For this week’s EV Rider, I rode from Jacksonville to Edgewater, FL to check out Rick Flashman and Sabrina Batchelor’s pair of new Energica Experias. They have the first two of the EV touring motorcycles in Florida and already have thousands of miles of experience after picking them up in California and riding back home.
My first charging stop of the day was in St. Augustine, which is the nation’s oldest city, where I did my first on-the-road charge since getting Zero’s 10% charging speed firmware upgrade for my 2020 SR/F with 14.4 kWh battery. It performed as expected, delivering between 6.4 and 6.6 kW, settling in for the most part at 6.5 kW. My previous peak was 5.9 kW.
Post your Experia questions or comments here.
Next, I pulled into Daytona Beach where I charged for about a half-hour on a brand-new Volta charger, one of about a half-dozen recently installed at Tanger Outlets. A cool sidenote: The outdoor shopping mall is installing solar canopies so some of the charging will be powered by sunshine.
From there, it was about a half-hour hop to Rick and Sabrina’s house in Edgewater where the first two Energica Experias in Florida were waiting for me.
Watch the video in this post for a full interview with Rick and his experiences with the electric motorcycles from Italy.
Sabrina let me hop on her Experia to head out with Rick on a ride through some quiet back inland Volusia County roads. I’ve got to say, Energica has come a long way in a short period of time.
The last Energica I rode was an Eva, back in 2019, before the Eva Ribelle with the larger 21.5 kWh battery and lighter design was available.
Energica’s last generation Eva was loud, top heavy and did not inspire the level of confidence in corners, as compared to the nimbleness of my Zero Motorcycles SR/F. In fairness to the last generation Eva, the one I rode had a hard life and had been dropped by the time I rode it. At the time, it was the only Energica available at a dealer in the entire state.
When I took the prior generation Eva out, it constantly felt like it wanted to tip over in low speed turns.
But the Experia is dialed in just right. It’s super plush and the balance felt superb. Refined pretty much sums it up, including the sound.
All Energicas are louder than Zeros but that’s by design and the sounds coming from the Experia are oh-so-sweet. The old Eva felt like it was trying too hard.
The Experia is an entirely new bike from a company that has gained a ton of experience through its MotoE racing program and the other consumer models that preceded it; the Ego, Eva Ribelle and EsseEsse9. Energica has now passed the MotoE baton to Ducati.
The Experia features what Energica calls its new PMASynRM (Permanent Magnet Assisted Synchronous Reluctance Motor), which is lighter and in a lower position than other Energica models. Energica says the motor’s peak power is 75 kW (101 hp) at 7,500 rpm with 85 lb-ft of torque. Rider Magazine quoted a reported top speed at 112 mph and cited sourcing that the Experia accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds.
While that’s slower than the 3.1 seconds NewZeroland recorded on a Zero Motorcycles SR/F, the Experia has a different mission, which is maximizing range and comfort. So a wee bit of off-the-line end acceleration is sacrificed.
The Experia’s Brembo brakes are excellent and the suspension easily soaked up Florida’s potholes and railroad tracks, making them barely noticeable.
The Bosch cornering ABS provided plenty of confidence as I leaned into turns.
As Rick explains in the video interview, the real stars here are the 22.5 kWh battery and DC CCS fast charging. Combined, they make for the most range and time efficient EV touring motorcycle currently available.
The Experia’s two closest competitors are the Zero SR/S, which can be outfitted as a sports tourer, and the DSR/X, which is an all-out adventure bike, also available with touring luggage.
In terms of size and styling, the DSR/X is closest to an Experia, although I’d argue that the SR/S is the better comparison since its mission is more geared toward touring with a bit more highway range than the DSR/X.
The Experia comfortably splits it down the middle. It’s not advertised as an off-road adventure bike but it’s just a matter of time before someone swaps tires – and maybe even wheels and/or suspension – to take it off road.
If you want to do relatively time-efficient, comfortable long-distance EV motorcycle touring, the Experia is the new gold standard. Rick is getting 120 miles or so per charge at interstate highway speeds.
Other EV motorcyclists, including me, are doing long distances on our Zeros and LiveWires and some are doing cross-country rides, but due to their smaller batteries and slower charging, the time travel difference is staggering. The rest of Energica’s line comes with 21.5 kWh batteries and also include DC fast charging.
Zeros with the optional Rapid Charger have a peak charging rate that’s half the Experia’s and since Zero doesn’t currently support CCS, riders are automatically excluded from being able to use thousands of additional charging locations that Experias have access to.
The Zero’s battery is also significantly smaller at 17.3 kWh vs. the Experia’s 22.5 kWh. You can add a second, smaller 3.6 kWh Power Tank battery to a Zero to get closer to the Experia’s range but then you’ll have to limit yourself to a charging set up that maxes out at 6.6 kW as opposed to the 26 kW peak that Rick has seen. Officially, Energica rates the Experia’s peak charging speed at 24 kW. Zero says the SR/S with Power Tank has a highway range of 113 miles.
If you add Zero’s optional Rapid Charger you’re looking at a price of $26,995 before adding luggage at the time of this video’s posting. The Experia without luggage bases at $23,750. In the case of the Zero, the Rapid Charger is a dealer installed accessory, so the price Zero is quoting doesn’t include labor.
Getting back to the Experia’s hard side panniers and top case, they have a total capacity of 112 liters.
Zero does come with a stronger five-year battery warranty as opposed to three-years on the Energica, although Experia buyers can purchase an optional five-year warranty.
Some of you might be asking, wait a minute, what about Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire One EV? Since the LiveWire One doesn’t offer factory hard luggage or a touring windscreen it’s not really competing in the same space, especially given its smaller 15.5 kW battery.
Energica has done a wonderful job getting the weight down. It checks in at 573 pounds. While that’s a bit heavier than the Zeros, it’s worth it for the extra range and charging speed. And, by touring standards, that weight is not bad.
Rick discusses the Experia’s real world charging times in the video at the top of this post.
By way of comparison my Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT, which is what I use for longer trips, tips the scales at over 650 pounds but it doesn’t have nearly the performance or handling chops of the Experia or the Zeros.
A better comparison might be Yamaha’s FJR 1300 that weighs in at 537 pounds. The best comparison of all might be another Italian bike, Ducati’s Multstrada V4 Rally, which starts with a 73-pound weight advantage over the Experia.
In terms of criticism, where the Experia falls short is Level 2 charging. It’s handicapped at 3.3 kW per hour, which is half the speed of energy that my SR/F can suck down at J-1772 stations and Tesla destination chargers.
It’s also designed with taller riders in mind. I’m 5’ 8’’ and found myself on my tippy toes at intersections on the Experia. If I were seriously considering an Experia I’d be looking for a way to lower the suspension at bit. What I wouldn’t touch is the seat. In over an hour of riding it felt very comfortable just the way it was.
The Experia’s front is equipped with a ZF Sachs suspension with 150mm travel and adjustable preload, extension, and compression. Rear suspension is also provided by ZF Sachs with 55mm travel and 150mm of wheel travel.
The Experia’s balance is great, and the weight has been shifted lower compared to the old Eva.
Riders shorter than 5.’ 10″ may find it too tall in stock form to consider. Besides the Level 2 and height nits, there’s just no debate, the Experia is currently in a class by itself for EV long-distance motorcycle road tripping.
Experia has most of the electronic assists we’ve come to expect on premium bikes; including cruise control, six levels of traction control, four riding modes: Sport, Urban, Eco, Wet and three customizable modes: C1, C2, C3. There are two USB ports on the dash and two in a waterproof storage compartment. It also includes the MY Energica App for Android and iPhone.
It does not support Apple Car Play or Android Auto, nor does the Experia include any sort of native navigation, so a smartphone or portable GPS will be needed when venturing into unknown areas. EV competitors LiveWire and Zero do include dashboard navigation. I haven’t used the LiveWire’s setup, but the Zero’s built-in app-to-dashboard navigation is currently very barebones and I have seen it disconnect from time-to-time.
In terms of drive units, the Experia uses a chain while the Zeros and LiveWire One use belts.
As I rode back home, I couldn’t help but think of the biggest difference between my SR/F and the Experia. I spent roughly an hour-and-15 minutes charging during two stops on the return trip, doing a total of 242 miles for the day. Had I owned the Experia, riding the same speed on the same roads, I would have likely made it home without a single stop.
It’s amazing how fast EVs are advancing. Zero, now it’s your turn. Let’s see you top the Experia.
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See Also: Full Energica Experia specifications, including torque, horsepower and more