Zero Motorcycles, the California company that produces the electric Zero X motocrosser, will bring out a more powerful and heavier street bike in about a month.
Company boss Neal Saiki said on Fox News on Friday that the Zero S electric street bike will weigh about 200 lb (91 kg) and will run on a battery of three kiloWatt-hours capacity, which is 50 per cent more than in the Zero X dirt bike.
The S model also weighs about 50 lb (23 kg) more than the dirt bike.
Saiki told Fox that early versions of the street bike were so powerful "that people were just wheelying and flipping them over backwards," but the company has toned down the output to a manageable level. Still, he says, the bike is "incredibly fast."
Top speed will be 70 mph (113 km/h), and the retail price will be $9,950 U.S. There are no retail locations in Canada yet.
Zero’s dirt bike will be featured in the Zero Motorcycles’ 24 Hours of Electricross, which the company says is the first-ever all-electric 24-hour endurance race. That takes place April 4 in San Jose, and "anyone with a fully electric motorcycle, quad, or ATV" is invited to take part. There is no entry fee.
See www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-s.php for more about the Zero S and www.zeromotorcycles.com/electricross for details about the 24-hour race.