A recent study may have disproven the “Loud Pipes Saves Lives” cliche, but that doesn’t mean that motorcyclists don’t enjoy the visceral experience a throaty exhaust note provides. Of course, on electric motorcycles, noise emissions are a thing of the past, but some riders aren’t willing to sacrifice sound for a greener footprint. For those folks, Italian custom shop E-Racer equipped a Zero SR/F with Bose’s E-Raf stereo system.
E-Racer made headlines in 2019 with the Edge, a Zero SR/F-based build that transformed the modern naked bike into a neo-café racer. The custom garage still picks the Zero SR/F for its Bestial-E build, but this time around, it goes light on the form and heavy on the function. New carbon fiber bodywork, new side panels, and a shorter tank cover streamline the Zero’s silhouette, turning it into a fit and trim streetfighter.
Sleek handlebars and a round LED headlight maintain the minimalist aesthetic up front while the new single-seat tail section keeps the SR/F light on its feet. The naked electric bike maintains its power figures with 110 horsepower and 140 lb-ft of torque on tap, but E-Racer enhances the Zero’s stopping power by swapping out the stock J.Juan brakes for Brembo units. An Airtender system also improves the bike’s standard rear shock, but the Bose E-Raf system still steals the show.
To alert fellow motorists and pedestrians to the oncoming motorcycle, the Bose E-Raf system includes two external speakers wedged under the faux fuel tank and between the trellis frame struts. Operated by Bose’s dedicated app, the two speakers transmit high frequencies to signal the motorcycle's direction of travel. While Zero SR/F fans may be fond of the tank trunk, a third Bose speaker unit sends subsonic frequencies (< 16 Hz) through the motorcycle chassis to imitate the sensation of a vibrating internal combustion engine.
Unfortunately, Bose and E-Racer haven’t revealed whether users can alter the soundtrack and vibration to match different engine configurations such as parallel-twins, V-twins, V4s, or inline-fours.
