ZERO Motorcycles FXE Electric Supermoto.

The Zero FXE is an electric Supermoto-style machine which is tremendously fun to ride with great looks. I had the pleasure of meeting with the owner of MotoEbikes, Lee Robinson, to take a pair of FXE bikes around the stunning Surrey Hills.

Jumping on the FXE and pulling away from the MotoEbikes dealership in Guildford, I immediately noticed the power of the machine, which is instant. Turn the throttle, and boy, you get a rush of adrenaline. No gears and direct power from the electric motor to the rear wheel give you a thrilling experience.

The FXE range is 160 Km and can charge from empty in 1.3 hours if you have the rapid charger, which sells for nearly £700. The Zero FXE comes with the Z-Force 7.2kWh battery backed by a five-year, unlimited mileage warranty. The FXE has a Long Term Storage Mode to optimise the battery's state of charge and improve the battery's long-term useability.

You get a lot of technology on the FXE with a Full-colour and bonded 5" TFT dash. The dash clearly displays the specs you need showing speed, state of charge, power output, selected riding profile, and projected recharge time. Sync with your smartphone to turn it into a secondary dash you can customise or view detailed ride stats.

As I mentioned, the Zero FXE performance is excellent, and you can get up to 85mph in the interest of battery life, but with 46 bhp and 78lbft of torque, there's great fun on tap. If you ride at motorway speeds, the battery is drained quickly, losing range and riding time. The FXE is not designed for motorways; it is far more at home blasting along the B road twisties. It is also fantastic in urban environments where its acceleration and excellent handling allow you to throw it around corners and filter traffic easily.

The Zero FXE is probably the quickest machine you can ride on an A2 licence, so it has to be treated with respect, and new owners must learn the nuances of riding it. You need good brakes with performance like the FXE, and the bikes are from J Juan, a Barcelona manufacturer. The front is a twin-piston floating caliper with a 320mm disc mounted directly to the front wheel. The rear is a single-piston floating caliper on a 240mm disc. They work well; you also get a Bosch ABS refining the experience.

The FXE's Z-Force 75-5 motor brushless motor rated at 34 kW only within the A2 limit, equivalent to about 46 horsepower. Zero reckon you can constantly ride at 75 mph without any heat drop-off.

The FXE's throttle response is controlled by the Cypher II operating system, which meters out up to 550 amps of power. The output allows you to accelerate while leaning over and maintain grip on the rear wheel. The FXE has pre-set Eco and Sport ride modes, and you can use Custom mode via the Zero smartphone app. Using your phone, you can choose your Regeneration settings for engine braking.

The Zero FXE final assembly is in California, but Zero does source parts globally. For example, the frame comes from Taiwan, but you get a bike with a premium look and feel. You get great features with

rugged footpegs, and an adjustable brake lever.

The FXE has competition from petrol Supermotos such as the

Sinnis SMR, https://www.sinnismotorcycles.com/sinnis-smr/

Zontes ZT125. https://zontes.co.uk/zt125-u1/#exhibition

Aprilia SX 125 https://www.aprilia.com/gb_EN/models/sx-125/

The Zero Motorcycles FXE is a cracking machine offering so much fun in any situation, whether commuting, heading to sports training or blasting around country roads. It is a lot of money compared to other electric bikes and even petrol equivalents, but it is well built, performs and handles superbly and makes you want to keep jumping on it.

£ 13,685.00

https://zeromotorcycles.com/en-gb/model/zero-fxe

Thanks to Lee at MotoEbikes Guildford.

https://motoebikes.com/