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[Jarrett]

We all make compromises when it comes to having fun.  The ride experience of a SR/F is pretty close to perfect for me.  No shifting, easy access to a boat load of torque.  That's a blast.  But for me, that bike would only do 60-70 miles or so before my ride was done.  That's just not far enough for me.  And even though chargers are popping up in the big cities, I don't want to ride there.  I want to be out on some empty country road far away from traffic, so I can lean through the corners in peace.  Essentially, there are no L2 chargers where I like to ride a motorcycle.  SR/F's are also very expensive.  I can buy multiple ICE bikes for the cost of one.  It's tough for me to spend $22k on a bike that goes 60 miles a ride.

With my ICE bike, its a compromise too.  I have to shift. every. single. gear.  I don't possess the skill to make it accelerate as seamlessly as the SR/F does.  So despite it being technically quicker than the SR/F, I would lose a drag race from 0-100 against an SR/F every time.  Also, it makes noise and that draws unwanted attention in some cases.  But on the other hand, racking through the up/down quick shifter and hearing the engine purr through those gears is a thing of beauty that I didn't get with my DSR.  Also, at 60 miles, my ICE is ready to keep going.  At 140 miles, I spend maybe 4 minutes at gas pump (which are everywhere) and I get another 140 miles out of it.

Both have their pros and cons.  Just have to weigh it all out and see which makes the most sense for you.  One day, an SR/F will have the range to attract my money.

[rayand]

Maybe someday ;if you're lucky; you won't have to worry about the freeway commute. Country driving is where it's at.

[alko]

Zero definately needs to work on cooling if they want to keep up with the compitition. They seem to be falling behind in some areas. I know liquid cooling takes away from the simplicity of electric bikes, but if it makes it more reliable than it's worth it I guess.

[Doug S]

I did this trip once. A circuit from where I was living at the time, El Cajon, CA (San Diego east county) to Idyllwild and back without repeating any roads, 263 miles. If you know southern California, that's a nice hike. Recharged four times, twice at Pechanga Casino (I'm not one to pass up a free charge!), once at a beautiful inn in Idyllwild, and once in Santa Ysabel. One other time I recharged at Santa Ysabel was when I went with my bike club out to Borrego Springs out in the high desert, about 150 miles round trip, with three recharges.

I'm tired of hearing you can't go for rides on these bikes. You may have to plan your affairs a bit, but you can and many of us have. Terry and Ben put most of the rest of us to shame in the long ride department, but a lot of us have gone for very nice rides many times. Quit whining, log onto PlugShare and you'll be amazed how many nice rides you can plan.

[valnar]

We all make compromises when it comes to having fun.  The ride experience of a SR/F is pretty close to perfect for me.  No shifting, easy access to a boat load of torque.

With my ICE bike, its a compromise too.  I have to shift. every. single. gear.

I think you already have one of these, but that's pretty much why the Honda NC7x0X was invented.  Shifting in stop-and-go traffic is my least favorite thing to do.  Maybe just stick with that until the battery technology catches up?

[Jarrett]

I did this trip once.

How many hours were you stopped for charging?

[Jarrett]

I think you already have one of these, but that's pretty much why the Honda NC7x0X was invented.  Shifting in stop-and-go traffic is my least favorite thing to do.  Maybe just stick with that until the battery technology catches up?

I have two DCT bikes in the garage, but Honda doesn't make a DCT bike with the weight/performance of an SR/F.  If they did, it would be in my garage.  I'd love to have a CB1000R DCT.

The closest thing I've found is my 2016 VFR1200X DCT.  It's about 4 seconds to 60 mph, top speed is limited to 130 mph.  1st, 2nd and 6th gears are heavily limited by the ECU.  But it weighs around 650 lbs.  Which is great for loaded down touring, but not ideal if you just want to go carve some curves.  It can do it, but it's limited.

Honda used to make a VFR1200F DCT which put out 170hp, it was a big sports tourer, but it flopped and they cancelled it in 2012.  Sometimes they come up for sale if you watch closely.  Like the X model, it is also limited by the ECU.  There is a shop in the Northeast that offers a refresh for that bike that supposedly unleashes its power to point that it will do 0-100mph in 6 seconds with a top speed in the 150's or better.  But its still a 630+lb bike, not exactly what you want to carve corners on.

I ended up trading my DSR in on a 2019 Triumph Speed Triple.  It makes 148hp, does 0-60 in under 3 seconds (if you have the skills) and tops out who knows where.  I had it at 127mph last night and it was just really starting to pull hard in 6th at that point and I let off.  Too much for me.  It's lighter than the SR/F and handles as well if not better. It's several thousand dollars cheaper than a SR/F as well. It makes for a great corner carving bike, but its ICE and you have to shift every single gear every single ride.  Always a compromise. 

[ashnazg]

As one of my programmer friends likes to say, "There are no solutions, only tradeoffs."

[NetPro]

As one of my programmer friends likes to say, "There are no solutions, only tradeoffs."

Ain't that the truth!

[DonTom]

Even with gas bikes, quick laps but far more gas stops than in a car.

Not always true, my Stelvio has an 8.5 gallon (32L)  tank and around a 400  mile (645 KM) range on a tank of gas. Several of my other ICE bikes go more 300 miles (485 KM) on a tank.

I like large gas tanks in my ICE bikes. It's the very first spec that I look at when buying an ICE bike.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[JaimeC]

Even with gas bikes, quick laps but far more gas stops than in a car.

Not always true, my Stelvio has an 8.5 gallon (32L)  tank and around a 400  mile (645 KM) range on a tank of gas. Several of my other ICE bikes go more 300 miles (485 KM) on a tank.

I like large gas tanks in my ICE bikes. It's the very first spec that I look at when buying an ICE bike.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

Range AND mileage.  My K1200LT has a 6.6 gallon tank and when I bought it in 1999 I was averaging around 51/52 mpg.  Unfortunately, once they replaced MTBE with ethanol as an oxygenate in the fuel, my mileage dropped to about 45 mpg.  I thought it was just because of the age of the engine, but when I had the opportunity to use ethanol-free gas (hard to find around here) my mileage jumped right back up to 51 mpg.  Makes you wonder exactly WHO is benefiting from the use of ethanol in gasoline...

[alko]

Even with gas bikes, quick laps but far more gas stops than in a car.

Not always true, my Stelvio has an 8.5 gallon (32L)  tank and around a 400  mile (645 KM) range on a tank of gas. Several of my other ICE bikes go more 300 miles (485 KM) on a tank.

I like large gas tanks in my ICE bikes. It's the very first spec that I look at when buying an ICE bike.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

Range AND mileage.  My K1200LT has a 6.6 gallon tank and when I bought it in 1999 I was averaging around 51/52 mpg.  Unfortunately, once they replaced MTBE with ethanol as an oxygenate in the fuel, my mileage dropped to about 45 mpg.  I thought it was just because of the age of the engine, but when I had the opportunity to use ethanol-free gas (hard to find around here) my mileage jumped right back up to 51 mpg.  Makes you wonder exactly WHO is benefiting from the use of ethanol in gasoline...

Ethanol e15 burns cleaner, is cheaper at the pump and lowers our dependence  on fossil fuel, but the trade off is lower fuel economy and engine damage especially in older cars.
Not worth the tradeoff imo, unfortunately ethanol-free fuel is getting harder to find.

[DonTom]

Ethanol e15 burns cleaner, is cheaper at the pump and lowers our dependence  on fossil fuel, but the trade off is lower fuel economy and engine damage especially in older cars.
Not worth the tradeoff imo, unfortunately ethanol-free fuel is getting harder to find.

I wonder if anybody else has figured out if the MPG drops there is MORE pollution every trip. Yeah, it measures 5% cleaner at the tailpipe when it takes 10% more  fuel to make the same trip. That means more pollution, not less, in the same distance, yet it measures cleaner.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[JaimeC]

More importantly, you're taking something that could be FOOD and turning it into automotive fuel.  Ethanol is also hygroscopic, the longer it sits in your tank, the more moisture it sucks out of the air.  It's also why transporting ethanol requires a different (more expensive) transport system than petroleum.  You can pipe petroleum over MILES.  Ethanol requires a more expensive transport.  Storing ethanol is another problem as the longer it sits, the more moisture it'll contain.  One of the reasons why it damages the fuel systems of older vehicles.

Finally, there's this:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reduce-air-pollution-do-not-rely-on-ethanol/

[flattetyre]

I personally love fuel with ethanol. The more the merrier. E85 at the pump is one of the best things to happen to the modified car scene.