It seems like Zero Motorcycles finally listened to any and every person who's asked, "Hey, why don't you add fast charging to your bikes?" over the years, as the company, which moved HQ from SoCal to the Netherlands not that long ago, has just announced plans to bring a CCS charging port and fast-charging module to both its Street and its Dual Sport motorcycle lineup sometime in late 2027.
"That's great for new bike owners, but what about everyone who already has a Zero?" you might understandably be wondering. And that's where it gets interesting, friends. You see, Zero says that not only will all NEW bikes in its Street and Dual Sport lineups have this tech going forward; the company says it plans to make this module retrofittable on all of its Street and Dual Sport motorcycles from the 2022 model year forward.
It's not out in the world yet, so like any and all announcements, I'll believe it entirely when I see it. (Hey, words are words, and physical products are physical products.) But speaking as someone who rode a 2022 Zero SR/F for about a year, I can confidently say that if the unit I tested had a CCS fast charger installed, I would have had a much different (and better) experience.
Now, obviously, my use case is not everyone's use case. In my case, I was trying to see if the SR/F could be an Everything Bike. At the end of it all, I found it was great for most everyday tasks. You want to commute, or go run errands, or pick up groceries (as long as you're okay with a backpack/messenger bag, shoving a couple tall things in the frunk, and/or install luggage if you want to carry more than that in one go)? That's great; so does the Zero SR/F.
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Where it was far more frustrating was on the fun, long weekend rides. Part of that was due to available charging infrastructure far out away from the Chicago metropolitan area, and the fact that even if you can find the correct type of charger on PlugShare, that doesn't necessarily guarantee it will a) be working properly, b) won't be in use by another EV, or c) will be turned on so you can use it in the first place.
Obviously, that's nothing to do with Zero, and everything to do with the state of EV charging infrastructure available at the time I was testing that bike. However, by adding CCS charging capability, that also expands the number of charging stations that would, at least in theory, potentially have been usable by me and that bike. That's to say nothing of the increased speed of charging, which is always helpful when your goal is a fun weekend ride.
Stopping for a snack every once in a while is fine, but that's hardly the primary reason I go out for a long ride. Taking hours to charge while the bike is parked at home and I'm not trying to ride it is fine, because I'm doing other things. But if what I'm after is a long ride, that's hardly an ideal scenario.
Assuming the CCS fast charging module for Zero motorcycles works properly, that would go a long way toward making Zero's fleet of Street and Dual Sport motorcycles look a lot more attractive for a potential one-bike garage situation. Here's hoping it works as well as probably every rider who's wanted Zero to make this move for years is hoping.
