• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Zero DSRX; after a lifetime of BMW boxers

echo7tango

echo7tango

Road Warrior
Joined
Jul 19, 2005
Location
SFBA CA USA
Moto(s)
None right now. Sold, June 2021.
Name
Roy
After my starter bike, a parallel twin 1983 Yamaha XS650SK Heritage Special (50,000 miles on her), I’ve been on BMW boxes for the last 30 years. First a 1983 R80RT in 1990 that I bought in Oklahoma and rode back home to San Francisco. Over the last 30 years I owned that R80RT (60,000 miles on her), then an R1100GS (30,000 miles on her), and then an R1200RT (40,000 miles on her; hi there @mjj I hope she continues to treat you well; for me she was a great bike!).

Until yesterday when I bought my first electric motorcycle, a 2023 Zero DSRX (or technically I guess it’s DSR/X; whatever).

Its performance is decent. 0-60 in 3.8sec. I love the gobs of torque and its instant acceleration, and quiet! Its acceleration is seductive.

I looked at it on Wednesday and Thursday, took it for a test ride on Friday and then immediately bought it. Today, Saturday, I took it out for some highway miles and it has a decent range.

Claimed range is 180 miles city, 107 miles highway @55 mph, and 85mi highway @70 mph
As per Revzilla ➜ https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/one-tank-of-gas-through-the-2023-zero-dsrx ■

I haven’t fully tested those yet but my initial test results seem consistent with those ranges.

And now I’ve got me a big ol’ shit-eating grin back on my face now that I’m back in the saddle again!!
 
Nice you'll never get what they advertise =P I would imagine a DSR/X should be able to get close to 100 miles mixed.
 
HadesOmega said:
Nice you'll never get what they advertise =P I would imagine a DSR/X should be able to get close to 100 miles mixed.
Click to expand...
Mixed riding will give you better than 100 miles of range.

Expect 7 miles per KWH as an average, with most riding on the freeway at 65 MPH.. 17 KWH times 7 miles=119 miles.

Expect 100 miles if charged to 100% SOC. But you can charge the DSR/X to 110% SOC and get another ten miles. It probably has some range left at 0% SOC, usually a bit more than 10%. That is the "reserve tank". So perhaps around the 119 miles per above.

Stay off the freeway and get 200 miles.

Use the SOC% for the range. Keep the BS range meter off the screen. One thing I really like about my DSR/X is that I do not have to look at the BS range. In the hills it can say 350 miles when going downhill for a long ways and ten miles later going uphill show as 15 miles of range left. Why look at such BS as that?

You will usually get an average of one mile per SOC% if you stay at freeway speed limits. That is 110 miles with the so-called "extended range charging". Go half that speed and get double the range. Keep the "Wh/Mi" on the screen to see if you're getting decent range for the speed.

It is not possible to be accurate with range with EVs. Too many variables. But we can state the average to expect. Sometimes will be better, sometimes will be worse. Even temperature effects range. But you want a cooler temp for charging and a warmer temp for riding to get the best results. Cannot win on that.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
I can usually tell how far my electric motorcycles go. The only EV range I can trust is when you ride it yourself. Manufacturers almost always overestimate their range figures.
 
HadesOmega said:
Manufacturers almost always overestimate their range figures.
Click to expand...
I find it best to not look at range specs, just the useable KWH of the battery. Same for charging speeds. I don't care about the time they claim, just give me the KW spec of the charger.

Nevertheless, I cannot say I notice a big difference between their range claims and my actual range. But it is difficult to get an actual range because it will be more than the bike says because you still have range below 0 % SOC. How much can vary. And to see that range you must ride the bike until the bike dies, which is not often done.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
Last edited:
Congratulations. I just sent you a text.
 
echo7tango said:
hi there @mjj I hope she continues to treat you well; for me she was a great bike!).
Click to expand...
She IS a great bike although the wizzy pump went out which was a saga best left for another time, but I replaced it and immediately took her to Laguna for testing ;) That boosted brake system will get rid of a lot of speed in a hurry.
 
I considered a DSRX, but got an Experia because of the DC Fast Charging.

I may try and get a used DSRX someday because the Experia is racking up miles quickly, and I might want to try and keep it (or replace it with another DCFC bike to use...) exclusively for road trips and have the Zero for commuting and local rides.

The lynch pin for me would be after Scott Harkless comes out with the Dual J charging kit for it like he has for the SR/S and SR/F. I don't have the patience of @DonTom so having a bike that can charge at 12KW but only finding chargers that can dish out 6kw would be a bummer. The eMotoDesign kit allows two J1772 chargers to be plugged in at the same time to get 12KW.

Scott is a very accessible guy. Last time we messaged he had it all designed and electronics sorted but with 3D printed bracketry. I think he's just looking for a source to produce the metal brackets and he'll have them available.

Anyway, that's a sweet bike. Consider joining the Bay Area Electric Motorcycle Club Facebook group. We get together monthly for a ride near Alice's in Woodside.

Hope to see you on the road
:ride
 
motoproponent said:
I considered a DSRX, but got an Experia because of the DC Fast Charging.
Click to expand...
I got both because I do not have the patience to charge at 3KW, but I do for 6 KW. There are countless places that only have AC chare stations.

I do not go for the 12KW for two reasons. Too many AC charge stations cannot go above 6.6 KW and I do not want to give up the extra storage space for the extra charger in the Zero DSR/X. It carries a lot more junk than the Experia. I often need to bring things between my houses (Reno, NV and Auburn, CA)

-Don- Auburn, CA
 
Thanks, all. I’ve got a lot to learn about this new reality. But I’m having fun!

I’m already thinking of a smaller e-motorcycle that I can put on a back rack on my car, to extend my overland exploring.

@motoproponent, thanks, I just joined Bay Area EMC.
 
motoproponent said:
One of the members writes for Dirt Bike Test. He has a CanAm Origin press bike and is leading a light duty dual sport ride this weekend. Probably right in the sweet spot of the DSR/X mission statement. :thumbup
Click to expand...
Yes it is but I’ve got street tires on my DSRX. Rectification needed!
 
I continue to enjoy the new DSRX. Yesterday I rode over the Santa Cruz Mountains over to Scotts Valley. Thought I’d stop by the Zero HQ offices, just to have a destination to ride to. It was maybe 4-5 years ago they had demo rides there and that’s when I first rode the DSRX and was happily impressed with its torque and power, and its RIGHT NOW acceleration (like Secretariat in his Preakness Stakes run when he went from last to first at the first turn; yeah I’m old enough to remember that; any Secretariat fans here?).

The hat I’m wearing in the picture was a Zero giveaway from that test ride.IMG_8148.jpeg

Nobody was at the office yesterday. Maybe they had an all-hands company offsite. Oh well that’s fine. I got a nice cup of coffee and did some reading before heading back.

I was traveling at 55 MPH, to see how its range is. I’m still testing that. But yesterday’s ride reminded me of my first long ride, San Francisco to Fort Sill OK in the summer of 1990 when I went to a 4 month artillery school there. That’s when Desert Shield broke out, followed soon by Desert Storm.

My bike then was my very first one, a humble 1983 Yamaha XS650SK Heritage Special with over 45,000 miles on it that I’d put on it in 5 years of daily commuting, San Francisco to Dublin.

That ride to Oklahoma was long, and with only a 3.1 gallon tank and the wide open spaces on I-40 I had to stop about every 100 miles for gas. 1,600 miles, 100 miles at a time. I was young(er) and ignorant(er) back then.

But that 650 Special couldn’t go much faster than 65-70, so that’s what it felt like yesterday, that ride to Oklahoma. Good memories remembering good times.

Riding a little slower right now is good for me since I haven’t been riding regularly, nay, at all, for a few years.

I continue to have fun on that DSRX.

•

IMG_8148.jpeg
 
:wave Secretariat fan here! I’ll never forget that race! I’ve have a plastic Clymer replica of him since girlhood.

Congrats on the Zero!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top