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[benswing]

However, the Zero SR has far more aftermarket charging accessories...

Energica offers DC fast charging as an option, in my opinion this is Energicas biggest advantage.

I absolutely agree!

[Killroy]

The Eva & Ego have more power than a Zero SR and higher quality components.  They have my favorite throttle (very precise and responsive regen), and are a step up from a Zero SR.
...

I found the enérgica throttle less smooth than the zero at lower speeds. I was told lubricanting the chain would take care of it, that it has been a wet weekend.  But the Regen was much smoother than zero's, an variable control rather than zero's two levels of preset an on/off.  The energica does have reverse, which zero doesn't. (I haven't ridden a 2018 of either brand yet.)

I think most motorcycle chains are o-ring chains, so lubing the outside of the chain may not have much of impact as you think.

I bet a chain is really loud on a EV motorcycle, but after seeing a couple examples of broken belts, chains do have a reliability advantage.

There are easy ways to clean a lube a chain and its WD-40.    I'm not sure if chain tension needs to be adjusted more than a belt.  I have adjusted my belt more than I thought I would. 

[Richard230]

The Eva & Ego have more power than a Zero SR and higher quality components.  They have my favorite throttle (very precise and responsive regen), and are a step up from a Zero SR.
...

I found the enérgica throttle less smooth than the zero at lower speeds. I was told lubricanting the chain would take care of it, that it has been a wet weekend.  But the Regen was much smoother than zero's, an variable control rather than zero's two levels of preset an on/off.  The energica does have reverse, which zero doesn't. (I haven't ridden a 2018 of either brand yet.)

I think most motorcycle chains are o-ring chains, so lubing the outside of the chain may not have much of impact as you think.

I bet a chain is really loud on a EV motorcycle, but after seeing a couple examples of broken belts, chains do have a reliability advantage.

There are easy ways to clean a lube a chain and its WD-40.    I'm not sure if chain tension needs to be adjusted more than a belt.  I have adjusted my belt more than I thought I would.

I use WD-40 for cleaning my chain, but I sure wouldn't use it as a chain lube.  Almost all chain manufacturers recommend a 80 or 90 wt. gear oil for lubing an O-ring chain.  Since that stuff flings off, I use a commercial chain lube, such as Bel Ray Superclean Chain Lube, which sticks to the the chain and not to your wheel rim and helped the chain on my Yamaha FZ1 last for 36,000 miles.  On an O-ring chain what lubing it does is to keep rust at bay, keep the O-rings pliable and lubricate the sprocket teeth so that they don't wear as much as if they were not protected. Chains and sprockets would really last a long time if they were in a full enclosure and/or ran in an oil bath. But that is not what sells in the motorcycle market and of course, would be more expensive to manufacture.   

[MrDude_1]

There are easy ways to clean a lube a chain and its WD-40.    I'm not sure if chain tension needs to be adjusted more than a belt.  I have adjusted my belt more than I thought I would.

WD-40 is a solvent, and while it can clean a chain well, it does a horrible job of lubricating it. the "easiest" way of lubing the chain is something like a scottoiler. Chain tension can be an issue for a number of reasons. number one is failure to lube. number 2 is aluminum sprockets. combine lack of oil and the sprockets wear, and then you only get a few thousand miles out of them. Keep steel sprockets, clean the chain and sprocket and oil it... and you'll get 10s of thousands of miles.

As for belts... they tend to need adjustment only once... then if they need it again, something is wrong.

[nevetsyad]

My 2015 SR is in the shop...again. Get the EGO.

My 2013 S has been trouble-free.  Your results may vary.

Over 15,000 trouble free miles with my 2016 Zero S.  Later models are far more reliable than earlier ones.

It's funny you say that, because my wife has a 2016 S. I road it to work one of the times that my 2015 SR was in the shop, and I lost all throttle while passing a van at 80MPH. The video of that happening has scared my beginner level wife away from ever riding again. She could have panicked and died if she lost throttle on the freeway, in traffic. I was lucky I had a shoulder to pull onto.

Maybe we're just cursed. Anyone want to buy a 2016 S? ~1,000 miles on it over a year. Firmware update supposedly fixed the shutdown, like it's fixed all of my SRs problems.

Seriously, it's for sale if anyone on the east coast is interested. Mint.

[Neuer_User]

However, the Zero SR has far more aftermarket charging accessories...

Energica offers DC fast charging as an option, in my opinion this is Energicas biggest advantage.

Yes, that's indeed the major pro of the Energica. They offer DC fast charging at about 2C, so from 0-80% in about 30 min!!!

There is nothing comparable for the Zero. Not from Zero themselves, who at most offer "fast" charging at 0.5C with their newest Charge tank. And not from all these after market solutions by people such as DigiNow, which theroetically would be able to offer 2C (with 8 SCv2 = incredible price and size ), because Zero limits charging to max 1C: So even with all these self built solutions, there is nothing comparable to Energicas fast charger.

I think I generally prefer the Zero vs the Energica, but the fast charging is really the major plus for them. If you have the money for an Energica and are interested in DC fast charging, then the decision should be easy.

[Lenny]

I can mostly agree to what was being said already.

Having ridden both Ego&Eva, I can also tell that due to the high weight and their frame geometry they don't feel very handy, I didn't really feel comfortable on them. The power is insane, a short twist on the throttle and you pass 200 km/h easily. Range is definitely not sufficient, I don't now whether those 11.7 kWh stated are net capacity or not, but a 13 or 14.4 kWh Zero has significantly more range.

I agree to Togo regarding service and warranties. I also heard about problems from users and bikes being shipped to Italy. Resale value currently is also a serious problem.

Full acc to Neuer_User regarding CCS. This is a game changer and shows what is needed for the future. It's simply not possible to scale up an AC based charging system with chargers/rectifiers on board of the bike to really fast charging speeds (20kW+), as cost, space and weight increase way too much. Also, it doesn't make sense to carry around a bunch of heavy and expensive chargers for occasional use, whereas with a DC charging station the same chargers can be shared between multiple users and therefore reduce cost. So hopefully Zero is going to increase their voltage with a new generation of bikes to be able to use CCS. Add a slightly stronger onboard (3-6 kW as standard) and you're done.

[nevetsyad]

Once Energica updates their batteries, it will be a no brainer for those with the cash. DCFC and a 13-15kWh batter? Forget about it.

[Electric Terry]

Once Energica updates their batteries, it will be a no brainer for those with the cash. DCFC and a 13-15kWh batter? Forget about it.

I agree with you Steven.  But only because of those getting it have a high disposable income, and perhaps already have another Zero electric motorcycle or others.  Getting service done to these things is going to be a nightmare.  Because of the voltage of the pack, there will likely be only one service center in the US.  IIRC Insurance premiums go up a million dollars per shop (edit: correction I think I remember hearing the policy goes up $100,000) working on anything DC over 150 volts, because a technician who makes a mistake doesn't get a spark and a burn, he never will know what happened, and that comes with a high cost.  This is the main reason you wont see Zero going to a voltage like that any time soon.  You'd have to sell a lot of bikes at $1500 profit to justify spending an extra $100,000 per year on insurance.  Perhaps the US won't get a service center after all and all bikes will need to be shipped to Italy for anything involving the battery pack, motor or controller.  I know in Europe all the Energicas that are breaking are having to be shipped to Italy for repair. 

So not only that there wont be service centers close by, but the number of road tested miles on these bikes total might match what Zero had in 2012.  There are growing pains and things that might fail that haven't even been discovered yet.  They might only have like 100 or 150 of these bikes ever built.  Being an early adopter of one of these will need to be someone who can be totally ok with the bike breaking and needing months to repair.

While Steven had an issue with his 2015 that is bad, and another guy Tony Kalneiv in Thailand also had a big issue with his 2015 Zero, but other than that since 2015 the bikes have a pretty amazing reliability if you don't count the onboard charger.  The 2016 was even better and I don't think this whole year I've heard of anyone with a 2017 with any issues.  A 2018 Zero should be pretty bullet proof by now I would think as they keep refining it without changing too much.

If you have unlimited money, get the 2018 Zero SR and the Energica.  Ride the Energica till it breaks and then ride the Zero.
But if you only have $40,000 to get the Energica, I would say get the Zero instead and save the $20,000 to spend on something else or to get a 2nd 2018 SR for a friend to borrow and ride with you.  Because the bikes are pretty close.  Energica is just a hair faster, not by much, but the Zero can have 50% more battery 11.7 kWh for the Energica vs 18 kWh for the 2018 Zero.   I think when you consider everything getting the Energica doesn't really make sense unless you get both.

[Frank]

If you have $40K to spend on something - why not get the Lightning.

[Alan Stewart]

Buying a Lightning, if it actually can be done, maybe even riskier than buying an Energica from a reliability and service perspective.

[Richard230]

If you have $40K to spend on something - why not get the Lightning.

Are Lightnings even available for sale?  If so, I have never heard about it.  I have seen a couple of prototypes and advertised pricing on a handout card, but I have never heard of anyone actually being able to buy one.  Have you?   

[dukecola]

However, the Zero SR has far more aftermarket charging accessories...

Energica offers DC fast charging as an option, in my opinion this is Energicas biggest advantage.

I absolutely agree!

But, aren't these bikes north of 30K?

[togo]

Once Energica updates their batteries, it will be a no brainer for those with the cash. DCFC and a 13-15kWh batter? Forget about it.

Poor battery warranty makes it not a no-brainer to me. It's a lot of money to lose after three years. You'd have to be, life Terry says, a person with a lot of disposable income, to spend so much with only 60% of the Zero's warranty in duration, and a lot less if you ride a lot of miles (Energica's warranty has limited miles)

[SM]

back to the original question. Does anyone know the correct power rating for the Energica Ego?  If the Zero SR is only 28hp, how is it possible that the Energica Ego is 145hp?