![]() The American manufacturer already offers buyers a comprehensive range of electrified two-wheelers, including everything from beginner bikes and dual sport off-roaders to performance-focused street bikes. That leaves Zero in an enviable position. With urban clean-air zone restrictions becoming increasingly widespread and the UK government recently announcing that all new motorcycles will have to be zero-emission compliant by 2035, all the big names in motorcycling (BMW, Ducati, Honda, Triumph and so on) are scrambling to develop battery-powered bikes. ![]() Consider this: both were founded in the mid-2000s, both are based in sunny California and both consider themselves to be the market-leaders in their respective fields.Īnd while electric motorcycles haven’t quite taken off in the same way electric cars have (only 4000 Zero bikes were sold globally in 2020), we suspect the market for two-wheeled EVs is going to grow – rapidly. You might not think that drawing a comparison between electric motorcycle manufacturer Zero Motorcycles and EV powerhouse Tesla is a particularly inventive way to kick off a review, but bear with us, because the two have a lot in common. The Harley-Davidson Livewire, for example, is a whopping £7405 more expensive than the range-topping SR/S. That’s an awful lot of money compared with regular sport touring motorcycles, such as the Ducati Supersport 950 and Honda VFR800F, but in the world of electric motorcycles, it’s competitively priced. The Zero Motorcycles SR/S costs £19,590 for the Standard model and £21,590 for the Premium model. The idea of ‘machine control surfaces’ became winglets, canards, and downforce structures that I integrated into the lines and shapes of the XP.Move Electric rating: four stars out of five I wanted to somehow embody that character in the design and looked at aerospace, MotoGP, and WTAC and other aerodynamic concepts for inspiration. The sensation is quite overpowering when you first experience it and feels like piloting a ground-based jet. The XP can accelerate from 0-60mph in 1.6 seconds seamlessly, with no gear changes or pause in acceleration. The knee panels, and additional body-supporting surfaces like footpegs, seat, handlebars, I began to think of as ‘human control surfaces.’ I also started considering what ‘machine control surfaces’ might be. A key insight was that the rider needs something to grip with their knees for control while braking, accelerating, and cornering. To give me something to sink my teeth into, I started identifying certain ‘first principle’ motorcycle features. It feels like you stare into the void, and the void stares back at you. ![]() You’d think no restrictions would be a dream for a designer, but it’s probably one of the things they fear most. If I’m being completely honest, I had a bit of a crisis moment where I thought “there isn’t anything to do here.” I knew I didn’t want to just mimic the language of a gasoline bike with a ‘tank’ that had no real reason behind it. The gasoline bike’s components that I’d normally use as a canvas for redesign just weren’t there. You have the motor, the battery box, and, aside from the frame and wheels, not much else. ![]() With the XP project, however, as I started stripping everything off, I quickly realized there are only a few components that an electric motorcycle needs to have to work. This method works well with a fuel-powered bike because necessary functional components - gas tank, exhaust, air intake system, and so on - are all opportunities for reduction and redesign. The tank taper extended backwards to define the seat shape and forwards to form the vertical headlight - a pretty natural evolution. For a build like the Hyper Scrambler, the iconic Ducati frame suggested the shape of the tapered fuel tank. I try not to be too dogmatic about what a build should be, instead I allow the shapes and intersections to dictate the form. ![]() Hugo Eccles: I usually start a project with a full tear-down to the rolling chassis, and build it back up from there. ![]()
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