We Rode Zero's FXS Supermoto At The Kart Track

I suppose it makes sense that it took a company looking at the future of motorcycling to focus on giving us a supermoto. I mean, they are the best kind of motorcycles, right? Bias? What bias?

Okay, all jokes aside, it is pretty cool that a company as small as Zero brought us a supermoto, especially since the high-torque and short-ranged nature of electric bikes make something like the FXS a nice fit. I got a chance to ride the FXS when they launched the bike last January, where I had overall mixed feelings about it. The controller Zero uses to manage the power has been dulled to keep you from looping the thing, but in doing so it loses some of that brap attitude. It's difficult to use the throttle to manipulate the suspension and, while the torque is there, it definitely doesn't feel anything like 70 pound-feet of torque from go.

During the launch, I mentioned how interesting it would be to get the bikes on a track for some testing and, to my surprise, the nice people at Zero took my advice and brought a bunch of their bikes down to Adams Motorsports Park in Riverside, California, where SoCal Supermoto runs their weekly schools. They were accompanied by the team from Hollywood Electrics and their fully prepped Zero FXS race bike.

My love for flogging old and beat up Suzuki DR-Z400s at Adams is well documented, so I was excited for the chance to ride something different on what felt like home turf. However, I have to admit that I went into the test with pretty low expectations as the FXS didn't give me much of the supermoto experience on the street.

For the morning sessions, I started on the stock FXS, with the "engine braking" and regenerative deceleration cranked all the way up to get as much braking out of the bike as I could (to help mimic kicking it down a few gears coming into a turn) and the power cranked all the way up. Fortunately, Zero brought a charging station and some extra batteries with them.

While Zero's FXS provides a different experience than riding a traditional supermoto on the track, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a slower one. The noise of a thumper is replaced with the whine of the IPM brushless motor, making the sound of the pads against the brake rotors far more noticeable. Shifting markers and cues are completely tossed out the window which, while it should make for a less involved ride, drastically changes how the brakes are used. Zero's mimicked engine braking doesn't come close to providing the same feeling as dropping down a few gears, which means you have to get on the brakes much harder and use the rear brake far more often.

The power comes on better than the DR-Zs I'm used to riding and the delivery is certainly far smoother, which takes some of the drama out of fast transitions, although those too feel altogether different. Electric motorcycles carry so much of their weight in the battery that they feel dramatically different when you swing the bars from side to side. Transitions feel slower and require more effort, though smoother without the chassis being as upset by imperfect fueling and gear changes.

The Zero FXS was actually more capable than I expected it to be, with the real chink in the armor coming from the Diablo Rosso II tires. With a 140/70-17 in back and 110/70-17 up front, you run out of tire and lean angle really quickly compared to a wider and grippier tire like the Dunlop Q3s we run at Adams most of the time.

Later in the day, I got a chance to take Hollywood Electric's Pikes Peak race bike for a spin. With completely revised suspension, geometry, brakes, motor (Zero let them tinker with the controller), and wheels wrapped in Metzler Racetec SM slicks, Hollywood Electric's bike tipped into turns better, held lean angle better, and was much faster off the line and out of the corners. While faster than the regular Zero FXS, it still never felt quite right and the extra power required even more attention on the brakes. My lap times went down and my lean angles increased, but the ride still took quite a bit of adapting.

Overall, I was actually really impressed with how both bikes performed. After riding the FXS on the street and wishing for a bit more in terms of excitement, I was not expecting for the bike to do well on the track. But, while it took some adapting in riding style, the bike far exceeded my expectations, and it would have done much better with different rubber.

I'm still not ready to trade any of the gas bikes I lust after for an electric in the garage of my dreams, but they're getting closer with each update and each year's release. And I expect that will change soon. Companies like Zero will only get better at mimicking the addictive qualities of an ICE bike and opening up the available power and torque. With battery technology continuing to advance, and smaller, lighter units being made available, the future of electric motorcycles seems exceptionally bright.

And I'd expect Zero to be there for the fun that's sure to ensue.