Since September 2020, MotorProsa has also been available quietly, but with no less lean angle: with the Zero SR/F, electromobility has moved into my garage. After several test drives and careful consideration, I made a conscious decision in favor of electricity and against petrol.
Before you read, please note: this post was translated with the help of Deepl.
If you find any errors – please have fun first and then give me a hint.
My thoughts
on electromobility
At the end of 2016, I gave myself the big benzene edge and bought a KTM 1290 Superduke R. Because the Duke III really only disappointed me, I opted for the maximum update and was suddenly sitting on the most powerful machine of my motorcycle career to date. The power of the 1290 engine and the dynamics it made possible – crazy!
Never before have I seen a rear tire disappear so quickly, never before have I seen such high figures on the speedometer display during wheelies, never before have I been more of a passenger than a pilot so often. Pure pleasure. Despite all the fascination – after an eventful and fast-paced year, I found myself riding it less and less often. The Superduke took me to the south of France, I tweaked the footrests on the racetrack, raged through the Black Forest and experienced great moments on the mountain passes of my home country: but my annual mileage was still ridiculously low.
The crazy Superduke – it had to go
One evening, I went to the Landhotel Anna to meet Uli from www.moppetfoto.de and go for a ride with him to get to know him. He is also a loyal Superduke rider, and still is today. The hotel owner, electric pioneer Erich, had a plan for us. He forced Uli and me to ride the evening photo tour on a C evolution from BMW. A scooter, of all things, from BMW, and, oh God – electric.
This ride left me fascinated. After extensively testing two Energicas the following year, the topic of electric slowly but inexorably ate its way into my thoughts; and then I test rode a Zero SR/F. This definitely flipped the switch in my head – six months after this test ride, I traded in my Superduke, which had remained unridden in the darkness of the garage for almost a year, and set off into the new world of propulsion.
I had already noticed the many charging stations in my backyard that were always unused. As soon as I sat on my electric roadster from California, I saw a lot of electric cars on the streets of my home town and the Akrapovic pipes of my two-wheeler colleagues began to hurt my ears more and more.
Energica Ego – this machine flashed me for good
The possible range of the Zero SR/F with its 14.4 kWh battery fits in perfectly with my usual riding profile: short sprints up the Stelvio Pass, dynamic but unobtrusive. Or trail finding on the mountains of the Vinschgau Valley, sometimes on paths that are closed to motor vehicles. I’m still very welcome. I never got stranded with it, even if I had to be patient when charging at first – the right three-phase charging cable helped.
Even – by my standards – long journeys work great with the SR/F. The seamless acceleration, the quiet power that can be released without a roar: just my thing! Hooligan games like on the crazy Superduke no longer cross my mind – not a disadvantage either 😉
Zero SR/F 14.4 Premium – exactly my thing
This could not fail to have an effect on four wheels. Once I had experienced how weightless electric driving can feel, the diesel in the Opel Insignia, which was actually very comfortable but then somehow rough-legged, no longer fitted in the garage. An expired warranty, constantly dying exhaust gas sensors, massive AdBlue consumption and the constant need for repairs made the next step easy: a white Tesla Model 3 joined the fleet in summer 2022, and because it is the long range version, I tested its range on a two-week road trip through the south of France and Switzerland. I wasn’t disappointed – even in the smallest villages in Provence there were charging points that pumped electricity into the car, sometimes even free of charge.
Perfectly matching:
