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[GNU]

I received my Zero SR today!

It got delivered to the dealership this morning and after some begging the dealership agreed that I'd be allowed to pick it up later the same day. Initially they wanted to keep it for 5 days.
Due to miscommunication between the dealership and Zero the bike will have to come back to have the heated seat and the 12V outlet installed.

But back to the bike. In anticipation I already installed the Zero app on my iPhone. Pairing it with the bike was a bit tricky since the instructions in the app referred to how to get it set up on the 2013 model. (Getting Bluetooth activated using the mode switch is no longer an option). After realizing that you have to time turning the bike on and searching for new BT devices it was pretty straight forward.
The phone insisted a couple of times that I should download the app even though it was already installed and active. Once I told it to get stuffed a couple of times it seem to stabilize itself somewhat. I've got a lot more to say about the app but will save that for a later time.

The bike was almost fully charged when I got on it and I followed the recommendation to start out in Eco mode. Especially since the tires are brand new and may be extra slippery.
I stayed in Eco mode for almost 1 mile. During that time I enjoyed how smooth the power output was and how easy the bike was to maneuver in tight spaces.

I've ridden the 2012 S, the 2013 DS and the 2013 FX so the electric torque experience wasn't completely new to me. That said I still smiled every time I accelerated.
After feeling comfortable with the way the bike handled I switched it over to "Sport" mode... OMFGBBQ***!!!!!!!! This was what everything I had hoped it would be!!! The bike instantly turned super responsive to my throttle input and the acceleration was breathtaking!
My last bike was a 2007 Yamaha R1 with 189bhp. The best way I can compare the feeling of how they accelerate is to say that the R1 has lots of power at a very limited RPM. Meaning you have to slip the clutch just right for the maximum acceleration when you take of from a red light. With the Zero SR you just lean forward, open the throttle and let the adrenaline flow through your body as you are thrusted forward like a rocket! It's an amazing feeling!

The torque is not as raw as I'm used to from ICEs (Internal Combustion Engines) but even and well controlled. The result is that you can open the throttle wide open at a stand still and not get into too much trouble (assuming you're leaning forward and have good, dry pavement under your tires). This gives the bike a very mature feeling and the only downside is that it won't wheelie easily. In fact it won't really push you back on the seat until you reach 30-40mph.

I did some very unscientific tests of acceleration at different speeds and found that in sport mode (what's the name of those other modes again??) this bike accelerates just as hard from 30 to 40mph as it does from 60 to 95 (I didn't get a chance to try the top speed yet )

The build quality of the 2014 Zero SR is good. In fact it's a lot better than some other bikes I've ridden.
My fear was that it would feel like a limited production run of a refined prototype. Sure, there are seams that don't 100% line up and the boxy hollow plastic "tank" rattles in the same hollow way that it did on the 2012 S model whenever you run over a speed bump or a pot hole.
That said, the impression I walk away after my first 40miles of highway, surface street and city riding on my 2014 Zero SR is that it feels like a professionally and solidly built factory assembled product of a 3rd generation of electric vehicles.

Would I recommend this bike to friends? Heck yeah! If you have the money and you enjoy technologically advanced things. This is THE bike for you. If you're looking for a good economic investment and/or enjoy loud exhausts then I think you're in wrong forum

Speaking of noise level. The sound that this thing makes at WOT (wide open throttle) is AWESOME!!!! It wines like a futuristic turbine supercharger thingy. It makes people on sidewalks jump to the side and turn around whenever you accelerate hard after a red light

I'll post a videos shortly. Now I have to get some sleep so I can get up and ride this awesome machine again early tomorrow morning!

//Arvid

[NoiseBoy]

Great review. I'm not usually a jealous person but I will make an exception and say I hate you right now 

So...does it wheelie?

[protomech]

You have the ZF11.4 model, correct? Does the 3.3 second 0-60 time seem accurate? Does it feel faster than the 2013 FX?

Zero claims only a small increase in sustained top speed, from 80 mph with the S to 85 mph with the SR. How easy is it to get the motor to overheat?

Hypothetical street race. Your 189 bhp R1 vs your 67 hp SR. Who wins from 0 mph? Who wins from a 30 mph roll?

[Richard230]

Thanks for the report GNU.  I'll be looking forward to your future impressions of your new bike.  I'll be getting mine one of these days, but I won't be reporting on top speed or acceleration, just comfort, handling, range and carrying capacity, mostly.   

[kensiko]

Great review!

this bike accelerates just as hard from 30 to 40mph as it does from 60 to 95

Yes that is what I discovered last fall, for the 2013 S of course. You don't get the most torque from start like ICE bikes, which reduces a little bit the fun factor, but the freedom of not having the clutch is such that it compensates.

[Mike Werner]

great review. Lucky guy!! Maybe time to organize a drag race...

[Blotman]

Thanks for sharing! I'm absolutely jealous and am trying to convince myself that the torque from the S is enough for me. I'm quite curious as to what the SR sounds like, and hope to see videos soon!

[GNU]

Brief video clip of the acceleration on a wet onramp:

[Electric Cowboy]

If Zero has not limited it too much, your top speed should be over 100mph, also, if you swap the rear sprocket to the smaller one, you should have a top speed over 120mph. I use a smaller sprocket on both the front and rear to get a good acceleration yet higher top speed, along with custom programming to get over 130mph already.

Hoping to get over 150 mph with some help from Hollywood Electrics later this year. It doesn't seem like too much of a stretch, heat will be the biggest issue.

-Brandon

[benswing]

Thanks for the review! 

Also, I think "OMFGBBQ" is my new favorite thing to type.  Thanks for bringing it into my life.

[GNU]

Electric Cowboy, Thanks for the suggestion. I use it in Seattle and often start from a stand still up a very steep hill, with a passenger so I need all the low end torque I can get.

BenSwing, OMFGBBQ could very well have been the internal code name for the SR during development

Protomech, It's hard to compare since it was a while since I tested the FX but I think the FX feels stronger from a stand still but the SR has a lot more power once the bike has past 30-40mph.

Hypothetical street race. Your 189 bhp R1 vs your 67 hp SR. Who wins from 0 mph? Who wins from a 30 mph roll?

Really hard to say. I think the R1 is slightly faster in both cases. But not by a lot and it takes some good clutch work on the R1. One big factor is that wouldn't be any shifting involved on the R1 since the first gear on the R1 gets you to 100mph+

[oobflyer]

Had to Google OMFGBBQ  ;-)

My brother-in-law lives in Redmond. I warned him to look out for a silent Red Rocket on the freeway.

[GNU]

I've added another clip (soon have enough to make a video)
This time I wanted to cover the look and feel of the new dashboard.
The battery information is on the left side and the torque and power output and input on the right.
The lower part of the center of the console have two fields where the user can select what values to display. Such as Wh/mile and range.

Zero has selected to make motor temperature available but not ambient temperature. From a user perspective I think this is strange since there's already a warning system in place for motor temperature and the ambient temperature is more useful information in places where it gets cold or hot.

The speed and distance can be switched between miles and kilometers separate from switching motor temperature between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

[zerotracer]

Is there a new app for the smartphone on the 2014 model ?

Like the live view of the curves at the right site of the speedo

Is it possible to see the "power tank" room or the tank area ?

[GNU]

Nop, the same app as for the 2013 models.

I'll take a picture of it today. There's some good and bad news related to it. The good is that it has a separate sturdy lock that uses the same key as the ignition. The bad news is that the stuff bay bag is attached to the sturdy lock with a shoe string.
I'm thinking about making a more secure bag for it. Something that would mate the sturdy lock to a metal or plastic part.

Anyone on this forum with 3D printing skillz that feel like contributing to a community made accessory?