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[Jarrett]

I went and rode the SR/F a second time today with the intention of putting down a deposit and ended up deciding against getting it.

The first time I rode the SR/F, it was the pre-production model.  I didn't know I was going to get to ride it, but I jumped on it when the offer was made.  The pre-prod bike had no traction control, cruise control, etc. and felt pretty raw to ride.  Lots of wheelies and rear tire spins.

Today, I made an appointment to go ride the production model SR/F.   I got there and it was low on charge at 44%, so they plugged it into the wall at 110v.  At that rate, it looked like it charges about as fast as my FX does, about 10% an hour.

While it was charging, I took their DS demo out for a spin.  I really like the way the DS model is setup.  Feels good to me ergonomically.  But it accelerates really slowly from 0-40 or so compared to my FX, but around 45+ it kicks in some acceleration that my FX doesn't have all the way into the 80's.  The suspension on the DS is a little jarring on pot holes, but its doable.  Makes me want to check out a DSR some time, but no local dealers have them.

When I got back, the SR/F was at 56%, so I went to take it for a ride.  First thing I tried to do was pair my phone with it using the next gen app and after multiple attempts, it didn't work.  So I jumped on the bike and took off.  First thing I noticed is moving between modes is a bit more difficult than on the older models.  Now you have to hold the button down for a bit, then toggle left and right a bit and slowly find your mode.  Since it was difficult, I just put it back on sport mode and left it there the entire ride.

The ergonomics of the bike just don't really work for me.  They could be perfect for a sport bike rider, but for a guy coming from adventure, dual sport and dirt bikes, the leaning on the tank feeling along with the tucked feet didn't make me feel at home.  I thought I'd get used to it though.  The first thing I noticed on the bike is that the brakes are really strong.  I almost dumped it at the first stop sign as it surprised me so much.  Also, the suspension feels much better than any of the other Zero bikes I've ridden.  Very smooth over pot holes and such.  That surprised me as well.  I thought I would get jarred by the sport bike suspension, but not the case. 

Of course, the power is there.  It feels like the FX in the 0-30 department, then way more power than the DS after that.  It just pulls and pulls.  I think the traction control system keeps it in check a bit because I was trying to spin tires and pop wheelies and just wasn't happening.  It didn't feel intrusive at all, but it was much harder to do than on the pre-prod bike without traction control.

I turned on the cruise control as well.  It was easy enough to set it initially.  What I couldn't figure out was how to increase the speed and set it again at a higher speed.  So I just turned it off.  I didn't see a way to turn on the heated grips, so I didn't try.

The handling of the bike feels really sharp.  It is the most precise feeling bike I've ever ridden.  At little too much for me leaning over that 17" front wheel, but I suspect those that ride sport bikes will really dig it.  I started with 56%, rode about 30 minutes and ended with 22%.  I was surprised it went down that much.  I was flogging it a bit though.  Even at 27%, it pulled fairly hard to 97 mph, where I let off.  It was fun ripping it through traffic on the highway.  I'd guess lane splitting would be a blast on it, but not legal here.

Overall, it didn't have the raw power feel of the pre-prod bike, but turning off traction control might give it back.  I did hear a story from the track day about the SR/F.  Apparently, a guy was hammering his Triumph Street Triple 1050 WOT in the straight away at the track and one of the instructors on the SR/F came from behind and walked right by him before the next corner.  It's got that kind of power apparently. 

After 30 minutes on the bike, I was about ready to get off.  Don't get me wrong, the bike is really cool for what is, but after 30 minutes of really wanting to like the bike and buy it, I just went with my gut knowing that I didn't want to spend $23k on what the SR/F had to offer.  If I had a track membership or lived in NW Arkansas with miles of smooth, curvy roads, I might feel differently, but in my area there just aren't enough fun roads to make that ride position worth it for me, personally.  And being limited to less than 100 miles it too much for the price for me.

I drove home a little dejected as I was really prepared to love the bike and put the deposit down.  But I got home and took my FX for a spin and that bike really suits me, my riding style and my local roads well.  I took down my beat up country roads, down gravel roads, through washed out muddy roads, back to the windy farm to market roads and leaned it over in the corners.  Laughed as I ran it over chopped up roads at dangerous speeds and riding wheelies every time there was a little rise in the road. That bike makes me laugh out loud in my helmet repeatedly during the ride.  I think I may already own the Zero that's right for me, just wished it went another 100 miles than it go on a charge.  But I guess that's with any Zero.

[DonTom]

Nice review there. It is not uncommon for somebody's dream bike to be more like  a nightmare on the very first test ride.

OTOH, there are some bikes that grow on us, that we don't like at first and then later  becomes our favorite--at least for some rides.

I find my little Zero DS ZF 6.5 to be my most useful bike of all, which is not what I was expecting. I put the most miles on it--just not that much all  at once! But it gets ridden almost every day unlike the rest of my bikes--or cars.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[heroto]

Thanks for that review, really helpful.

An amateur reviewer on Zero's facebook page came away impressed that the SR/F is made for curvy mountain roads, that's where it will shine and for justify the expense. Mirrors your review.

[Richard230]

I hate to say it, but I have never test ridden any of the five electric motorcycle that I have owned before I bought them.  I tend to just buy on faith that if it is electric it must be fun to ride - and a different and unique experience compared with an ICE motorcycle.   

[chrisho]

I am just waiting on some good reviews before I press forward. I will test drive one but I want to see some real world range tests.

[SRFbiker]

right now the only ICE bike i would consider instead for ease of use is a Honda with DCT but it doesnt look as fun to ride as the SR/F. On the opposite end it has incredible mileage, no range issues. Im still dealing with silent treatment waiting for the SR/F. The somewhat sporty position should be ok since I wouldn't be making big trips anyways.

[Jarrett]

I didn't mean this to be a bad review, more of a perspective review.

For someone that likes streetfighter/sport type bikes and only need to go 100 miles between charges, this thing is fantastic.  All the racers I've seen that have ridden it, loved it and gave it big thumbs up.  I'm not a racer though.

Speaking of DCT bikes, I have some.  I have the NC700X, Africa Twin and VFR1200X.  It's true that none of those bikes are as quick as the SR/F with the VFR1200X being the closest, but the VFR has a higher top speed and its power doesn't wain as its fuel drops.  So at mile 90, it might very well out accelerate a SR/F, but not at mile 1.  I'd love to line them up and find out.

Honda used to make the VFR1200F in DCT.  It makes 170hp and not sure how much torque.  I suspect it would give the SR/F a run for its money and then pull away from it with authority when the SR/F got in the 120's.  I suspect that's the most fun DCT bike out there.

Right now my main two bikes are my Honda VFR1200X DCT and my Zero FX.  I'm hoping one day that Zero can produce a product that replaces the VFR in my garage, but its not today.

[pacificcricket]

The other thing to remember, the bike is a new model. Hasn't been tested in the field en-mass, and likely packs a ton of model-unique issues that will start popping up as soon as they start getting the mileage.

[Richard230]

The other thing to remember, the bike is a new model. Hasn't been tested in the field en-mass, and likely packs a ton of model-unique issues that will start popping up as soon as they start getting the mileage.

Personally, I would be more concerned about bugs in the new MMB system programming, than mechanical or power train glitches.  Just get ready for updates.  But at least you can get those installed in the comfort of your home - once you manage to get Bluetooth to recognize your bike, of course.   

[GaryArt1]

Personally, I would be more concerned about bugs in the new MMB system programming, than mechanical or power train glitches.  Just get ready for updates.  But at least you can get those installed in the comfort of your home - once you manage to get Bluetooth to recognize your bike, of course.   

Yes I am well expecting many updates at the beginning.  There is too much new on this bike to expect all the bugs to be ironed out immediately.  As long as the hardware is good and they work on perfecting the software, I would be happy.  And now you don't even need to connect your phone being it gets firmware upgrades over cellular. 

[Jarrett]

The old app works easily with my FX.  When I went to demo the FX, it connected right up to the demo bike and worked fine.  At home, it connects every time I try it with my FX.

I did not have that experience with the SR/F.  The new app did not play well with the SR/F demo bike.  Like with the FX previously, I downloaded the next gen app and RTFM before I went up there and was prepared to connect it all up, tried three times powering everything on and off, and no dice.  That was a bit of a bummer as I was hoping to use the ride tracking portion of the app, but no luck.

When I was riding the bike, there was a SOC on the right and left.  Not sure why.  The one on the right was the one I noticed first and paid attention to.  It never budged from 56% for the first 10 minutes of the ride and I was thinking, "wow, this thing will really cover some miles on a charge."

Then after a bit, I happened to notice the SOC on the left and it was down to 41% and dropping faster than I expected it to.  When I got back to the dealership, the one on the left was at 22% and the one on the right still showed 56%.  I powered the bike off and back on and now both of the SOC's showed 22%.  That was a bit of a head scratcher.  That could have gotten me into trouble had I been planning a longer demo.

Also, the cruise control wasn't intuitive.  I RTFM on it as well and thought I had the knowledge, but I struggled with it.  It worked once, but I couldn't get it to work a second time.  As mentioned in my earlier post, I struggled moving between the modes while riding it.  I had to look away from the road for far too long to try and figure out how to move between modes.  I ended up just abandoning that and leaving it in Sport mode.  I couldn't even begin to figure out where the heated grip controls were, so I didn't bother.

I kinda have a feeling if the SR/F has issues, its going to be in those new electronics somewhere like that.

All that aside, the bike rode really well.  Better than any other Zero I've ridden.  If you just get on it and ride and don't futz with the new electronic stuff, its a killer bike.  One really experienced rider told me that this bike felt like a major step in bridging the gap between previous Zero's and modern day sport bikes.  He said this was the first one that felt like a real, modern sport bike to him and one he might opt to ride over other fast sport bikes in the market.  That says a lot about it, I think.

Personally, I just need more mileage out of one before I drop that kind of coin on it.  I think that new motor is going to run through the 14.4 battery with a quickness.  At least it did for me during my demo ride.  I think I did 30 miles or just a little under at probably 40 mph average and dropped 34% during the ride.  Granted, I got on the highway and hammered it a couple of times.  I'm guessing I could get 90-95 miles out of a full charge at those speeds.

If/when they come out with a "DSR/F" that can do 150+ miles at 40+ mph average, I'm going to get really interested.  I still want to go check out a DSR though.  With a power tank, it might serve me well today.

[GaryArt1]

It makes me wonder if Zero rushed the SR/F to the market a little quicker than they planned.  With the Livewire and the Strike coming in the next few months, they wanted to get the SR/F to the market first.  I mean this is listed as a 2020 model.  Maybe original plan was to release it later in the year with the other 2020 models.  Maybe they spent a lot of time testing the new hardware but the software and electronics is still a work in progress.  The good thing is software can be fixed a lot more easily than hardware.  I would rather get the bike now during riding season with minor bugs (nothing that affects the riding) than getting a virtually bug free bike in August/September.  I just would hope if the cellular features don't work as described, Zero extends the free period for 2 years from when they have it working correctly.  This is all just speculation of course.

[pacificcricket]

Personally, I would be more concerned about bugs in the new MMB system programming, than mechanical or power train glitches.  Just get ready for updates.  But at least you can get those installed in the comfort of your home - once you manage to get Bluetooth to recognize your bike, of course.   

I bought my DS in January 2014. Got a recall letter three months later (and 3000 miles on ODO by then) regarding a faulty motor. Took the bike to the dealership for diagnostics, and sure enough mine was defective. If you don't remember, some guy (in Australia I think) was riding on a track and motor locked up at 80+ MPH, leading to a crash.

[MostlyBonkers]

Personally, I just need more mileage out of one before I drop that kind of coin on it.  I think that new motor is going to run through the 14.4 battery with a quickness.  At least it did for me during my demo ride.  I think I did 30 miles or just a little under at probably 40 mph average and dropped 34% during the ride.  Granted, I got on the highway and hammered it a couple of times.  I'm guessing I could get 90-95 miles out of a full charge at those speeds.

I think you make a very good point about how the new motor will empty the 14.4 battery pack. I have the 14.4 in my 2014DS with a motor that produces half the power and torque of the SRF.  I wouldn't count on riding it more than 60-70 miles on the twisties.  That's with an average speed of 35-40mph, keeping off long stretches of fast roads and with a spirited riding style.  The SRF is at least 35kg heavier than my DS too.  I just don't see how people keep quoting range figures of around 100 miles.  The whole point of the SRF is to have some proper fun on it.  To make the most of all that torque and extra power.  I'm not sure I'd expect to get more than 50 miles from a full charge on the SRF.  What I mean is that I'd feel comfortable riding an SRF hard for 50 miles and expect to have 10-20% left.  I feel that's a minimum contingency to allow for unfavourable winds etc.

That's not an everyday ride for me though.  I don't always feel I have to be going as fast as conditions allow.  I get the feeling that many Zero riders are pretty sensible and so 80 miles or so would be easily achievable, even when riding with a bit of sparkle.

I happen to have a fifty mile route that's 80% country roads.  The other 20% is in heavily restricted areas with 30-40mph speed limits. There are lots of villages in Hertfordshire!  If I ride my DS as hard as I can, I'll get home with about 30% SoC.  The motor frequently goes into thermal management, so I don't get to use as much power as I'd like.  The villages are handy to let the motor cool down.

I know an SRF would let me ride much harder; IPM motor, better cooling and so on.  The SRF is probably more efficient than my DS with its riding position and slicker tyres.  Even so, I'm certain I could get very close to emptying its battery on my 50 mile route.  That's still around 1hr 15m of riding, so perfect for a quick blast.

To put things in another perspective, I ended up tagging onto a group ride with a local bike club a few weeks ago. I was on my CB1000R and they were riding fast.  I could keep up but I was riding just about as fast as I feel safe to.  There's absolutely no way I would have been able to keep up with the other riders on my DS.  Many of them were riding sports bikes, hard.  They all had at least 120hp and above.  I'm quite certain an SRF could keep up for all but the longest stretches of road, where the speeds got very silly, but for how long? This was still all on country roads, but mostly faster ones than my 50 mile route.  It's in a different league of riding altogether.  It made me realise that I've developed my 50 mile route whilst riding my DS and it is a really enjoyable route, well suited for the bike.  Not so much for sports bikes though, which is what the SRF is - albeit in a naked form.  What kind of range could I expect from an SRF keeping up with sports bikes on fast roads where speeds often hit 100mph or so...? Throttles are pinned wide open at every opportunity and a lot of energy gets dumped into friction brakes at each corner.  I guess the ultimate test would be to take an SRF to a track and see how many miles to empty. 30 maybe?  I'd be very surprised if an SRF will do more than 50 miles per charge when used on the road to its full potential.

I hate to say this, but range and charging times are so important that they should never be overlooked.  It doesn't matter how good a bike is if you can't use it as much as you'd like due to technical limitations.  It sounds like you've made the right decision for you, Jarrett.

By the way, I had a VFR 1200FD for a few months. I loved the engine and the DCT transmission.  The weight of the bike lets it down a bit in the handling department, but it is great for a sports tourer. 

[MostlyBonkers]

I'd like to add that I really don't want to put anyone off buying an SRF.  Hopefully you're all very experienced with your own requirements and I'm just helping by illustrating how we can easily be misled by range figures, even if those range figures can be reproduced in equivalent conditions.

To give my last post a little balance, my 2014DS was my only motorcycle for over two and a half years until last September.  I had an opportunity to get the CB1000R and yearned to be able to go for longer rides.  The extra power and better handling appealed too of course, but I was also seriously thinking about upgrading to an SR or DSR at the time. 

I have a five year old son and a couple of teenagers, so in reality I don't get many opportunities to go for longer rides.  I've only done a couple of day long rides on the Honda since I've had it.  It's not just about time either, riding 200 miles can easily burn through £25-30 of petrol.  Even doing shorter runs can get the fuel bill adding up quickly.  I know the cost of petrol doesn't seem to bother a lot of bikers, but it puts me off a bit.  It shouldn't, really, and that's my hangup. Spoilt by my DS perhaps?

So has buying the Honda been a bit like buying a few books to read?  We often buy books because we like to think we'll have the time to read them, but don't.

The SRF wasn't around last summer, it doesn't cost much more than an SR and yet it's a giant leap forward.  Would the lack of range have stopped me from trading in my DS for an SRF instead of buying the Honda? Probably not, considering I was mostly happy with the DS and its fit with my lifestyle for well over two years.  I've even thought about trading in my DS and the Honda for an SRF, but circumstances don't permit that right now.

Confusing?  I probably sound like I'm contradicting myself.  It can be hard to know what you really want and what your actual requirements are...  Some things to think about at least?