My recent video (see above) and story on a 671-mile Zero Motorcycles SR/F round trip from Jacksonville to South Florida and back generated a spirited discussion from some Energica owners that pointed out their motorcycles could have made a similar trip in much less time than my Zero did.
So, I wanted to set the record straight.
First, they’re right. There’s no disputing CCS charging is faster than Level 2 charging, which Energicas have as standard equipment. Zero does not currently offer a CCS charging option.
My 2020 SR/F also has a smaller 14.4 kWh battery than newer Energicas, which come standard with a 21.5 kWh battery. 2022 Zeroes are available with 20.9 kWh batteries, but as an extra cost option. LiveWires have a 15.5kWh battery.
However, I stand by the point of the original story and video, which was there were no CCS chargers available within walking distance of the Florida waterfront downtown locations I wanted to visit.
The Energica owners that commented felt the original video (above) was misleading, which was not my intent.
I believe in truth, accuracy and telling the other side of the story.
With that in mind, here is the response video from Energica YouTuber Steven Day and a link to a Facebook discussion he started that was prompted by my video. If you haven’t already, please watch or read my original post for the full context of what I said. My response continues after Steven’s video, which I hope you’ll also read in full.
As to whether Energicas are better motorcycles than Zeroes, which wasn’t the point of my original story, that’s one that owners will hopefully be debating for decades to come, sort of like Harley-Davidson vs. Indian or Honda vs. Kawasaki.
So much of motorcycling is subjective. Do you like a bike’s style? How about its power curve and balance? Do you prefer a particular bike’s seating position or height? How about the sound of the motor or engine? Can you get it easily serviced if something goes wrong?
For my personal use case, when I bought my Zero SR/F in 2019, it won out over the Energica models at the time for the following reasons:
- The nearest Energica dealership is approximately 100 miles away from me, meaning if I ever experienced a problem, such as a circuit board failure, I’d be on the hook for 200 miles of round-trip towing charges. My Zero dealer is 15 minutes away (4 miles from my home).
- Energica’s have chain drives. I prefer the smoothness and quiet of belt drives. But again, that’s subjective and chain drives are less likely to fail under extreme torque loads, which both Zeroes and Energicas are capable of.
- Price: I got a demo deal on a floor model, making the Zero significantly cheaper than custom ordering an Energica Eva Ribelle at the time, which was my favorite model in Energica’s lineup.
- Zeroes are air cooled. I wanted to get as far away from fossil fuels as possible. Energicas require oil changes.
- In 2019 there tended to be more Level 2 chargers in the center of the communities I knew I would want to ride to. However, the CCS network is expanding fast here in Florida and across the U.S.
- I found the Energica Eva I test rode to be more top heavy in turns and much heavier in general. An Eva was the only Energica available to test ride in the entire state of Florida at the time I was making my purchase decision. The new Energicas have slimmed down, although Zeroes remain a bit lighter.
- I wanted to support an American motorcycle company.
Energicas and LiveWires currently lead the charging speed race. That’s an objective fact, and I certainly did not mean to imply otherwise.
When it comes to charging, it’s more nuanced than that just speed. It also depends on the charging infrastructure that actually exists in the places you want to go.
So – in my opinion – it’s not a universal win for Energica since Zeroes are available with up to 12kW (and soon 13kW) of L2 charging speed, while current Energicas only support 3kW L2 charging. Many of the towns I visit happen to have 6kW Level 2 chargers in the areas of town I wish to visit.
CCS owners will correctly counter it’s usually faster to detour a few miles and charge at a CCS station.
The real point here – which I made in the original story and video – is that EV motorcycles are still “a bit of a compromise when it comes to long-distance travel,” as compared to their gasoline counterparts. I also stated in the original story, “Zero doesn’t support Level 3 CCS charging, which is faster than Level 2 chargers, meaning my bike is a poorer choice for long interstate road trips.”
For anyone considering an electric motorcycle, from everything I know of Energica, the bikes appear to be a very strong choice, with their biggest weakness being a lack of a robust dealership network.
Here in the U.S., Energicas remain a rarity. Most states don’t have an Energica dealership yet. To learn more about Energica visit the company’s website or the Energica Motorcycles Owners Group. To learn more about Zero, visit the Zero Motorcycles website or Zero Facebook Owners Group. Learn more about Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire brand at the LiveWire website or at the LiveWire Riders Group Facebook page.
I would imagine this story will also generate some robust discussion, which I welcome. All I ask is that you keep it factual and polite.
You can post your comments here.
