When you think of touring, electric motorcycles would probably be close to the bottom of your list of ideal steeds but, with the recent development in battery and charging technology, ambitious American company Zero has introduced what it describes as ‘a new model developed to meet the growing demand of riding enthusiasts seeking to tour on electric’.
Based on Zero’s adventure styled DSR, the new tourer – dubbed the Black Forest edition – has a range of between 78 and 163 miles, depending on speed, but can be specified with Zero’s new Charge Tank, a fast charger that allows the bike to be connected to a level two public charger (the kind that are commonly found in town centres and motorway service stations). When hooked up to these charging points, Zero says that the Black Forest can be regain the equivalent of 94 miles range in an hour.
Touring accessories range
The Black Forest has also been given a full range of touring accessories including integrated black aluminium panniers and top box, touring screen, comfort seat and crash bars, as well as off-road style auxiliary lights and headlight protector. Under the skin, the Black Forest shares the standard DSR’s 14.4kwh battery, twist and go transmission and an electric motor that generates a staggering 146Nm of torque.
The DSR Black Forest has been developed specially for the European market and, talking about the new model, Umberto Uccelli, Zero’s European Managing Director, says: “The Zero Motorcycles DSR ZF14.4 Black Forest Edition is the first model we’ve ever developed to meet the specific demands of Europe’s adventure and touring riders. “Our customers have been asking for a model like this for years. Riding a Zero is the most connected way to move through nature. The Zero Motorcycles DSR Black Forest extends this to new, longer, and more fun adventures. We invite you to experience your world for the first time with seamless, silent and pure dual sport propulsion.”
No prices or availability dates have been announced for the new model yet, but expect it to carry a premium over the standard DSR model, which retails at £14,690 after the deduction of the £1500 government grant for electric vehicles.
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