http://www.wired.com/reviews/2013/04/zero-ds/Guy who wrote this review is pretty clearly a San Francisco weenie.
He kept moaning in ecstasy over the deliberate handicaps that an electric vehicle imposes upon its rider. The deliberateness of route-planning, the asceticism it compels in the transportee.
That being said, I think a bike like this would be great for daily commuting to work and back, or errands around town limited to a 75 mile range. At $14,000 starting price however, I ain't biting. Maybe at a third of that. This thing is a toy on par with a 400cc DRZ, IMO.
However:
1. The notion of a dual-sport/enduro electric bike (author makes assertion that it has dual-sport suspension, and the tires are excessively treaded for an urban bike) makes me ROFLMAO. Where you gonna get the juice to charge your dual-sport when you ride it 50 miles out into the country and the additional torque you suck up with all the hills you climbed turned your conventional 75-90 mile range to a 55-60 mile range? Why even tease the rider with a dual-sport config with such a wretched limitation? Put street tires on it, decrease rolling resistance from the dual sport tires, and add another 5 miles to its urban range. It ain't a dual sport. Dual sports are intended to run fire roads and cross entire counties (of man-sized western States, not those little things back east
) before needing refueling. Then camp out for the night and continue the next day.
2. Look at that rear belt sprocket. It's freakin' huge. Starting torque is pretty obviously a big drag on the battery, hence the reason for the giant rear sprocket and what appears to be a damned small front sprocket. Top speed in "sport" mode is about 90mph, and in "eco" mode is about 70mph. That appears to be due to the granny-gearing of the final drive.
3. Luggage capacity will further reduce its disappointing range.
4. Angry wasp. Do not like.
Author got himself semi-stranded on the freeway with a low charge, doing 45mph and waving traffic to pass him. Being on a tiny 400lb vehicle and at a 30mph differential with all the traffic around you (and impotent to fix that) is awfully dangerous.
I was initially interested in one of these when I first heard about them. After seeing this review though, I've lost all interest. Unless the range can be increased another 30 miles and the charge time reduced from 7+ hours on a empty-to-full recharge, to an hour or two. And the price brought into parity with bikes of equal power and range.
