An electric motorcycle that is good for everyday life should be able to reach highway speeds, be comfortable to ride in urban areas, affordable and preferably good looking. Thus, the Zero SR/S and the Zero SR/F are both good examples of an electric motorcycle that is best at everyday life.
Overview
In this article, we discuss what makes an electric motorcycle good for everyday life and which ones would be best at it. We’ll have a list of all the motorcycles that fit this category and then discuss why the Zero SR/S is chosen as the best in this category.
We’ll discuss the following:
- What makes a good everyday electric motorcycle?
- Which motorcycles are good for everyday life?
- Why is the Zero SR/S the best for everyday life?
What makes a good everyday electric motorcycle?
A good everyday electric motorcycle is one that is efficient, easy to maintain, affordable, comfortable for commuting and for good for some extended trips on the road.
Efficiency
Efficient could mean many things but I would like to think that here it means that it successfully does it it is meant to do without too many hassles. If you need to get to work every day and back, it should do that without a problem.
Let’s say, you forget to plug it in when you get home after work, it would be great to still have enough power in it to get to work where you can charge it again. I think this would also count towards being efficient at what it does.
What most people would generally think about is the miles per kilowatt-hour that it obtains. It’s not unusual for you to think this way but it heavily depends on your riding style.
Besides, you’re not going to notice the difference in your wallet that much if you charge at home or work.
Maintenance
Generally speaking, electric motorcycles don’t have that much maintenance but you could look at things like the final drive. A belt drive would be much less maintenance than a chain drive.
You should also consider looking at how easy it would be to clean the bike. You just go to a shop and have a look at the bike you are considering to buy. If there are a lot of tight places on the bike, especialy near the front and rear wheels, you might have some trouble cleaning it.
But either way, you will need to clean your bike whether it is easy or not.
Affordability
This might differ from person to person as not everyone can afford the same price category of motorcycles. And unfortunately, electric motorcycles are a bit more expensive to purchase than gas motorcycles. But you get the benefit of not paying for gas.
You will need to decide what you are willing to pay for a motorcycle and maybe go through some of my other posts in the different price categories of electric motorcycles.
I think this would most helpful to you since it includes all the electric motorcycles currently available.
Commuting
A bike that is good for commuting almost always has a more upright seating position with the footpegs down low. It should be easy to get on and off the bike as well. But most importantly, you should feel comfortable riding it for short distances in urban areas or on the highway.
You should keep in mind that if traffic is slow, you should be able to properly control the bike at walking pace and put your feet down on the road without a problem. You should feel comfortable doing this.
Extended trips
Everyday life means for every day and all occasions. It would be somewhat wasteful to have two bikes for different purposes when you don’t have enough cash to do proper maintenance on them. It would be good to have one bike that do it all.
Not all urban electric bikes can reach highway speeds and they might not all be comfortable riding through the canyons or mountain passes.
It would be great to have a bike that you can use to get to work but also for having some fun on the weekends. You should consider the range that it can reach with its battery and also how comfortable it it to ride for more than just an hour at a time.
Which motorcycles are good for everyday life?
Below are lists that I put together containing two bikes in each price category that I think fits the profile:
From $5,000 up to $10,000
From $10,000 up to $15,000
From $15,000 up to $20,000
You can have a look at all the others that are available in this post: Electric motorcycles by manufacturer – 2020 Catalog
Why is the Zero SR/S the best for everyday life?
The Zero SR/S has a great combination of all the qualities that you need in an everyday motorcycle. It’s efficient, easy to maintain, affordable, comfortable for commuting, good for some extended trips on the road and very good looking on top of that.
We’ll briefly go over the Zero SR/S Standard to give you an idea of what you are buying:
Zero SR/S specs
| Top speed | 124 mph / 200 kph |
| 0-60 mph | N/A |
| Range | 200 mi / 322 km* |
| Wet weight | 498 lbs / 226 kg |
| Power | 110 hp / 85 kW |
| Torque | 140 ft-lb / 190 Nm |
| Price | $19,995 |
*with power tank
Final words
Overall, I’m really impressed by the Zero SR/S and think it’s perfect for those that want to commute to work during the week and still have some fun trips over the weekends.
Featured image by @zeromotorcycles and @razkrog (photographer) on Instagram.
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