VIDEO: Jay Leno reviews Zero S electric motorcycle
Click above to watch the video after the break
We suspected it wouldn't take long for Jay Leno to throw a leg over the new Zero S electric motorcycle, and indeed the popular late night comedian and talk show host has just posted a video review of the bike at Jay Leno's Garage. Zero founder and CTO Neal Saiki drops by and offers a bit of commentary on the recently-released machine, and there are a few bits of interest to dissect.
For instance, Neal says the bike's 32 horsepower is roughly equivalent to 50 horsepower in an internal combustion engine since the Zero S's power is available throughout the rev range. Coupled to a weight of just 225 pounds, that's an impressive power-to-weight number, regardless of which horsepower figure you elect to use. Saiki also says that the Zero's frame is made from aluminum that's just three times the thickness of a soda can. Regarding the bike's top speed of 60 miles per hour, Saiki says it's possible to make it go much faster, but the gearing required to hit those speeds would reduce the Zero S's ability to wheelie on command, and that's not good.
While Jay doesn't test Neal Saiki's assertion that you could ride the Zero S from LA to New York with just $30 worth of electricity, he does hop on and take the bike for a ride. Jay definitely seems to like the electric motorcycle, saying that he got used to the lack of shifting pretty quickly and that "this is the future" of motorcycling. Of course, it's also quiet, and Leno quips that "you could go through the bird preserve and not even bother anybody." There are a few flies in the ointment, though, such as the wimpy sound of the bike's horn. Click past the break to watch the video.
[Source: Jay Leno's Garage]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MajorGeek 5:47PM (6/13/2009)
I'm sorry, but "Jay loves everything" is getting a bit worn out.
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FThorn 6:18PM (6/13/2009)
True gearheads and engineers can find SOMETHING to love in every toy. Whether it's the complexity of a Prius drivetrain, or the simplicity of a pushrod V8.
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Michael 6:29PM (6/13/2009)
You mean the simplicity of the Prius drivetrain or the complexity of a pushrod V8 and automatic transmission.
Once you understand it, the Prius drivetrain's real genius is its simplicity.
Stuka 8:00PM (6/13/2009)
@Michael: The Prius drivetrain has far more moving parts in it than a basic pushrod V8 with auto trans. While the prius is simple in a general sense, its far from that in reality. The CVT transmission is also much more fragile than a basic 3-4 auto trans. The 6-7 speed autos are amazingly complex though.
Michael 8:29AM (6/25/2009)
@Stuka, You've probably confused the Prius transmission with a conventional CVT or other transmission.
The Prius engine is pretty much a normal sixteen valve four cylinder that closes the intake valve late. Nothing particularly complex about that.
The Prius transmission is exquisitely simple, with fewer moving parts than conventional manuals, automatics, or other CVTs, and due to the unique power split device, all parts that move are permanently meshed together. It's a single planetary gear set. The output is ultimately controlled by how much resistance is offered by the sun gear in the center and the ring gear on the outside.
There are no funky drive belts or pullies to wear out. No switching gear, not even for reverse. No synchronizers. No pressure plates or torque converters. And the reliability of it has proven far better than other CVTs and better than any automatic that I'm aware of, too.
gerrrg 6:20PM (6/13/2009)
That horn is so geeky. I love it.
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RadicalxEdward 11:25PM (6/14/2009)
it sounds like a microwave beeping
Ed 7:12PM (6/13/2009)
Nice machine. What i don't get is how the guy first says that by changing the gearing, it could go faster but lose torque, and later that there was no point in adding gears. Is it that the extra weight and volume of the gears would make it not worthwhile, or like Jay suggests, will future electric bikes have more than one gear?
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EU_reader 7:21PM (6/13/2009)
How tall would you say Jay Leno is?
Just to get an idea how I'd fit on some of the bikes he features in his videos.
On topic: I'd buy this if the price was right (or any electric motorcycle), man I CAN'T wait till the Mission Motorcycle (google it) gets a lower price....
This has got to be the ideal comuter bike, and if you add a little more fun to it (Mission) it's all you're ever gonna need (me anyway)
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JH 10:19PM (6/13/2009)
I can't remember exactly, but he says how tall he is in a couple of his videos (when climbing into a tiny 1950s/60s euro or japanese car ... Fiat, NSU, Cosmo). Either 6 feet even or 6'1".
In the most recent Jag video, he's super excited because the guy who built the hot-rodded Jag is tall, so Jay fits in it without having to bend his knees to shoulder height and drive with the wheel in his chest.
homunculus 7:54PM (6/13/2009)
pretty cool seeing an aerospace engineer who's also a gearhead. the aesthetics of the bike look top notch. funny horn though.
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Stuka 8:01PM (6/13/2009)
I would really like to test drive that thing. If they drove across the country on what is basically 30 bucks, that means i could drive to work for a year for about 200.
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eye.surgeon 11:35PM (6/13/2009)
Sure you could drive across the country for $30. Let's see, at 60 MPH you'd be risking your life being passed by everything on the freeway and probably pick up a few tickets for riding below the speed limit. Then you'd have to stop every few hours and take a several hour recharge break. So the trip would take you 7 days, paying yourself a decent wage of $20/hr plus a week of hotels and food...your $30 trip just cost you $1000. Oh and guess where the electricity you used to charge the bike came from. A nuclear plant, a coal fired power plant, or a hydroelectric dam.
Gee this really is the future of transportation.
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EU_reader 8:09AM (6/14/2009)
Man... (and I don't even know why I keep replying to imbecile posts like this)
No one ever suggested to take that remark LITERALLY. But no, here goes mister nerdy nerdy being sceptical and making a dumb calculation when literally everyone understands that's not the point of what he said. Didn't hurt your brain there, did you?
Of course, if you know two figures: range 60 miles, recharge 4 hours, everyone will understand it'll be impossible to ride cross country like that. Almost everyone that is.
It's just some way to illustrate it's potential, a way to put a figure (price) to a distance we can all picture ourselves. It's like saying: going round the world would cost you 300 dollar. Can you do that? No, does it show an easy to understand and impressive number? Yes.
Range 60, recharge 4, that's all you need to remember, so it's clearly for comuting only. That's 0.5 cent for 60 miles if you want it that way.
Really, every excuse is good enough to start bashing things like these in some sort of pedanctic way. Good on you
And yes, electricity comes from power plants, what did you expect? But it's still better than internal combustion. More efficient (in the plant and in the vehicle), less polution (plant regulation vs car regulation), centralised polution vs everywhere in busy cities, and easy to replace nodes in that grid with green and renewable technology (solar, wind, ...) In fact, if you bought a couple of solar panels you could ride this bike all the time for free in sunny LA...
tekd 11:38PM (6/13/2009)
lol might want to upgrade that horn just so drivers will hear you over their stereo.
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Tony C 12:14PM (6/15/2009)
Are you kidding? Might want to get that horn upgraded to hear it over the sound of other drivers' idling engines! I've heard electric horns on a tricycle that would get more attention! O.o
Mr Clickerson 11:42PM (6/13/2009)
Bad ass bike... How much did they say it went for?
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tankd0g 1:30AM (6/14/2009)
Why do these posts always neglect to mention the range?
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Piro21 3:41AM (6/14/2009)
Because it's mentioned quite a few times in the video.
tankd0g 12:02PM (6/14/2009)
Yes, that's why I READ a blog, to watch another sites videos. Why bother doing a write up at all?