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[caza]

Yup for some reason I thought the old frame  was steal, thanks for the correction my mistake.

I'm still a fan of the trellis frame but it's not going to be a huge weight savings.

[grmarks]

My prediction is based on what I would do if Zero were my company (and I want to make a profit).

Keeping with the company motto "sophisticated simplicity", I would make a more powerful motor by making the rotor wider (30% wider to go from 70 hp to 100 hp) that way all motor extrusions stay the same. But with a wider motor, I would need a new  (wider) frame (which is what we see). I would need a bigger controller but still air cooled if possible, and use the same battery modules (so same voltage) but liquid cooled (to cope with the power draw and fast charging). I would put the charger on top of the battery instead of underneath so I can have fan forced air cooling (keeping it away from the crud down low). The liquid cooled battery would be thermosiphon through a radiator on the front of the pack. It would need a stronger belt or a chain. A belt like a Harley would be nice (never needs changing for the life of the bike). Maybe traction control, reverse and more user configurations via software.

This would give a more powerful and faster bike but with minimal development of new parts.

Lets see how close I am on the 25th.

[NEW2elec]

Well grmarks I'll take that bet 
This is good natured ribbing since this whole thing has me in a good mood.

The cooling fins on the side of the battery tells me no liquid cooling.
The motor cooling fins run the length of the bike not across so new motor design.
The charger being on top sounds likely and fans would be nice (a brand change would nicer cough Diginow cough)
I'll say no radiator since I say air cooled.
I doubt DC fast charging unless the problem with those stations not dropping down to Zero's voltage (116V) has been changed as I believe Zero kept it's old voltage.
There is a punch line of "so it lasts 10k miles" to your belt statement about the Harley belt (again all in fun).

All in all it's a very nice upgrade and it may have a few more surprises in store the only kicker could be price.

[JaimeC]

About the belt:

Buell used a Goodyear belt (as opposed to the Gates belts used by Harley Davidson) on their constant-tension designed bikes (the XB series and the 1125R series).  Those belts were designed to last the lifetime of the bike, and in fact there was no way to adjust their tension; it was set at the factory and that was it.

The Zeros also have a constant-tension belt (the drive pulley is exactly in line with the swingarm pivot, so the tension on the belt is constant no matter the suspension movement).  That being the case, I don't understand why they should need to be adjusted and why there is an adjustment setting on the swingarm at all.  Also, since the belts on an electric motor aren't subject to the "shocks" absorbed by the belt of a big, thumping V-Twin, why they should ever need replacement unless they've been damaged in some way.

And going with that last item:  WHY IN HELL ISN'T there better protection for the belt?  Upper AND lower belt guards??

[Doug S]

The cooling fins on the side of the battery tells me no liquid cooling.
The motor cooling fins run the length of the bike not across so new motor design.
The charger being on top sounds likely and fans would be nice (a brand change would nicer cough Diginow cough)
I'll say no radiator since I say air cooled.
I doubt DC fast charging unless the problem with those stations not dropping down to Zero's voltage (116V) has been changed as I believe Zero kept it's old voltage.
There is a punch line of "so it lasts 10k miles" to your belt statement about the Harley belt (again all in fun).

All in all it's a very nice upgrade and it may have a few more surprises in store the only kicker could be price.

I agree with everything, including the good mood. I've got 45,000 miles on my 2014 SR, but I may just have to cough up some shekels soon. This bike looks GOOD.

I suppose the only thing I'd add is that it does look to me like there's an access panel next to the rider's belly; I'd assume that's to cover up charging port(s). I'm going to go out on a limb and say they're including 6kW J1772 charging, but still able to charge at ~1.2kW off of 115VAC. With DC charging it would pretty much be my dream bike, but I agree we'll probably have to wait a little while longer for that. Pity if NEW2elec and I are correct about that.

[centra12]

With the announcement of a battery size of 14.4 with a larger diameter motor, the CCS standard probably died. 
A bigger motor and a higher voltage don't make sense.
200 Volt is needed to charge safely.
AAB charging stations support 50-500 Volt but the debacle knows zero from CHAdeMO !

[Crilly]

Hooking up in series instead of parallel is easy.

[grmarks]

The cooling fins on the side of the battery tells me no liquid cooling.
The motor cooling fins run the length of the bike not across so new motor design.

The cooling fins on the side can be in conjunction with liquid cooling (its all at atmospheric temp). NEW2elec noted a "chiller plate" (maybe) between the 2 battery case halves. I am running with that.
If you are going on the photoshopped image, that's just guesswork. There is no official image of the motor yet. All we have seen is the front headlight, the top of the seat and tank, and now the battery area.

It could be possible the battery modules are in series giving over 200V as suggested by Crilly.

[JaimeC]

if you watched the video clip I posted, you'd've seen the motor.

[centra12]

If Zero had done it right, they would have gone over 400 volts.
The whole heatsinks only thought that the machines are already at their limit. What do you think the battery case weighs that is lead heavy.

With over 400 volts you don't need such things and the bike is very light.

Porsche shows with their Taycan the state of the art is

[Ashveratu]

My thoughts...If the SR/F does not have DC fast charging capabilities, then why the new design and motor? In my eyes, the bike will be dead on arrival without CCS.

I, along with everyone else, have been waiting for a decent bike with DC fast charging. Yeah the Energicas have it, but I have sat on one and sadly it's not the bike for me (they are huge). The Livewire, way over priced. The Lightning Strike....we'll see, fingers crossed.

[grmarks]

If Zero had done it right, they would have gone over 400 volts.
The whole heatsinks only thought that the machines are already at their limit. What do you think the battery case weighs that is lead heavy.

With over 400 volts you don't need such things and the bike is very light.

Porsche shows with their Taycan the state of the art is

As Zeros' chief electrical engineer who designed the IPM motor said, if a motor produces a certain amount of power then it makes no difference if the voltage is 100V or 400V it produces the same amount of heat in the motor. 

[grmarks]

if you watched the video clip I posted, you'd've seen the motor.

No, I didn't see it, just scrolled back and found it now. Where did you get the video from?
Doesn't make much sense to me to have the fins running around the motor when it's not in the air flow. The previous design (fins running across) is a real cost saver. A continuous extrusion is a lot cheaper than a cast.

[GaryArt1]

So I have a question to put out there based on some of the ideas that has been presented on the SR/F.  Now this will probably show my ignorance of how electric bikes work but if you are installing a larger, more powerful motor but keeping the same size battery wouldn't you get a decrease in range.  That is of course if there aren't significant weight reductions (say in the frame).  I mean the battery probably contributes most to the weight and maybe then the motor which is now most likely bigger.  I can only relate it to my ICE experience.  If they upgrade the engine from say 800cc to 1200cc but keep the same size gas tank, barring other significant changes, you will be stopping at the gas station more.  I see a lot of people and articles saying more power and more range but is that realistic?

[JaimeC]

So I have a question to put out there based on some of the ideas that has been presented on the SR/F.  Now this will probably show my ignorance of how electric bikes work but if you are installing a larger, more powerful motor but keeping the same size battery wouldn't you get a decrease in range.  That is of course if there aren't significant weight reductions (say in the frame).  I mean the battery probably contributes most to the weight and maybe then the motor which is now most likely bigger.  I can only relate it to my ICE experience.  If they upgrade the engine from say 800cc to 1200cc but keep the same size gas tank, barring other significant changes, you will be stopping at the gas station more.  I see a lot of people and articles saying more power and more range but is that realistic?

Gary, this is something I've always wondered about too.  If you look at the specs for the S and the SR, the SR makes a LOT more power but when using equivalent batteries the range is unchanged...