For some, there’s nothing more exciting than a sleek modern sportbike. We head out to Idyllwild with Isle of Man TT and 250GP racer Jamie Robinson on some of SoCal’s twistiest mountain roads to put a Yamaha R6 and an Aprilia Tuono V4R through their paces.
Last wednesday, I participated in a discussion in the comments section of HFLʼs last installment of the Life Electric series, something that lead to a very spirited exchange between myself, designer JT Nesbitt and a bunch of regular readers. The crux of the article concluded that electric motorcycles, while interesting and fun, have not arrived to a point of development which makes them practical for most users. I blithely commented my total agreement, but added words to the effect that this was symptomatic of any disruptive technology, and that electrification was the inevitable future of personal transportation. Some passionate reader publicly asked JT for a retort, which kicked the whole thing off. :continue:
With 9kWh in its battery pack, nearly twice the capacity of the Toyota Prius, the 2012 Zero DS is the fastest, longest-range electric motorcycle to ever enter production. 84mph top speed, 112-mile range. Is that enough to make it practical, useful transportation? More importantly, can a bike that slow be fun to ride? :continue:
My time with the 2012 Zero DS is up. The nice man from Zero came and picked it up this morning. For three whole weeks, the fastest, longest-range electric motorcycle ever was my only transportation. I didn’t drive any cars, I didn’t ride my bicycle, I didn’t hop on any other bikes. I might have walked a little bit once or twice. Why? I wanted to know if it was possible. Early adopters and techno geeks and and greenie weenies aside, can a normal person with normal transportation needs really make the switch to zero emissions? Well…the answer is not what what I was expecting.
Photos: Sean Smith
Four wheels like a car, but handlebars and a saddle like a motorcycle. With quad bikes, it’s almost like someone took the most awesome part of driving — drifting — and combined it with the most exciting thing about riding dirt bikes — jumping — to create a vehicle with a single purpose: hooning. We take off into the Hungry Valley OHV park of the Los Padres National Forest onboard Suzuki Z400s and a King Quad to try and get as dirty as possible.
At just $3,195, both the Cleveland CycleWerks Misfit cafe racer and Heist bobber massively undercut almost every other new motorcycle available. At just 250cc, they’re also smaller than most bikes. Bargain or bogus? We take CCW CEO Scott Colosimo riding in the California desert to find out. :continue:
After weeks of rumor, Bloomberg and Reuters are both independently reporting that VW has agreed to purchase Ducati for something in the neighborhood of $1.12 billion. But why does a gigantic auto conglomerate want a tiny bike manufacturer? What will VW do with Ducati? And, what does the deal mean for that most evocative of bike brands? Let’s examine the background, business and speak to experts that may be able to share some insight.
Photo: Grant Ray :continue:
While the idea of heading off into the wilderness on a bike armed with nothing more than a knife, blanket roll and a can of beans may seem awfully romantic, the truth is that’s a good recipe for getting stranded or never coming back. Best case scenario? You’ll simply be miserable. Instead, building a comprehensive adventure touring kit can make things easy, comfortable and safe. There’s no way we can cover every single bit in one article, but let’s use my expedition into the Sierra Nevada on board a KTM 990 Adventure as an example. These are the basic pieces needed to get you off the road and back again. :continue:
Why aren’t there any good motorcycle shows? You know, one that isn’t just about the size of some lunatic host’s fearless balls or the flatness of his hat’s bill. Or how about a show that’s watchable, entertaining, accessible and does a good job of selling what you and I think is so special back to the mainstream? Neither Wes or I have ever made a show before, but figured we’d give it a shot in conjunction with DRIVE. So here you go, the very first episode of our new show, RideApart.
We’ve been writing about electric bikes since HFL’s launch, four years ago, in the process covering their rise from flights of fancy to futuristic concepts to expensive novelties to gas-beating race bikes and, lately, the creation of realistic consumer products. But while we’ve spent plenty of time on machines like the Brammo Enertia, MotoCzysz E1pc and even the full Zero range, we’ve never had enough time on any of the above to see if they could honestly fit into our lives on two wheels. So, over the next two weeks, I’ll be totally ditching internal combustion in favor of this 2012 Zero DS. Officially rated at an 80mph top speed and 112-mile range, it’s surely the most legitimate electric yet realized. :continue:
