#Electric

Remember that time, two years ago in 2014, when we put an electric bike up against an ICE motorcycle… and the electric won? The two protagonists in that matchup were the Zero FX, modified for supermoto use by our friend Harlan Flagg, proprietor of Hollywood Electrics, and the Suzuki DR-Z400SM. At that time Zero had yet to officially have a supermoto version of its FX in the lineup, but other than the obvious change in wheels, brakes, and tires, the FX was otherwise a stock bike.

Yeah, we know this is Motorcycle.com, but sometimes when cool, outlandish vehicles come across our radar screens we just have to share. You might remember the Lazareth Wazuma name if you’ve been reading these pages for a long time. Back in 2013 Lazareth revealed the Wazuma V8, powered by none other than a 3.0-liter Ferrari V8.

There’s no disputing the Energica Eva is fast. With a claimed torque output of 125.4 lb-ft., Energica’s Eva makes the mighty KTM Super Duke R seem anemic (95.7 lb-ft. at 8,100 rpm). A rider twisting the Eva’s throttle to its stop finds himself on the other side of a wrinkle in time in a gearchange-less rush of quiet acceleration. Repeated often it could reverse the aging process. Or not, but it’s fun to try.

Victory revealed a new electric sportbike prototype featuring an all-new battery module from Brammo. Described as a test bed for the company’s future powertrains, the new Victory RR will make its racing debut in the TT Zero class in the 2016 Isle of Man TT beginning May 28.

It’s always interesting when manufacturers introduce concept models. While concept models can provide a good indication at a company’s design or technological direction, we’re resigned to the fact that most won’t see serial production, no matter how many Futurama “Shut up and take my money!” memes people post on Facebook.

Ireland is not a location you think of when it comes to motorcycle companies. Sure, the country has a great heritage in motorcycling, especially when it comes to racing on real roads, but as a locale for a company actually selling motorcycles? Not so much. It’s not a big stretch, then, to imagine an unconventional place to be the home of an unconventional vehicle, and with a name like Volt Motorcycles, you can likely guess what kind of unconventional vehicle Volt produces.

We’ve traveled down this path before when we asked what types of bikes our readers have owned. What we learned there, frankly, didn’t surprise us too much. You’ve owned a bunch of different motorcycles. That makes you a lot like us. We like motorcycles – all motorcycles. As an industry friend once said about our profession, “All motorcycles good; we investigate.”

If you’ve been keeping tabs, we’ve ridden the Zero FX quite a lot. First in 2013 when I rode one to the top of Pikes Peak, during the 91st running of the iconic event. Later that year I was fortunate enough to be drafted onto a team that raced another FX twice around the clock, making history as the first electric motorcycle to do so. In 2014, Zero’s VP of Global Marketing, and off-road racing legend, Scot Harden, invited E-i-C Kevin Duke and myself to his backyard track to get a taste of the FX in its natural (dirt) environment. Following that, Editor Roderick and I took another FX to Adams Motorsports Park to put it head-to-head with a Suzuki DRZ-400SM, for a gas vs. electric supermoto face-off – where it won! And, because I hadn’t had enough of the FX, in early 2015, I had the bright idea to take one to the short track at Del Mar to try my hand at flat track “racing” (in quotes because I had no idea what I was doing). So, with no less than five Zero FX stories in our archives, a natural next question might be: “Another Zero FX review?!”

I’m tucked in behind the bubble of an authentic Isle of Man TT racer watching numbers roll past 140 mph on the speedometer, but there’s not even a whisper from the engine. That’s because this Victory doesn’t have an engine – it uses an electric motor.

Here at MO, we like to shake things up every now and then with our motorcycle reviews. You know – think outside the box, not get complacent, keep things fresh, etc. It inspires our creative juices, plus it just makes for a fun motorcycle ride. On occasion, the usual method for a single-bike evaluation can be a bit predictable. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy a nice romp in the hills on a fast motorcycle, but we’re often asking ourselves, “What can we do that’s different?” This time, I think we have an answer.

Silicon Valley is home to some of the brightest tech minds in the world, many of whom are working tirelessly to develop answers to questions most of us haven’t even thought of yet. Take Cloud computing, for instance. The invisible hard drive in the sky has transformed how we compute and communicate. You may not know it, but chances are if you spend any time on the internet, you already have some connection to the Cloud. But who’s making sure the Cloud is evolving and advancing like the rest of the devices we own? This is what folks like Curtis Schwebke think about all day long.

Outer space carries no sound. If George Lucas hadn’t bent interstellar rules and added sound effects, Star Wars would cease to be a sci-fi masterpiece. Imagine a silently exploding Death Star with a subtitled “Bang!,” Han Solo mouthing “pwew, pwew, pwew” for the Millennium Falcon’s laser guns, and TIE Fighters screaming by without making whatever that super cool sound is they make.

Things are moving steadily forward in the electric department, but for 2015, the Zero SR maintains its place atop the electron chain due to Zero’s customer support, parts availability, dealer network and relative affordability. Zero’s SR shattered our expectations in 2014 of just how powerful a production electric motorcycle (one able to be bought today) could really be, with a claimed 106 lb-ft of Hayabusa-style torque coursing through its 458-pound frame. The Santa Cruz, California-sourced sizzler uses a high-performance 660-amp motor controller and high-temp magnets to produce 25% more power and 56% more torque than the S model.

We’ve tested plenty of electric motorcycles over the years here at MO. In the process, we’ve been able to witness firsthand how rapidly e-bikes have evolved. Through it all, however, we get asked the same questions over and over: 1. How far will it go on a charge? and 2. How long will it take to recharge the batteries? There used to be a third question – how fast will it go? – but through our testing and experiences with the greater e-bike community, speed no longer seems to be a concern amongst the critics.

Remember the mega splash Harley-Davidson made last summer with its electric LiveWire? No one expected the usually stodgy Motor Company to veer so sharply into the future, and the stylish e-bike was prominently featured across mainstream media outlets. Never before had electric motorcycles made such a huge impression on the general public.