A standard Zero DS electric motorcycle with Zero Motorcycles’ optional Power Tank covered 271.23 miles (436.5km) on a single charge, setting a Guinness World Record. The 19.2kWh bike was ridden on public roads from the French-Italian Alps to the Mediterranean, beating the previous 193-mile record. Two other stock Zero motorcycles exceeded it.
A production Zero DS electric motorcycle has covered 271.23 miles (436.5km) on a single battery charge, setting the Guinness World Records title for the longest journey by an electric motorbike on a single charge.
The ride, by Jelle Verstaen, beat the previous record of 193 miles by around 40%. It was tracked by Global Positioning System (GPS) and independently verified by Guinness World Records.
Verstaen rode a standard DS from Zero Motorcycles, based in Scotts Valley, California, fitted with the company’s optional Power Tank. The DS has a 15.6kWh battery and a city range of 155 miles, measured on the stop-and-go “City Test” duty cycle in SAE International’s J2982 standard. The Power Tank adds 3.6kWh, for a total of 19.2kWh. Over the record distance, that works out to about 14 miles per kWh of nominal battery capacity.
According to the company, the motorcycle ran standard tires at standard pressures, with no modifications beyond the factory-available Power Tank. The DS uses Zero’s Z-Force powertrain, which combines a high-density integrated battery, a passively cooled interior permanent magnet motor and regenerative deceleration.
The route ran from the French-Italian Alpine region to the Mediterranean coast on public roads, including minor roads and main and secondary routes, with no autoroute (freeway) riding. It was planned to keep riding as continuous as possible and limit stop-start riding at traffic lights and intersections. Verstaen used regenerative braking through the mountain sections to recover energy and held a steady cruising speed on the open roads toward the coast.
Conditions stayed dry until the route reached the Camargue, where a storm moved in. The final 60 miles were ridden in heavy rain.
Two other riders on stock Zero motorcycles also exceeded the previous record. Jenny Brookes, senior global brand manager at Zero Motorcycles, rode a DSR/X 239 miles before its battery was depleted. Zero customer Louis Renaud, who initially joined as an independent witness, rode his own SR/S 217 miles and finished with a 4% state of charge.
Where road conditions and speed limits allowed, the group held an average cruising speed of about 32mph (52km/h). The previous record was set at an average of 12mph.
“A record only means something if riders can relate to it. These were three production motorcycles, exactly as they leave our dealers, ridden on public roads – one of them by a Zero Motorcycles customer. All three surpassed the previous record. That is no one-off; it demonstrates what our technology can deliver today, and we intend to keep raising the bar,” says Pierre-Martin Bos, chief executive of Zero Motorcycles.
According to Jarno Middelbosch, senior director of global marketing at Zero Motorcycles, the result is aimed at range concerns among potential buyers. “Range anxiety remains a hurdle for prospective riders – by proving a real-world range of over 270 miles on a single charge, we’re showing what’s possible to welcome the next generation of riders to Zero Motorcycles,” he says.
The DS is the lighter sibling of the DSR/X dual-sport model and is compatible with the UK’s A1 license category and Compulsory Basic Training (CBT). Zero Motorcycles was founded in 2006. “We’ve spent 20 years pushing the limits of electric motorcycle technology, and our community has ridden millions of kilometres to prove it. This new record is proof that our focus on performance never wavers,” says Middelbosch.
