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[DonTom]

I am curious what SR/F owners here think

I did a test ride on one here in Reno, and I agree with most of what he says--if not all. Especially the complaint on foot peg position.

I ended up buying my Energica SS9 shorty after a test ride on each.

Anybody here also try out other new 2020 electric bike models  before buying?


-Don-  Reno, NV

[stevenh]

Interesting perspective, I wonder how he's feeling about that down payment about now...

Steve

[DonTom]

Interesting perspective, I wonder how he's feeling about that down payment about now...
Steve

I wondered the same. But I have not heard the latest WRT the Lightning.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[Crissa]

He is in New Zealand, and has two Zeros he imported so he's used to waiting a long time and he's already got an electric.

-Crissa

[stevenh]

Having moved from a DSR to the SR/F, I have to say I really did feel a significant difference in power on the new bike.  Not sure if it's just me, but the SR/F seemed to have a lot more pull.  Also the handling on the highway was way different (better) (a better comparison may have been with the SR rather than the DSR in my case), the difference was enough for me to pull the trigger on the new bike.  I have to say, I did not consider the EGO or SS9, harder to find in my neck of the woods, and DC fast charging is a unicorn here in the northeast (very nearly zero dc fast chargers around, 100's of level-2's (lots of them free), including my work parking lot and home garage).  I'll have to do some more comparison shopping on the next bike (hopefully a few years away!), at that point the DC infrastructure will have kicked in here.

Steve

[DonTom]

Having moved from a DSR to the SR/F, I have to say I really did feel a significant difference in power on the new bike.  Not sure if it's just me, but the SR/F seemed to have a lot more pull.  Also the handling on the highway was way different (better) (a better comparison may have been with the SR rather than the DSR in my case), the difference was enough for me to pull the trigger on the new bike.  I have to say, I did not consider the EGO or SS9, harder to find in my neck of the woods, and DC fast charging is a unicorn here in the northeast (very nearly zero dc fast chargers around, 100's of level-2's (lots of them free), including my work parking lot and home garage).  I'll have to do some more comparison shopping on the next bike (hopefully a few years away!), at that point the DC infrastructure will have kicked in here.

Steve

The SR/F is definitely faster than my SR. However, the SR is fast enough for me.  90% of my riding is in the eco mode. I normally stay off the freeway with it, so I get MUCH better range.

I see what you mean about the CCS there. I just checked Plugshare for the type of chargers in the Newington, NH area and I see you do have mostly J1772s by far.   However, CCS bikes can also use J-1772.  Energicas charge at 3 KW on level two from J1772.  25 KW on level 3. 1.5 KW from 120 VAC with a supplied cable.

Here in Reno the J1772 is the most common, but still many CCS stations.  As soon as I go west of here then the CCS is most common. Multiple  CCS stations about every 20 miles on I-80.  The Energica is heavier and it's also a nice stable bike on the freeway at any speed. While the Energia has less range than my Zero SR, the Energica  is what I will take for most longer trips, if I am taking an electric.  I only ride my ICE bikes when I must, as I sometimes ride where even gas stations are somewhat uncommon and no charge stations of any type in those areas.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[TireFryer426]

I didn't get an opportunity to ride any other bikes.  I took a leap of faith on the SR/F, but that was mainly due to logistics.  I wanted to ride the SS9, but never did just because it didn't seem like a good purchasing decision if something were to go wrong with the bike.
There were enough videos out there that I had a pretty good idea that there would be things I wouldn't like about either bike. 
I did sit on a SR - and to me it felt like a toy.  Not quite a Grom, but still just didn't feel right.  Was pretty convinced I was buying an FX or FXS until they announced the SR/F.

I thought the headlight and the little bug catcher windscreen on the premium would really bother me.  I was convinced I'd replace it with a round headlight.  But once I got the bike, it grew on me pretty fast.  There are still some cosmetic modifications I'd like to make.  But a lot of the things other people don't seem to like - I'm absolutely fine with.

Some of the stuff Sam says I loosely agree with, but some of it is kind of silly.  First, it doesn't look anything like a gas bike.  I park next to a Ducati Monster at work sometimes.  Probably the ICE bike that looks closest to the SR/F - and you absolutely can't mistake the two.  The SR/F doesn't look like a gas bike from any angle but maybe the front.  I think the SS9 looks more like a gas bike than the SR/F does.  The tank size is fine to me.  And the bike overall seems fine.  I'm 42, 6'0 and 250.  I'm not the most flexible person, but I don't have an issue with where the pegs are at all.  I generally find the sitting position and posture on the bike comfortable.  I don't hurt or anything after riding it for a few hours.  Not sure why he's tilted about the door over the charge connector.  I don't feel like the bike is heavy, it seems like its pretty flickable to me.  But - I'm not a connoisseur.  I haven't ridden a ton of different bikes.  I've seen a lot of reviewers complain about the suspension stiffness - I prefer a firmer ride so I think the suspension is great.  To me - the bike as a whole is just really well done.  I'm also in an area where CCS isn't a thing yet.  While I do wish the charging capabilities were better, the SR/F is by no means an unusable bike.  For 99% of what I'd use a motorcycle for, it can do it. 

There are some things I wish were different...  but i've kind of said before that I wasn't planning on keeping this forever.  And even if I do keep it, i'd likely be looking at another e-bike in a few years when we get a generation or two out on batteries and get to whatever the next gen charging tech is.

[DonTom]

I would say the SS9 not only looks like a "real" motorcycle, it also rides like one. I prefer it  on longer freeway trips over the Zeros. But I like the Zeros better around town.

Unlike with the Zeros, I am not concerned with range on the SS9 when on the CA freeways. There are CCS stations everywhere around here to the west. With the Zeros it is best to ride very slow when in a hurry. More time is wasted charging even at a 6 KW charge  than can be made up with speed. But with the 25 KW charging on the Energicas, I go as fast as I want because it is only a 15 or 20 minute charge, in most cases. I like to take a break about once per hour anyway, as I am usually not in a hurry. But an hour wait is usually too much.

Almost all of my riding on my SS9 is west of here, into CA.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[TireFryer426]

Can you expand a little on the comparison between the two?  And is that comparing the SS9 to the SR/F, or to the SR or one of the other (sorry I call them toy bikes because of their size).

I would say the SS9 not only looks like a "real" motorcycle, it also rides like one. I prefer it  on longer freeway trips over the Zeros. But I like the Zeros better around town.

Unlike with the Zeros, I am not concerned with range on the SS9 when on the CA freeways. There are CCS stations everywhere around here to the west. With the Zeros it is best to ride very slow when in a hurry. More time is wasted charging even at a 6 KW charge  than can be made up with speed. But with the 25 KW charging on the Energicas, I go as fast as I want because it is only a 15 or 20 minute charge, in most cases. I like to take a break about once per hour anyway, as I am usually not in a hurry. But an hour wait is usually too much.

Almost all of my riding on my SS9 is west of here, into CA.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[DonTom]

Can you expand a little on the comparison between the two?  And is that comparing the SS9 to the SR/F, or to the SR or one of the other (sorry I call them toy bikes because of their size).

Sorry for the confusion. At first I was comparing the SR/F to the SS9. But in that message I was comparing my SS9 to my Zeros. I like the small Zeros because they are like toys. Small and light but very handy and fun to ride around town.

The SR/F and the SS9 are more like real larger  heavier motorcycles. They look less like toys. And feel less like such also.  I do not own a SR/F, but I did do a test ride on one. While it performed well, it wasn't comfy to me. On a short ride, it wasn't too bad, but I am not sure if I could hack it for more than a half hour. But the SS9 was one of those perfect fit bikes. Nothing to change in the comfy department and such was obvious on the first ride. 

-Don-  Reno, NV

[Crissa]

Different bikes fit different people, so that can seriously cloud a review, of course.

The Energicas look top heavy, but you don't talk like they are.  How did they compare on that point?

-Crissa

[DonTom]

Different bikes fit different people, so that can seriously cloud a review, of course.

The Energicas look top heavy, but you don't talk like they are.  How did they compare on that point?

-Crissa

The SS9  feels like a real motorcycle when riding.  It is heavier than the SR/F, but I don't notice it being top heavy while  riding.  And plain heavy is fine since it has a reverse. I don't think the SR/F has a reverse, does it?  The SS9 also has a slow forward (1.75 MPH in reverse or slow forward at WOT). I have found the reverse to be very handy. Especially at my house in Auburn that is down a deep long driveway with only a couple of feet where it is level near the garage.

Yes, I understand the SR/F will fit some people perfectly. Perhaps mainly shorter people.  I just ain't one of those people.

The SS9 feels larger than the SR/F, IIRC.  The SR/F is more of a sporty riding position than is the SS9.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[stevenh]

Different bikes fit different people, so that can seriously cloud a review, of course.

The Energicas look top heavy, but you don't talk like they are.  How did they compare on that point?

-Crissa

The SS9  feels like a real motorcycle when riding.  It is heavier than the SR/F, but I don't notice it being top heavy while  riding.  And plain heavy is fine since it has a reverse. I don't think the SR/F has a reverse, does it?  The SS9 also has a slow forward (1.75 MPH in reverse or slow forward at WOT). I have found the reverse to be very handy. Especially at my house in Auburn that is down a deep long driveway with only a couple of feet where it is level near the garage.

Yes, I understand the SR/F will fit some people perfectly. Perhaps mainly shorter people.  I just ain't one of those people.

The SS9 feels larger than the SR/F, IIRC.  The SR/F is more of a sporty riding position than is the SS9.

-Don-  Reno, NV

I do wish my SR/F had reverse.  I am kind of used to being careful about where I park to ensure I have a decent escape route, having powered reverse would be great.  I put a 1 1/2 inch riser on the SR/F to bring the bars up and toward me a bit.  Really made a big difference for me, before that, I always had to bend my neck up a bit to view the road, and that bothered my neck (sore), also there was too much weight on my hands.  With the riser both of those problems were solved.  I am 6'1" and 210 lbs and find the pegs and seat are fine for me, I commute 50 miles one way to work when the weather lets me, and don't have any comfort problems.  My ride home can run 1 1/2 hours on a bad day, and I'm fine after that time in the saddle.  Over all, I am very, very, very happy with the bike.  I really never ride long distances in a given day (even when I had ice bikes), so the range works for me.  At 6KW the bike is back at 90% (my SOC limit) in around an hour after my 50 mile ride to or from work (and the 6KW is free at work!).

That SS9 looks like a pretty nice bike.  Hopefully there will be more electric bike options from more manufacturers soon (with dealers near me), but so far Zero has met my needs pretty well since 2016 (DSR from 2016 until July of this year, SR/F since then).

Steve

[Doug S]

I do wish my SR/F had reverse.  I am kind of used to being careful about where I park to ensure I have a decent escape route, having powered reverse would be great.

Always park with the front wheel higher than the rear. If the parking spot slopes down to the front, that means backing in. If the parking spot slopes up to the front, drive in frontward. That way, you're always backing up downhill and driving uphill, which makes it far easier.

[Crissa]

Yeah, the manual for all Zeros state always park facing uphill.

-Crissa