor to Zero. Stealth really is not.

[Marshm]

Zero started with more mtn bike parts and moved away from it.  Going back that direction is sort of regressing.  I don’t think mtn bike tires have the traction, and when pushed hard in a corner they just crumple up.  I remember some of the early magazine articles on the Zero MX and they busted a wheel on a jump.  The mtn bike is a different kind of vehicle.  I can see it being fun, but I don’t think it can handle offroad trails like the 2013 Zero FX looks like it could.
 
The KTM Freeride 350 moved in a direction to be lighter yet less strong since many people don’t ride their bikes like a top level mx rider anyway.  That looks like a great trend.  So maybe there is some place in the middle between a full mx racer and a mtn bike.  A real ride on that Hurricane might shed some light on how it handles, but I assume it would not be motorcycle enough for me in handling and traction.  The light weight is sure nice though. 

[dkw12002]

We who own e-bikes have been following Stealth a long time. I keep saying if you don't own a e-bike you are missing out. My favorite is a 36volt/750watt ampedbike on a 24 inch bike for better hill-climbing ability. It is legal in Texas...well not quite because it goes over 20 mph, but don't tell anyone. For about $1,000 and your own bike, you can put together an e-bike that requires no license, goes 25 mph and to charge, you can just take the Li battery inside at work. Range? Well it's really unlimited cause you can pedal! Under full load and not pedaling at all, mine will take me about 15 miles (on 1 battery, but I have 2) For city use, it might even make more sense than a motorcycle. I have heard there are scofflaws who even have 48 volt/1000 watt bikes capable of 35 mph or so. Just think Lance Armstrong on steroids sitting behind you pedaling like crazy on a tandem bike. You use a heavier frame bike for these, not road bikes. A cruiser or mountain bike with suspension and disc brakes works best. I have taken my e-bike on much longer trips than I ever rode my Zero S, but you have to take the scenic route. E-bikes are way cool. 

[Richard230]

My son-in-law has a cheap mountain/road bike chassis with a 1300 watt hub motor in the front wheel, powered by a 36V battery pack that will get him about 20 miles at a speed of up to 35 mph.  I have ridden the bike and it is fast, but the wheel rim friction brakes can't stop it very quickly and at around 100 pounds, it is too heavy to pedal very far without getting a heart attack.  He plans on selling the motor and attached wheel and buying a much lighter 300 watt hub motor and replacing the NiCad batteries with Li batteries in order to lower the bike's weight.  My feeling is that buying a production e-bike is a better way to go than building your own, but he likes to do things the hard way.   

[Jiminy]

I've been lurking here for a while and I have been watching how the Zero models and years play out from a cost and performance standpoint. I am a long time motorcyclist but I currently am riding a hopped up commercially available ebike, the Ultramotor A2B Metro. I bought it used in March of this year in a nonfunctional state and rebuilt it with double the voltage and roughly double the top speed, about 38 mph. I get to work and back on it and sometimes go on joy rides downtown since it is so cool. It is just fast enough to move with traffic but I want something faster with a more capable suspension. A Zero XU would be fine for my needs but eight or nine grand is a lot to pay over the two grand I have in the Metro. I have the money but the rate of advancement is so high year-to-year on the Zeros that I don't want to buy one and have it be totally valueless one year later when it's successor can do 50% more. I'd like to have about $5k in a very high performing mid-drive production ebike that could go 40mph but would have a great suspension so I don't wince every time bad pavement comes up. Stealth ebikes are too expensive if you consider that Zero makes a MC that does as much for less. I just don't like the weight of the Zero. I'd like to have a very sophisticated 100 pound M/C or ebike without a hubmotor. The weight on the hubmotor equipped back wheel of my Metro is less than ideal for handling. It has been very reliable though. I don't want anything that I HAVE to work on. If I WANT to work on it that's fine. I can do that when I want. But whatever it is it has to be reliable. I haven't been too impressed with the bigger Zeros from what I have read here. Seems to be too many problems even if you consider that those with trouble free examples never post here. I've worked on stuff since I was a kid and I am kinda over it. I want reliability if I am paying the big bucks.

If someone can make a great 100 pound, 40 mph bicycle or MC that looks like a bicycle and uses bicycle componentry I'd be all over that if it was no more than 5 grand.