According to Zero demand for electric motorcycles is higher than it has ever been, and the company has already sold through its 2021 production run. As a result, the company is pushing out a round of updates for the 2022 model year S, DS, and DSR to bring next year’s bikes up to speed with the company’s top products. The revamp includes a gorgeous TFT screen that we’ve already played with at the FXE launch a few months ago.
Power and range look to remain the same as the 2021 models, with the S and DS models powered by the same Z-Force 75-5 motor with 78 ft-lb of torque and 46 horses and the DSR getting the bigger 75-7 motor with 70 horsepower and 116 ‘leccy foot lubs. With the standard 7.2 kWh pack the S achieves 89 miles of range while the off-roady DS is tire-limited to 82 miles, and the 14.4 kWh pack in the DSR is good for 163 miles of city or off-road range. Each model is given a slight price bump for the new model year with S and DS starting at $11,195 and DSR sitting at $15,695. There are of course new colorways for 2022, with the S in midnight blue, the DS in sand, and the DSR in black. None are particularly compelling colors, but equally none look bad. Gold wheels on the DSR are good, though.
It looks like the SR/S and SR/F will continue on unchanged, and the newly-launched FXE will spearhead the compact lineup for Zero. These updated S, DS, and DSR models are continuing on into the near future, but interestingly the high-powered naked street model counterpart to the DSR, the SR, is absent from the update. I reached out to Zero to ask if the SR would be dying off, and they responded that it would not, but couldn’t comment further. Presumably the SR will be getting a lot more updates for 2022 than what we see here. That’s great, because the SR is already a pretty great electric machine, and I’d love to see more of what Zero can do with it.
Everything Zero has made I’ve enjoyed so far, but they aren’t quite perfect just yet. I’d love to see these bikes equipped as standard with an SAE J1772 plug receptacle, and the ability to charge on Level 2 public infrastructure, at least. I don’t really need more speed or more range, but I’d love for these to be seen as viable commuters with the ability to charge at home or at the office easily. Once that is done, these will be pretty much the perfect level of electric motorcycle for most riders.