Zoomi Life

Alright, these are our picks for the top 5 electric motorcycles of this year. As with our pick of cars, these are all models available for purchase in the USA by 2010 (well - except for one… see below) and are being gauged by innovation, design, and availability. I’ll dispense with my usual flowery commentary and present to you, now, our 2008 picks for Top 5 Electric Motorcycles! \insert drum roll sound file here\

#1 – Electric Motorsport GPR-S

Our contention for number one was close, with the number 2 Enertia nearly winning out. What put the GPR-S over the top, though, is it’s freeway readiness. The GPR-S is a stylin’ bike that won’t easily be confused as electric at first glance. Until you “fire it up” that is. Being the first street AND freeway-legal electric motorcycle in the USA, the GPR-S definitely gets points for innovation. With an affordable price tag to compete with like-sized and styled gasoline bikes and with a smart, modular component platform, this bike is definitely worthy of our top spot.

#2 – Brammo Motorsports Enertia

As I said, this was a close one. The Enertia missed the number one spot purely because it’s a commuter, not a freeway machine. For style, though, this one is top of the list. The Enertia has to be seen to be understood for it’s awesome looks. It comes with strong innovation and good power too, though it’s price tag is higher than an equivalent gas-powered model by more than double. Sleek, fast, and innovative, this is a great product from Oregon that we hope to see more of.

#3 – Zero Motorcycles Zero-X

Our list features two dirt bikes, which wouldn’t have happened last year. Previously only available to those who live in the country or have access to remote riding areas, motocross had a limited appeal. Until now. With quiet electrics, new motocross tracks could be appearing right off the freeway, in neighborhoods near you. The Zero-X is one of the innovators to make that happen, delivering great style, strong performance, and electric innovation, this one easily made our list. How can you argue with 0-60 in less than 4 seconds?

#4 – KTM Race-Ready

Austrian motocross firm KTM announced their race-ready dirt bike to be released by 2010, powered entirely by electricity. With standard motocross styling, this bike doesn’t win any design awards, but it will deliver definite race-ready performance. With the popular enduro frame of most racing dirt bike, the KTM model delivers great performance and strong appeal to those in the “better than amateur” level of motocross. The KTM name doesn’t hurt either.

#5 – KillaCycle

I admit that this one doesn’t meet any of the requirements we listed for electric motorcycles except that its’ electric. That being said, it’s just too frikkin’ cool to ignore. The world’s fastest motorcycle on the drag strip, the KillaCycle has been consistently setting, then beating, then re-setting and beating again it’s own records. This is the fastest electric vehicle right now, bar none. The coolest part? It costs about 7 cents to run this thing down the quarter mile strip, including the burnout. Definitely worthy of it’s name, we had to put KillaCycle on this list.

There you have it, our top 5 picks for electric motorcycles in 2008. No pedals, no engine noise, just pure, 2-wheeled electric performance!

‘The World’s First Sun-Powered Electric Car’ by International Rectifier of El Segundo, CA on display at the Kick Gas Festival

If you’re an electric vehicle enthusiast, live in San Diego, and had the day off on Sunday, October 12, the place to be was definitely the Kick Gas Festival, held in Lakeside, CA about an hour away from downtown San Diego. The Kick Gas Festival is a place for gas and EV motor-heads to strut their stuff, compete in time trials, and get to know each other. Paul Thomas, organizer of the festival, calls it “Earth Day on steroids for motor-heads.”, and I felt right at home here.

As I arrived I was greeted by the familiar deafening roar of tricked-out dragsters trying to best each other on the track. And as I parked I was treated to a surreal sight - one of the dragsters had broken down at the end of the track, and had to be towed back by the only 100% electric towing truck that I’ve ever seen. Somehow, it was strangely satisfying watching the wounded, gasoline-hungry beast being towed back silently to its owner’s pit for repairs.

My dog attempts to ride the Zuumer electric scooter.		TJ Aguirre from Zero Motorcycles with the Zero-X electric dirt bike.

The electric contingent at this year’s Festival was out in full force.  Several vendors were present showing some innovative new products; Tom Boyd of Zuumcraft was there offering attendees a chance to test ride the Zuumer electric scooter. I am a big fan of the Zuumer - it’s an electric scooter with a special rear suspension that lets you steer the scooter in much the same way as you would a snowboard or a skateboard. So I grabbed my opportunity and spent about 15 minutes zipping around the festival grounds, carving and cutting the pavement on the Zuumer and getting my concrete surfing fix in for the day.

Zero Motorcycles was there, showing their 2009 Zero-X electric dirt bike. I got a chance to meet TJ Aguirre, SoCal Team Leader for Zero Motorcycles. TJ graciously let me ride the Zero-X, and I will be running a feature soon on my experience with this awesome electric dirt bike. All I can say right now it that the bike itself has a ton of power for such a light unit (the Zero-X weighs 140 pounds) - the bike itself will easily propel you to 60 mph, will do from 0-30 in under two seconds, and handles great.

Todd Kollin from Electric Motorsports with his GPR-S electric sportbike.		Another shot of the GPR-S electric sportbike.

I also got a chance to meet Todd Kollin from Electric Motorsport, Inc., of Oakland, CA. Electric Motorsport offers the first 100% street and freeway legal electric sportbike - the electric GPR-S. This all-electric sportbike has a top speed of 70 mph and a range of 30-60 miles per charge, with an average recharge time of four hours. Electric Motorsport is currently accepting orders for the first 100 production units of the GPR-S, which retails for $8,000. Head over to the Electric Motorsport website for more details.

Adam Maoz, president of Zero Emission Motors with his Volt electric scooter		Zero Emission Motors’ Retro electric scooter.

Adam Maoz, president of Zero Emission Motors of Marina Del Rey, CA was also there showing his electric scooter product line. Zero Emission Motors offers five electric scooter models available today, from the 350 watt Metro to the 1500 watt Volt electric scooter. Prices for the Zero Emissions Motors electric scooters range from $895 for the Metro to $1,495 for the Volt. Check out the Zero Emissions Motors website for more information.

Colby Trudeau and Lisa Wires from Plug In America promote PHEV’s at the festival.		Robert Lange of Kelseyville CA with his ‘Amp Hog’ electric motorcycle.

Colby Trudeau and Lisa Wires from PluginAmerica.org had a large booth at the event. Plug In America advocates the use of plug-in vehicles powered by electricity to reduce our nation’s dependence on petroleum and improve the global environment. For those of you interested in converting your Prius to a PHEV, check out their website for great resources.

Abran Quevedo, EV conversion expert, with his electric Volkswagen Bug.		Another festival attendee with a home-built electric motorcycle.

The electric DYI contingent at the Kick Gas festival was strong - I saw at least 6 or 7 different home-built motorcycles, and several cars converted over to electric. Robert Lange of Kelseyville, CA and the Konocti EAA raced and displayed his ‘AMP Hog’ electric motorcycle, which scored him a time of 10.26 seconds in the 1/4 mile - that’s a top speed of about 59 miles per hour.

If you’re ever in San Diego in October and are interested in cars, motorcycles, and other toys with wheels - electric or not - I definitely recommend looking up the Kick Gas festival. Chances are, you’ll meet some interesting people and get to see some fascinating vehicles you might not see anywhere else.

More Festival Pictures:

Ego Electric Scooter on display.		Ultra Motor’s A2B electric bicycle.

Trunk battery of a PHEV-converted Prius at the festival.		Electric dirt dike from Extreme Green Machines of San Francisco, CA.

Check out the Zero-X off-road electric motorcycle, made by Zero Motorcycles, Inc. of Santa Cruz, California. The Zero-X is a 100% electric off-road motorcycle powered by a 17kW motor capable of 23 peak horsepower. That’s about equivalent to a 250cc gas motorcycle, and it’s not bad at all for an electric vehicle that weighs a meager 140 pounds. The light weight of the motorcycle itself is due to an innovative mix of motorcycle and modified bicycle parts and to an aircraft aluminum frame that weighs 18 pounds.

The Zero-X battery pack weighs 40 pounds - almost a third of it’s total weight.		Zero-X controls include a front a rear brake and a twist throttle.

The Zero-X is quick - it can accelerate from 0-30 mph in under 2 seconds, with a top speed of about 60 mph. The ZERO X Speed controller features the ability to customize both the speed and acceleration of the motorcycle. With a flip of the switch you can limit the top speed to a “motorized bicycle” legal 30mph. Another switch sets the acceleration from the beginner-friendly “easy” mode to an unrestricted “sport” mode that gives you full power and full acceleration. With the electric motor giving you full torque at 0 rpm, popping wheelies is not a problem. And, since it’s totally quiet, you can ride this dirt bike in places you would not normally be able to due to noise restrictions.

Here’s the rear hydraulic disc brake assembly.		The drive chain uses an unusual 3/8-inch pitch.

The motor of the Zero-X is powered by a lithium-ion array capable of giving you between 1.5 to 2 hours of riding per charge. The batteries can be recharged in about 2 hours by using a provided fast battery charger that plugs into a standard wall outlet. The batteries weigh about 40 pounds, and their lifetime is expected to be between five and six years with average use. Although the batteries are expensive to replace - $2,950 - they only cost about $0.25 per recharge.

The Zero-X electric motorcycle retails for about $7,500 plus $300 shipping and provides an interesting electric option for those looking for a green alternative off-road vehicle. Take a look at this excellent Zero-X Motorcycle First Look, or visit ZeroMotorcycles.com.

Check out these short videos of the Zero-X electric motorcycle in action.