Electric motorbikes are only good for commuting, right? Well American brand Zero Motorcycles went all out to prove otherwise, taking two of its DSR/X adventure bikes on an icy 1200 mile tour of the UK to become the first EV brand to win the ACU’s prestigious Maudes Trophy.

The Maudes Trophy was first awarded 100 years ago, when Norton put one of its bikes through a 12 hour high speed endurance ride around Brooklands. Since then it had been awarded a further 17 times, for manufacturers completing a number of challenges aimed to demonstrate the durability of their products. The last time the award was given out was 29 years ago, when 10 Yamaha riders averaged over 100mph on Yamaha FZR600s in the 1994 Isle of Man Supersport TT.

Zero’s team of seven intrepid riders left Lands End last Wednesday morning, heading north east to the easternmost point of the British Isles in Lowestoft, before battling snow and ice as temperatures plummeted to -6°C on their overnight trek to Edinburgh. From the Scottish capital the team, who rode in shifts and switched riders when stopping to recharge the bikes, headed through the Lake District to Holyhead, before going back north to their final destination of Liverpool, where the trophy was presented ahead of the FIM Awards ceremony. The whole journey took 60 hours, including riding through the night and only stopping to change riders and recharge using public charging points.

Zero say that the challenge was undertaken to not only show the robustness of their bikes, but also the capability of the electric public charging network.

Craig Carey-Clinch from the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) was one of the riders who participated. He said: “In such extreme cold weather conditions, teamworking was vital to the success of the ride and every member played a key part in what was a gruelling ride at times. I started the challenge with an open mind about the capability of electric motorcycles on long distance journeys, but the DSR/Xs performed very well considering the extreme cold. However, when it comes to infrastructure for riders, much more needs to be done by public authorities if they want to encourage a switch to ePTWs. It’s not that charging facilities are rare, the opposite in fact, but that many have no facilities or shelter for riders waiting off their bikes. This is a matter the NMC will look in to further.”