I have seen the future ...

[bubba zanetti]

And it looks rather appealing
$9k CDN. They are getting cheaper. 70lbs ft of torque !

[Sport-Touring]

[Flyer]

Hole-shots are everything!

[jp]

Wooo...   That's a REAL bike! I could definitely see that in the stable, maybe if the price comes down a bit more tho'...
What a giggle that must be passing people on that thing. They must think they've gone deaf!

[MidLifeMike]

What characteristics of the bike are letting him get by all those riders stuck or falling over on the narrow track? The torque? I'm not a dirt biker and not a racer.

[miles]

The torque from an electric motor is 100% at any RPM, and there is no issue with the engine stalling out.  Also, the Zero bike he was riding has a ton more torque than nay of the gas bikes, so all he has to do is roll the accelerator on and he has all the power he needs instantly.

[Blue is Best]

Let's see here.         Looks like he is a pro and he's running in the novice class.

[jay547]

He started on a dry line, the other guys started in the mud.

[DRam]

Let's see here.         Looks like he is a pro and he's running in the novice class.

Does look like that, doesn't it.

[motrhead]

 ...and it's way too quiet for me! At least offer a kit for hockey cards in the spokes! I want gears and noise damn it!

[bubba zanetti]

 ...and it's way too quiet for me! At least offer a kit for hockey cards in the spokes! I want gears and noise damn it!

As do I.  But, seeing this capability now, makes me think how the trade off of visceral experience with functional will go. Functional now, meaning far too few recharching stations, too few stations, etc.

Thing is ... I embrace new tech as it adds to my motorcycling experience. GPS, high tech riding gear etc. I embrace change and look forward to how this goes.

[motrhead]

As do I.  But, seeing this capability now, makes me think how the trade off of visceral experience with functional will go. Functional now, meaning far too few recharching stations, too few stations, etc.

Thing is ... I embrace new tech as it adds to my motorcycling experience. GPS, high tech riding gear etc. I embrace change and look forward to how this goes.

Whereas I am a bit of a luddite that prefers air cooling, 2 strokes or pushrods, paper maps, leather riding gear...and I dislike change. I love tradition. I need an intermediate step with noise and gears before I'm ready to move on to electric. But maybe that's just me  

[garry]

I think I would consider one because many of the trails around here are surrounded by housing plans, so being able to trail ride in stealth mode would be nice. No stalling and all that torque for crawling up nasty hills would be interesting. I certainly would love to demo one. If you could get 4 hours out of a set of batteries in high performance mode in a real world situation, that'd be pretty good.

[Oilhed]

I would love an electric dual sport. But lately I'm leaning towards the ones more like a pedal mountain bike and less like a motorcycle. No reg. No. Ins. Stealth use of public trails and urban commuting without all the traffic laws!

[Blue is Best]

I think I would consider one because many of the trails around here are surrounded by housing plans, so being able to trail ride in stealth mode would be nice. No stalling and all that torque for crawling up nasty hills would be interesting. I certainly would love to demo one. If you could get 4 hours out of a set of batteries in high performance mode in a real world situation, that'd be pretty good.

Remember, it's an electric motor! All or nothing! At least with a gas motor you could short shift to remove the hit and modulate the throttle. In the video there is a place early on that you can tell the bike is just spinning and he can't move around another bike. I think riding one of these in nasty conditions would take MORE skill than riding a regular bike.

[garry]

Remember, it's an electric motor! All or nothing! At least with a gas motor you could short shift to remove the hit and modulate the throttle. In the video there is a place early on that you can tell the bike is just spinning and he can't move around another bike. I think riding one of these in nasty conditions would take MORE skill than riding a regular bike.

That thought occurred to me too, but he seemed to be making better progress in the slop than most. Could just be better skills. There's no way to feather the clutch to adjust the power to the rear wheel. All or nothing like you say. Perhaps it's just a different/new skill set that needs to be developed.

[Orson]

A BIKE magazine article reckons an observed trials championship will be the first within reach for an electric bike and trials demands throttle precision.

The article also mentioned an electric bike won a trials competition in France although, I can't remember if it was a national championship round.

So modulation appears not to be a significant issue.

[mica]

Watched an interview with Zero's 'Battery Specialist', he claims they may have a battery good for 1,000 miles on a charge in a few years.

[squeezer]

That's a pretty significant step up. I'd love to see it, though.

[Biking Sailor]

Remember, it's an electric motor! All or nothing! At least with a gas motor you could short shift to remove the hit and modulate the throttle. In the video there is a place early on that you can tell the bike is just spinning and he can't move around another bike. I think riding one of these in nasty conditions would take MORE skill than riding a regular bike.

I've ridden Zero electric motorcycles, and there is no "all or nothing" throttle response.  Actually more like a scooter.  You can take off slowly and modulate the throttle quite well.  Parking lot maneuvers were a piece of cake

[kwb377]

He started on a dry line, the other guys started in the mud.

He also had the advantage of not having to "start" his bike.

[02Tac]

Remember, it's an electric motor! All or nothing! At least with a gas motor you could short shift to remove the hit and modulate the throttle. In the video there is a place early on that you can tell the bike is just spinning and he can't move around another bike. I think riding one of these in nasty conditions would take MORE skill than riding a regular bike.

Modern electric motor controllers ( especially brushless systems ) have a very smooth / seamless power application from nothing to full power. Every bit at, maybe even better, than any fuel engine.