Nice! Glad ya like it, and you're right, it's the perfect bike to start on. Congrats on going electric for your first bike!! That's something not a lot of people can say.
Thou as a beginner bike, Im wondering if SuperSoco are missing something here, in that the TC Max requires a motorcycle license to ride it, but has controls like a moped or scooter (like their other bikes which only require a car licence), with rear brake on the left handlebar as there's no clutch, not a foot brake. So if "Learning" on this, you are going to be missing a fundamental skill from gas bikes. But with no gears, you also miss learning how to shift, and that would be an issue on just about ANY electric motorcycle right now. So its like manual vs automatic in cars. You end up only been endorsed for an auto if you don't use a manual for your test.
@@TheChromeRonin true, but I'd argue it isn't necessary to learn how to ride a gas bike anymore. Not in 2021 where we have a wide variety of electric motorcycles to choose from.
@@NewZeroland Also true, but Im going to teach my kids how to drive in a manual anyway, with as few driver aids as possible (ABS is about the only one I'd say is mandatory until you have a little more skill). Then they'll be able to drive anything. 8)
I have a TC Max, along with two other “normal” motorbikes and I think the TC Max is most definitely fun to ride as well as being a great commuter bike. Puts a smile on my face every time I ride it, particularly as I ride past petrol stations. 😉
Good set of questions at the end. I have a sort of sad story on this one. I took the effort of importing my dream classic, a Moto Guzzi 850 T3 FB all the way from the US to Straya. Got it certified and registered and rode it every day. The gentle vibrations, the slurp noise when opening the tab, the groll of the V2 ganished by the ticky-ticky sound from the tappets. Just great, relaxing, loved it to bits. One day i thought it would be good to have a little electric......just for commuting. I actually converted a Ninja to 8kW hub. No noise, just the wind, smooth and yet surprisingly powerful. And regen. So i rode around on it for a while until one fine sunny Saturday i thought it is time for a trip with the Guzzi. Started her up, fuel smells, rattle rattle, vibration and that unnecessary noise. I started the trip slightly confused.....what has happened? I rode past the local servo noticing yet another price rise and thought about the electric, which gets charged on 3 280Wp solar panels. Then I had to slow down. I rolled back the throttle but the engine with its large flywheel just kept marching on. So i was forced to convert my brakepads into dust creating unwanted heat in order to come to a stop. I finished the trip very distressed: The bloody electric had destroyed the love to my Italian lady. I had a few more go's but decided now to sell it. Sad, sad. My car has been replaced by an EV also. You have been warned !!!
HAHA man that was such a fun read. Beautifully written, and I share your sentiment. Going electric with one vehicle is a slippery slope to everything being electric and it's hard to go back 😂 There's definitely some nostalgia that never goes away. I recently drove a little manual trans race car with a stupidly loud exhaust.. part of me loved it, but simultaneously wished it was electric. I guess if you didn't want to sell the Guzzi, it'd look really cool on display in your living room!
I feel your pain! I had a weekend porsche boxster S that I enjoyed until I got a Tesla model 3 Performance as a daily driver. The porsche felt slow and unresponsive. So I sold it. I sold off a few motorcycles and bought an Energica Ribelle RS. But I still have a few gas bikes left.
Fun is where you find it. There's a guy in my town who rides a Grom. . . . . . . All day. Every day. I see him out almost every time I leave the house. I guess he just likes being out on his bike. He's an older guy, almost certainly retired. Having fun.
I really want more bikes like this available in the US. For now full-sized emotos feel like they're too expensive for how limited they are, but having something like this Soco TC max for everything local and a bigger gas bike for trips seems like the most reasonable compromise with todays tech and prices. Had to sell my Zero SR due to the pandemic, and as much as I miss it I don't think I can justify buying a new one when things are back to normal, looking more into options like this.
@@NewZeroland It really is. I'm super excited for the all-electric future but until both pricing and infrastructure really improve I'm gonna have to wait. My car is a both-worlds solution too, the chevy volt.
I love mine. 4,500 km riding to work. I desribe it as 9/10 sized. Its practical and fun. I have riden from Geelong to Lorne via Great Ocean Rd. And it was fun. Its different to riding a 900cc. But it hits a lot of boxes. Fun, cheap, low registration, low maintenance, charges from standard outlet. Not the bike to ride around Australia but is it?
Dude if you went on a multi-day, multi-charging, epic road trip circumnavigating Australia on a Super Soco, I would LOVE to see your photos / videos! 😁 That underdog story is always fun. Taking the bike nobody else would, just for the challenge of it.
@@NewZerolandno way you.can do it on this one unless you can find a power outlet on a tree. There is some very vast areas that even for a petrol one are hard to achieve 😊
I would totally put up a poster of this bike in my garage if I had a garage. The scoop for cooling the motor kind of makes it look like the Livewire with the big lumpy cylinder on the bottom. I honestly think they breathed more life into this little bike than a lot of the Zeros. The Zeros definitely have better performance but I kind of think this one has more passion put into it.
You could be right.. it has pretty cool style to it, and for the price, I'm not sure what else I was expecting. I just wish it did more. This is definitely a more appealing bike than a new Zero haha.
It seems for that price you either get the performance or the fit and finish. If you want both the price shoots up. The other 2 bikes you mentioned had the same thing going on with performance.
Having ridden the Livewire (which I think you show at the end of your video) man was it a LOT of fun. Enjoy! Still ended up purchasing the Energica. Come back!!!
Perfect for (big) cities. I test drove one a few times. It's no nonsense but still a blast to ride, makes getting to work or doing errands a fun thing to do again!
Yeah man! Agreed. I think this test ride hit right at the unfortunate time when my wife decided she didn't want to ride to work anymore because she wasn't riding "for fun". Maybe we took out our frustration on it.
Someone once said "It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow." I kinda wonder if that can't also be said for bikes. I mean not everyone is a hotrodder or can even handle bikes with insane amounts of power so for some people the Super Soco is enough if it handles nice... like me mostly, I work at home so I wouldn't mind one for neighborhood riding.
Yeah for sure, and I think the Super Soco handles really well. It's light and nimble. I guess the problem I have is that's all it can do. It's the wall I hit with my Zero years ago. Someone else mentioned having an electric bike for commuting and a gas bike for road trips, and that could be a great justification for buying one of these.
I beg to differ. I think that saying is just a typical sour grapes response. I'd much rather cruise slowly in a fast car than drive fast in a slow car. The issue here is limitations. It's much better to be limited artificially by things like speed limits and traffic than to have hard technical limits with, say, a vehicle that can't even get up to the speed limit. I love, love, love riding my Zero SR even in city traffic at residential speed limits. But it galls me to no end to be limited to one charge of range in a day. And that's the point. For several years now it's been technically very easy to implement DC fast charging on any EV. There's just no excuse for it not being standard on every electric motorcycle that is otherwise capable of sustained high-speed (better than max highway speed limit) riding. But the thing about motorcycles is that even Type 2 AC charging is capable of giving Tesla Supercharger equivalent charging speeds, and they aren't even doing that. Zero's current AC charging options are half what they could and should be, and that goes for pretty much every other model out there. Even the Energicas have half the DC and half the AC charging speeds they ought to. The thing about EVs, though, is that at least on the AC charging side of it it's not that difficult or expensive to upgrade with aftermarket chargers, so you do have options. In my case, If I had just gone the DIY route with generic parts I would already have the capability to road trip on my Zero, but unfortunately I went for a Kickstarter purpose-built kit that caused the creators to give up completely after several years of building success, just on the cusp of making something great. With the amount I spent on the kit I can't afford to just toss it out and start over from scratch, and I don't have the technical expertise to reverse-engineer the communication protocol, so it's going to be a while until I can do the physical repackaging and get help with the electronics to make a custom control unit. But once that happens, I'll be set! The beauty of high power AC charging motorcycles is that you get the really quick charging speeds with chargers that are often completely free and that are much more ubiquitous than DC chargers. In other words, with the right AC charging setup, DC charging on a motorcycle is irrelevant.
@@awo1fman I hear ya man. I disagree about AC and DC though. I haven't seen an AC station with over 43kW of power, let alone 300kW like the new DC stations. The reason why motorcycles can't charge faster is heat. None of them have liquid-cooled batteries like cars, so it's really hard to sustain high performance while riding and also high performance while charging. In terms of money, DC is more expensive, but it'll take a lot of DC charging to match the cost of aftermarket chargers. I think if this Super Soco had the ability to fast charge, AC or DC, it would be a HUGE contender.. especially at this price point.
@@awo1fman I beg to differ as well. The saying is less about absolute speeds but rather about how much of your vehicle's abilities you are able to experience and control. When you are constantly busy with taming the beast, you won't be able to enjoy the ride itself. Under the right circumstances, light and less powerful bikes are often the more exciting choice.
I love Supernatural. I have watched all 13 seasons so many times. And Berserker is fun. I made a full size oak practice sword for a friend that was the same as Guts’ sword. That thing was super heavy.
@@NewZeroland my friend was the one that commissioned this sword. ua-cam.com/video/pfOAgKA7h7g/v-deo.html So he needed to get a good work out with the wood one before the other one was done so he didn’t pull a muscle. He was already a huge powerlifting enthusiast luckily.
Great to see you riding around in my neck of the woods, and LOVE that the battery is removable. If my quick bit of research is correct, a spare would cost around NZ$1,500 (incl. delivery), so having the option of charging it away from the bike is huge means theft is far less likely and you could double the range since it only weights 11kg.
Great point about theft! That's a really appealing feature. The battery weighs 22kg though, and it's really big.. so I don't think you could carry another one comfortably on the back, or something. That might be tricky, but I'd love to see it haha.
You're right, that's double what I thought it was and a little on the heavy side, but I still think that's doable for a long distance ride. Depends on the weight of the rider too.
Jimmy, I actually built a battery for the Super Soco myself, using 21700 cells instead of the 18650s they use in the pack. Better density meant I could make a battery that was the same capacity as the original but half the size. The original BMS was expensive so I just used my own, which meant I wasn't able to get the display to show the state of charge. So I kept one original battery in the tank as a "reserve" battery, and filled the space for the second battery with two home-made ones, tripling the capacity. When I ran out of charge on my home-made batteries, I switched to the reserve battery, displaying the state of charge for the last leg of the journey to make sure I didn't run out. Another advantage was that I could get a charger for my home-mades that worked way faster. If you're confident with basic electronics, it's easy enough to learn, there are YT turorials you can search for.
@@gallaghergibson8024 Thanks for sharing, Gallagher, that's pure genius. If you haven't done a video already, you should partner up with @NewZeroland and share your achievement. Hell, it makes me want to buy the Soco for that exact reason. Do you have any idea of the range you're capable of now? Do you enjoy any boost in power? P.S. I love that the OEM battery is a reserve just like traditional bikes have a reserve tank of fuel.
Prior to Covid my commute was via airlines. Luckily I have not had to car commute for ten years. Your question about why we ride is a very good one Sam. I ONLY ride for pleasure. Even when I was street riding my smoker bike back in the late 90s to work it was just for pleasure. I read somewhere either here or on your Livewire post that someone feels that a 600 smoker is a better deal. I guess it's how one defines a better deal. Everyone is different. For me my 2017 DSR with Charge tank for 10.5k USD is just right for me. I do plan to test ride a Livewire because my friend in Australia wants my view of it compared to my Zero. Paying double for a new bike doesn't hit my jam button right now. My Cybertruck is delayed and I'm hoping to match an Airstream Basecamp 20 to that and put my DSR and Sur Ron in the back to hit the road. So like I said it's all about everyone's individual priorities. I feel sorry for those whose motorcycle priority is for commuting.
Yeah man! Well said. Different strokes for different folks, but hopefully no more smokes 😂 As with everything in the e-moto realm, these bikes are more expensive up front, but the "cost" is relative. Not just the fuel and maintenance cost, but the air quality and environmental cost. Most people can't look past the dollar amount to what they're really buying. Also, that instant torque 😂
@@NewZeroland As a lifelong smoker bike lover I will simply say that I never plan to return to the smoker world. No more valve adjustments, oil changes, transmission rebuilds, leaking radiators, water wetter, ring replacements, fuel injection timing, blah blah blah. LOVE racing LOVED it, but that's not my thing now. TO JUST RIDE is heaven and I'm the guy who loved to wrench. Being an early adopter is a bitch yes, but I'm so excited to be riding an EV. Riding ALL THE TIME not wrenching or gassing up. To each their own brother, but I'm not going back. Just like not going back to writing checks at the grocery store. EVER. Most here never even remember NOT having an ATM card. But so many of the very same resistance to that little change are the same as EV critics.
Thanks Sanford! I really liked Jen's review at the beginning, she really conveyed how it feels to ride it (but was worried about the ghost foot brake, glad it wasn't an emergency situation.) It was really nice to have at that start of the video before you came with the stats and info. Also the other two Soco models are hub motor, I'm sure they feel different. I need a poster of the Damon Hypersport for my garage wall... first I need a garage.
Haha yeah the Damon is totally "dream bike garage poster" status. I have no idea how they're going to pull off the 200kg weight with all those specs, but it's an amazing design anyway. Thanks for the feedback on the video! Jenn didn't say much so I didn't have a lot of footage from her ride, but I'm glad you liked that little bit. I'll try and do something similar with the Livewire video.
I have a non-max I use for my daily commute, luckily mine is able to be de-restricted to 80km/h. I agree that the drivetrain is pretty uninspiring, but the real fun of these is their low weight. You can really throw these things around, and they can carry a lot more speed through corners than you might expect!
@@NewZeroland I took 4 seconds off the 0-50 kmh test! And I added cruise control too😇 I have yet to upload that video about it tho. Been driving with the Kelly in it for half a year now and it still works awesome!! I have 4000w nominal settings in the kelly instead of the 2400 peak performance of the main controller
Due to rules in Canada the SC max is limited to 70 km/hr. But a benefit is it is classified as a moped which only requires a regular car license. I still think the new Zeros may be a better fit. Just a bit pricey. Hope they come out with DC charging.
The only appeal at that point is the low price. I still think the best option is a used Zero SR or DSR. A few years old and they get pretty cheap, but that's interesting about not needing a motorcycle license.
Ah me, the old "why do we ride"question. I have a commuter bike and a weekend funtimes bike and try not to think about it too much. I could see myself getting a super SOCO to get to work, although I don't think they are available in Freedomland.
Yeah the electric commuter + gas road tripper combo seems like the popular way to go. They'd probably be a hard sell in the states because everything is so spread out. Any bike with less range than a Zero might be tough.
You have created a new riddle for transcendental mediation. If an electric motorcycle doesn't make a sound on the street, is anyone actually there riding it? Mind vortex. Third person motorcycle shopping is more enjoyable than I would have expected. :)
Bwahahaha dude I love your comments. They're so well-written XD Are motorcycles built with purpose in mind, or do the owners give them purpose? Like getting a tattoo.. was it meaningful from the start, or does meaning come from it? Hopefully all these little test ride videos help to show how many electric motorcycles are available now!
Think a used ZeroSR with lower power/speed setting is better. For awhile I set my SR to max speed at 60mph but had it on full power. So still had the fun acceleration, which from a dead stop tops out at about 76mph then bike cuts power/speed back down to 60mph. If I'm already rolling at say 20mph and give it full electrons bike would power down and tops out at 60mph. This worked out really well cause I still had some take off speed where if someone wants to steep up I can still get up to about 76mph and leave them in the dust but still not waste power while on the move maxing out at 60mph. This setting increase my range by a wide margin cause higher speeds uses up batter power faster. After a couple months of this I decided to increase top speed to 80mph with full power and find that to be perfect cause 80mph is about as fast as I usually go. At 60mph I would hit that speed limiter a lot and it got annoying. 80mph limit, riding for me, still gets me about 100mile range unlike max speed limit I would only get about 80mile range.
That's a good idea! I think that's another benefit of buying a Zero: the app. Being able to adjust power, top speed, amount of regen, all that is huge. It's stuff that makes electrics unique. So to have an electric motorcycle without regen, and with 3 modes that only change the top speed is kind of a let down. Hopefully the next generation of Super Socos is better!
This was one of your top 10 videos, loved Jen starting it off and all your thoughts. To me, this lacks the thrill of the throttle that pulls me to ride my Zero DSR as often as possible. I want a bike that challenges me to up my game on a spirited ride, plus get me to where I need to go practically. The DSR is still my perfect bike, but I can’t wait to see what you two decided for your next ride.
Thanks man! I really appreciate it, and I agree about acceleration and instant torque being the most appealing factors of electric motorcycles. Without that, it's hard to justify buying one. It'll still be a few months until we get our next bikes, but I can't wait to share what we're getting :D
Is it the same size as the SR? I agree with your question "has the joy of riding been replaced by practicality?". For me it's hard to decide whether I pay more for range like the SR/DSR/SRF/SRS or maybe just get the FXE/S/FXS/FX/DS and use it just for commuting... And I have based my decision on my commute to work. Kinda sad... Should be more about riding rather than about practicality.
Nah the Super Soco is smaller than the SR. I wish I had it there to compare, but there's.. a reason the Zero wasn't there.. O_O You're right man.. there are a lot of factors to consider. Does it get enough range to have fun on AND make it to work and back? Is the price point right for what you want to use it for? An FXE might tick all those boxes for ya.
@@NewZeroland oh ya? Wow kinda looked like the same size. Ahhhh I see I’m picking up what you’re putting down 🤐 Ya brother I think that’s where the ICE bikes got them beat (in the prices) for now. Problem with the FXE is that it can’t go the distance I need for work lol. Almost like I have to wait the full 9hrs to charge it to get home (highway speeds of course 110km/hr). I guess we’re working OT LOL
Hey! I have that bike! It only cost 5.000€ here in Munich, Germany and i dont commute, its purely for fun and getting places. A lot of people have complemented the looks, so yeah i think people would put up a poster on the garage wall! It doesnt go 100kmh though, maybe 85-90kmh.
I had been curious about this bike so I appreciate the review. I'd say... IF you want a "bike" for work commuting, much better these days to get an electric bicycle, (you know... with pedals), since it is much cheaper to buy and own, easier to store and those with mid-drives, (and about 1000-1500 watts), can achieve insane speeds and crazy torque (unlocked). To me, an e-bicycle is the perfect work-commute-mobile. But if you want something for touring and fun, then really it still comes down to Zero.
That depends on the distance. I have to ride 42 Km to work (85 in total each day) and I have been thinking about a speed-pedelec, or even the e-rockit. But I ended up with an Energica (also because the fastest way to work is mostly highway, 100-130 Km/h - although I can avoid the highway if I want to)
@@moestrei hub motors and high speeds don't mix though. Supposedly the new Evokes run cooler, but for that kinda price I'd rather just buy a used Zero. All these "new" electric motorcycles can't even match the performance of a 5 year old Zero.
@@NewZeroland Did I say Commuting? The Aptera has 3 50kw hub motors and doing alright performance wise and is king efficiency wise. The Lordsdon (?) Pick up has 4 hub motors (which we probably will never see as they seems to go broke). Zero was not successful here in Australia and to my knowledge there is no importer / service available at the moment. Doesn't mean there was something wrong with the bikes though ( except the AUD price tag).
@@moestrei yeah true.. it's sad that Zero doesn't want to come back. Someone in Sydney is importing the new ones though (a few SR/F and SR/S models as well as an Energica) so hopefully you guys get more options soon.
Well I have fun commuting to work on my IEC bike. Don't do too much fun riding, so my bike needed to be more than a bit practical. Why I got a C50 with saddlebags. For an IEC, great mpg and utility. The electric bikes would really fill the fun checkbox, and range to work and back is my only real concern. For me it's that dang price tag. I want to support Zero, Energica, even Livewire. I just don't have over 20K USD lying around to do so. Anywho, thanks for showing another e-bike option. Really would love to know your thoughts on the Livewire.
For sure, man. New electrics are crazy money. If you're buying one to replace a gas bike, the only option is $20k, but to commute.. I always suggest going with a used Zero SR or DSR. A few years old, around the $8k usd mark.. those are solid.
That's why you don't buy a brand new zero. Recently found a very lightly used '18 model (620 miles) for $7000. S model, and yes the battery warranty is transferable.
Shame about the speed. I've been looking for a reasonably priced bike that'll be alright on California Freeways. The US west coast has charging stations everywhere so no range anxiety, until you hit a ~40mile deadzone. Wanted the Lightning Strike... But the company just doesn't communicate, and I can't be asked to send ~10k in deposit to a company that can't reply to emails in 3 weeks. Might wait to see what Zero and Energica have in store for 2022. Great video as always!
Cheers! I feel ya. If you're on a budget, a used Zero SR is the answer. They do about 80 miles on the highway and can get up to 100mph if you need to 😂 But if you're into road trips, there isn't anything better than Energica.
Interesting thing is that if the electric rebate applied to bikes, this sucker would be free. Id buy that for a dollar. As to the "Fun" of riding, yeah, one of the things I liked about my e-bike was it was fun, but limited speed put me in the direction of motorcycles. Now would I go back to a speed limited device? I guess it would depends where you are having fun. I like slower more technical roads, so maybe this would still be fun. I think fun can be found in making something slow go fast.
HAHA dude, it turns out Super Soco has a model called the CUx, and it made me think of the SUX 6000 from RoboCop. I should have put that in there! Total missed opportunity. Great point about slow-speed technical roads. I'll admit the TC Max was fun to ride, but then it comes to the small 3.24kWh battery limited where you can have that fun.
I have a Super Soco TC (the 3kW one with the hub motor) and it's already had several critical components fail, with under 1,000km on the odometer. It *would* be a great little commuter if owning one wasn't such a crap-shoot: which bit's gonna fail next, and will it happen in the garage, or in traffic?
@@NewZeroland I think it's just that it was rushed into production without enough road testing. There's a million comparably-priced ICE bikes out there that'll run smoothly for another 20 years, because bits like cables, twist-grips, indicator switches etc. have been generously over-engineered for the last 40 years already. Those aren't even the expensive bits! Everything about the TC, though, seems like it was engineered to just barely squeak through. Cables that'll maybe withstand 50 amps before they melt their connectors, for example. While the motor only draws 50 amps, they should've known to use a cable rated for at least 100 amps, just in case of the inevitable. You already noticed the cheapo indicator switch. I'm glad you didn't get to experience kill-switch roulette, or the twist-grip that gets stuck when it rains!
Thanks, another great review. I hope you're going to try one of the Evokes that have just come into the country? They seem to be the best compromise between performance, range and price to me.
Ahh I'm not too interested, but I guess I should. Evokes are just more cheap bikes from China that still haven't matched the performance or range of a Zero from 5 years ago. It sucks that they're the best NZ has to offer for that price point. I'll think about it. If I can get up to Auckland I'll try and ride one.
@@NewZeroland I meant the battery is a similar size to a Zero S sorry, and they both come under 125cc licenses for Europe with similar horsepower and a bigger onboard charger. I'm kinda interested in buying one, but at least you know a Zero will be pretty reliable and easier to find a dealership. If zero could just bring out decent charging for the S and DS there'd be no dilemma!
It's the million dollar question.. As a daily yes, weekender no. Or be like most motorcycle owners and have 5+. Daily, dirt squirt, track, dual tourer, vintage, club ride.
I have the tc for one year and a half is the best for the city and the speed limit is 80km/h because is unlimited and not limited only with a configuration you can change that 😬
Nice video. I'm curious: how is the build quality of the Super Soco to really use as a commuter in hard-core conditions (thinking especially of the Dutch weather, with cold and freezing weather, rain, rain and more rain :-D). Electronics, rust, drive train, lots of KM's - is it all weather-resistable enough?
Thanks Rick! Not sure.. that's a great question though, because if it's build specifically for commuting, it needs to be reliable. Being cheap and Chinese usually means it isn't, but I'm not sure.
hi for supersoco electric bikes in sydney does rider requires to have motorbike license before you can ride supersoco electric bike in sydney nsw under new law?
Looking forward to the next one! Sorry to say none of the electric bikes are ticking all the boxes for me yet mainly being price speed and range , one needs to down and the others needs to up lol.
@@NewZeroland tourer I guess atm with moderate off road capability. This would cover commuting too occasionally. Some of the stealth bomber bikes look ok but not road legal which is a problem.
How does this compare in power to a Honda grom? I get that one is petrol and one is electric but they say this is like a 125cc? What are your thoughts?
Great video once again, Sam. A lot of good questions at the end. Very philosophical. I ride because I love riding. And the Zero SR ticks all the boxes I need from a bike right now. Would I buy another electric bike today? Yes, and it would probably be another SR. Ha! Oh, and my "touring" windshield is great! Have seen my range increase by about 10 to 20 miles.
Thanks man! Stuff to think about :D Great to hear about your windshield. Jenn told me she absolutely wants one so that's on it's way.. just not for the Zero.. bwahaha!
I'm also 6'2 and it's definitely a tiny bike, but still fun. Plenty of pep and range for commuting. If you can find a cheap used Zero, I'd rather get one of those. They're a step up into properly sized motorcycles and way more usable.
@@NewZeroland wow thanks for quick reply. I've only ever had an electric bicycle because I'm not fond of driving cars and find it more comfortable. This seemed like the easiest transition to more power at a great price for getting around town. I dont mind it being a small bike if i can still get around on it comfortably. did you find it comfortable despite the small size?
@@lukehilton493 hey, yep! It was still comfortable and I didn't feel scrunched up on it. If you can take one for a test ride, that'll probably be your best answer. I liked it, and for commuting it would be perfect.
Zero and Energica are a really big names in the electric motorcycles world. Too bad your choices are very limited. That said: I drove a BMW C Evolution electric scooter once and although I've been driving for 20 years, I couldn't remember I had this much fun taking a motorcycle for a short drive.
Nice! I've heard good things about that scooter. Unfortunately it's still really early for high performance electrics. At least Ducati is joining the group, so I'm sure that will bring some motivation for Honda and Yamaha to do it too.
That was/is my issue with the DSR. With the range tether around home I mostly use it for commuting and local short rides. Charging being the issue. I see that being addressed in the future, but for now it is what it is. (Bay Area, California) Looks like NZ has it going on with charging infrastructure though :D
Yeah I feel ya. Zeros are a lot more fun, but they're still commuter bikes. All we have so far that break that mold are the Livewire and Energicas. At this point, it's hard to justify buying anything else.
@@NewZeroland I'm finding with 12kW charging it's not at all bad at doing big miles in a day. An hour off in every 2 or 3 hours riding, covering about 100 miles at a time... not really hugely far off what I do on ICE bikes, except I avoid the motorway like the plague.
@@caspianprince That would be the holy grail for us in NoCal. That's enough range to daytrip on a single charge or LA or Oregon with a recharge and a half.
It's definitely a great commuting option. I was talking to an owner who loves his Super Soco last weekend, but yes, do you want to spend the money on a Super Soco or would you rather put it towards that/those new Energica(s)? 😉
Really cool that you've got some different frames to test out (and make content for while you wait for your Energicas x2)!! I think that each of these frames has a place in the market. We're seeing a lot of home-brew emotos here in the US (at least in urban areas where these would thrive) - EV Moto makers need to go where the market is or this will all flop. Even though EVs have been around for long enough - we still haven't jumped that 'early adopter' gap. People are still dumbfounded that a motorcycle can take a charge - I get asked EVERY TIME I charge my LiveWire if it's electric. Their heads really explode when they see it's a Harley-Davidson! People just don't know these exist yet, at least in the US market. Further proof that we haven't crossed over into wide adoption. To your last point, I've realized that everyone rides for different reasons - there is no unified or singular reason to ride. Some people enjoy the pure ride, yes, others do it for social interaction. Some like to tinker and fix things or even modify them. Some people drool over tech specs and 1/4 mile times - others just want to hear the exhaust. To each their own. If people are enjoying their rides - doesn't really matter why. As long as you an Jen are getting what you want out of riding, then that's all that matters.
True, well said sir. Thanks for that comment! Do you think it's a problem with marketing / promotion? Even people with EVs will tell me they've never heard of a Zero before, even though I've had mine for over 5 years haha. You'd think Americans would at least know about American-made motorcycles like Zeros and Livewires. I guess it's still a special time where we can be in an elite group of unique riders. We're doing something different, and that's exciting :D
@@NewZeroland my thoughts exactly. There will come a time when an EV motorcycle is common. I’m enjoying the ride for the moment while it lasts! Thanks for the sub! Marketing problem? Hard to say, I think that’s a deeper and more complex conversation. Range and charge time are the crux of the questions it get all the time. I think the advent of EVs a decade ago have held in people’s minds and they think the range and charge rates hold in their minds today. People scoff at the range, yet I’m certain not many people do more than 50 miles a week on their motorcycle - it would seem that 100-200 miles a week is being gracious with an average. Even though people don’t ride that far in a day, I think it’s more of a feature mindset than practical reasons. People like the idea that they can go 150-300 miles on a ICE bike tank, even though they rarely use it in a single ride.
@@AdventuresonZero for sure. If people ride under 100 miles a day, something like a Zero is perfect. As you know, charging at home is the ultimate convenience! For the occasional long weekend ride, get a charge tank or upgrade to a DC charging bike. While it's true that we're still early adopters, since just about all the mainstream EVs we see on the road have only existed for 10 years, the options we already have are pretty impressive. I just wish more people knew about them.. thus the youtube videos haha!
@@NewZeroland precisely! People just want to know that they can go 200 miles on a charge even though they will rarely need it. I think it’s a barrier for the general public that they just don’t want to get over. It’ll come with time though . Infrastructure has a huge impact as well. In the last year, DCFC has popped up in my area. As soon as I saw that, I sold the DSR and got the LiveWire. And yes, the UA-cam videos will keep coming to educate the masses!
@@NewZeroland Je suis convaincu que l'arrivé de la moto électrique se fera avec les modèles 11kw pas cher. Energica / Zero / Livewire c'est bien trop cher pour lancer cette nouvelle aire... (Désolé pour le google traduction ^^)
@@motardselectriques Tu as probablement raison. La plupart des gens ne peuvent pas se permettre des Harley et des Energicas, alors les cyclomoteurs comme ceux-ci seront populaires ! (Je suis désolé aussi.. J'ai besoin d'apprendre le français !)
The range is not as good as indicated, recently I rode a TC Max throughout the day, starting with an indicated range of 140km. Keeping the bike in level 1, I charged for 20 minutes in the morning, 35 minutes at lunch time and a further 20 minutes in the afternoon. I travelled 59km, and when I completed the ride the bike indicated a range of 50km available. Yes it was cold, and I do weigh 100kg, and I do ride with plenty of throttle (for level 1), and due to the nature of the role there is lots of stopping and starting, but you would not anticipate loosing that much range, certainly my Hyundai has far better range accuracy, which then gives confidence to trip planning.
Whoa, thanks for sharing that. It only has a 3.24kWh battery so that's more range than I would have guessed haha. From what the owner said, the modes don't affect acceleration (only top speed), so level 1 in the city is a great choice.
@@NewZeroland we have been instructed to keep the bike in level 1 for regular use, and only use level 2 for going up the hills. We have also be instructed to keep our eye on the range, we also use the remaining petrol bike or a car for beats that are further out from base.
I have tc, it is best for to work riders. Problem is that i like it a lot, so now I need too buy beter, biger, faster, stronger bike(4 cheap). Dayi motor s e-odin here i come.
I started riding on a Super Soco notmax. If it hadn't struggled to get to 40mph, I might well have killed myself. It was exactly fun enough for me. Now I ride a Zero, which is what I really wanted all along, but I learned enough about myself and my ability on a bike on the Super Soco that I don't regret waiting.
Thoughtful review. And good questions. As a home inspector, I need a car for my job. So motorcycles are or fun only. To me, the livewire was too small and too expensive. And the Harley name is a huge turn off for me. Also, I try to avoid buying products made by angry union employees with penny pinching bosses. The livewire is a perfect example of what you get. Overpriced, underperformance.
Thanks man! I dunno.. we were both really impressed by it. With the new $22k price, it would be super appealing if we weren't already buying Energicas.
@@NewZeroland less range. Less power. Less performance oriented. Slower fast charging. Shunned by "true" Harley guys. Interingly, Harley guys were interested in my ribelle at bike night last week. But it wasn't a Harley so it was OK. Plus, you're probably too tall for it. It's not a big bike.
Hmm reminds me of the 18 months of ownership I had of a Soco TS, the advertised range & top speed of these are lies. Also after the fifth warranty repair (2 replacement batteries, 1 electrical gremlin, 1 charger explosion, 1 front wheel bearing & front forks collapse and replacement) in 18 months I was done with this bike. I cannot recommend strongly enough that people don't buy super soco's. Sorry to be negative about this but you get what pay for and there bikes are cheap.
Yeah not a great experience as my first bike. I was going to get a Zero S or FXS but the riding positions didn't agree with me. So going for Triumph Trident, unfortunately it's a dead dino machine. Hope you guys find some nice bikes you can tour on the south Island trip looked amazing 😺
Not Harley please. They are bringing out a cheaper version in the states. Those in NZ will be the expensive versions. Motorcycling is for whatever you need it for. Commute, Adventure & Touring or all 3 at one time!🚀
Haha the Harley branded Livewires might become rare collector's items now. The new ones should be the same though. Same power and range, etc, just cheaper. I've always thought of motorcycling as freedom, so being limited by range and top speed is a deal-breaker for us.
I see... it looks cool, but it rides up to a 100 km/h ? then is it classified as a light motorcycle and not an electric moped anymore? would one need an actual motorcycle licence with this one? thanks for getting back.. really am considering this but also see the old classic mopeds from the 70s as really efficient and cheap to ride. @@NewZeroland
@@SimplicityForGood yep you need a license to ride this. In NZ it's just a learner's license, but still a more powerful bike than a moped. I think mopeds are limited to 50km/h.
"But is it exciting?" - Yeah, no. When I looked at the Light Bee, they also had various Super Socos in the show room. None of them appealed to me. It tries to look like a modern yet classic bike ..but I just can't. **cries in German** They have a similar design to the current Honda CB bikes - they are neither fish nor fowl. (Husqvarna Vitpilen is in a similar spot for me but their design is well balanced) Yamaha's XSR series looks much more exciting. On top of that the Super Socos have grey/silver metal and plastic parts that should have been chrome. Why is it still such a hassle with (smaller) electric bikes and why does the vast majority still feel so half-arsed? :( Where are the electric Triumphs, Ducatis, and ? PS: Your merchandise is too tame - you need to spice it up (just like these smaller electric bikes)! I don't think the UA-cam logo should be part of your "brand" (if I am allowed to say so).
Haha yeah, that's a huge complaint I have about most electric motorcycles. They just look like gas bikes! I would love a Sondors Metacycle just for the styling. Thanks for checking out my merch 😁 What kind of stuff would you want to see?
@@NewZeroland The Sondors is gorgeous :o Regarding the merch: It lacks identification with your channel in my opinion. Maybe you could do something like a sketch of yourself and Jenn plus some mockup of an electric motorcycle ;-) I could also think of an indication to New Zealand (Silver fern? Kiwis?). The font for NewZeroland is fine in my opinion but not exciting enough to be on a shirt just by itself (you could change that but I don't think it is necessary). As far as I understood, you guys are going the Energica route? If this is a long(er) term commitment, I would incorparate the Energicas for sure. Try to get some inspiration from other brands here (Triumph Street Triple and Ducati Panigale come to mind with their unique styles). There should be lots of options there and it might be worth to consult a proper designer. I would definitely drop the UA-cam logo - I assume UA-cam is your only platform but I believe merchandise should be about the "what" not "where" (or at least not that prominent). If you want to keep it, it should be at the bottom/somewhere hidden in a way that people only spot it after their initial glance. Hope this helps and please don't take my criticism personal ;X
Amazing value for money. Is it Chinese? Can we add ethical and environmental considerations to the list of shopping head-scratch factors please? Boring? Yes. Somewhere at the top of the list of consumer considerations for the 'my first ever bike' generation? Totally Yes. That's a massive plus for the FTN when it comes to Kiwi new bikers I'd say. Shame my Nissan eVan got the Leaf battery and motor but not the fun chimes :-( But the chatty Japanese girl stowing away under the dash since the van was imported, is a boon substitute.
There isn't a menu to turn sounds on and off? The Leaf has four different tunes to choose from, I think. And yep, Super Soco is Chinese. I can't speak for the workplace conditions there but I've heard questionable things about the build quality and reliability.
NIce rev. for me it's simple. No. I want more fun. So a bike should be fun when we need it to be. That Harley looks great. but I have a feeling that Zero might be the end result after all these mathematical calculations you guys are doing 😎.
@@NewZeroland not reliable, the range is half what the bike says. And on a tiny hillclimb you'll be overtaken by a guy in a wheelchair. They are really cheap for a reason :/
My TC Max is my first bike and I love it. I think it’s great for beginners and I’ve had a lot of fun exploring my local area!
Nice! Glad ya like it, and you're right, it's the perfect bike to start on. Congrats on going electric for your first bike!! That's something not a lot of people can say.
@@NewZeroland Welcome to the began-on-electric club Natalie!
Thou as a beginner bike, Im wondering if SuperSoco are missing something here, in that the TC Max requires a motorcycle license to ride it, but has controls like a moped or scooter (like their other bikes which only require a car licence), with rear brake on the left handlebar as there's no clutch, not a foot brake. So if "Learning" on this, you are going to be missing a fundamental skill from gas bikes. But with no gears, you also miss learning how to shift, and that would be an issue on just about ANY electric motorcycle right now. So its like manual vs automatic in cars. You end up only been endorsed for an auto if you don't use a manual for your test.
@@TheChromeRonin true, but I'd argue it isn't necessary to learn how to ride a gas bike anymore. Not in 2021 where we have a wide variety of electric motorcycles to choose from.
@@NewZeroland Also true, but Im going to teach my kids how to drive in a manual anyway, with as few driver aids as possible (ABS is about the only one I'd say is mandatory until you have a little more skill). Then they'll be able to drive anything. 8)
I have a TC Max, along with two other “normal” motorbikes and I think the TC Max is most definitely fun to ride as well as being a great commuter bike. Puts a smile on my face every time I ride it, particularly as I ride past petrol stations. 😉
Nice! That's great to hear. I'm glad somebody's having fun on it haha.
Every time I stop at a gas station for a snack, and they ask if I have any fuel to pay for, I can't help grinning like an idiot!
@@gallaghergibson8024 Ha! I love it 😂
Good set of questions at the end. I have a sort of sad story on this one. I took the effort of importing my dream classic, a Moto Guzzi 850 T3 FB all the way from the US to Straya. Got it certified and registered and rode it every day. The gentle vibrations, the slurp noise when opening the tab, the groll of the V2 ganished by the ticky-ticky sound from the tappets. Just great, relaxing, loved it to bits. One day i thought it would be good to have a little electric......just for commuting. I actually converted a Ninja to 8kW hub. No noise, just the wind, smooth and yet surprisingly powerful. And regen. So i rode around on it for a while until one fine sunny Saturday i thought it is time for a trip with the Guzzi. Started her up, fuel smells, rattle rattle, vibration and that unnecessary noise. I started the trip slightly confused.....what has happened? I rode past the local servo noticing yet another price rise and thought about the electric, which gets charged on 3 280Wp solar panels. Then I had to slow down. I rolled back the throttle but the engine with its large flywheel just kept marching on. So i was forced to convert my brakepads into dust creating unwanted heat in order to come to a stop. I finished the trip very distressed: The bloody electric had destroyed the love to my Italian lady. I had a few more go's but decided now to sell it. Sad, sad. My car has been replaced by an EV also. You have been warned !!!
HAHA man that was such a fun read. Beautifully written, and I share your sentiment. Going electric with one vehicle is a slippery slope to everything being electric and it's hard to go back 😂 There's definitely some nostalgia that never goes away. I recently drove a little manual trans race car with a stupidly loud exhaust.. part of me loved it, but simultaneously wished it was electric. I guess if you didn't want to sell the Guzzi, it'd look really cool on display in your living room!
@@NewZeroland Display in the living room? I can tell you are not married and certainly no kids 😂
@@moestrei no kids, but my wife is totally into that idea haha! She wants to sell the dining table to make room for another bike. Who am I to say no?
@@NewZeroland Happy wife, happy life. Or in my own experience: If the wife is not happy, nobody is happy.
I feel your pain! I had a weekend porsche boxster S that I enjoyed until I got a Tesla model 3 Performance as a daily driver. The porsche felt slow and unresponsive. So I sold it. I sold off a few motorcycles and bought an Energica Ribelle RS. But I still have a few gas bikes left.
Thanks for the vid and thanks to the comments, guys. Very helpful.
No problem! Glad you liked it.
Fun is where you find it. There's a guy in my town who rides a Grom.
.
.
.
.
.
.
All day.
Every day.
I see him out almost every time I leave the house. I guess he just likes being out on his bike. He's an older guy, almost certainly retired. Having fun.
Oh definitely man. One of my coworkers has had a Grom for years and doesn't plan on buying anything else. Those are fun 😁
I really want more bikes like this available in the US. For now full-sized emotos feel like they're too expensive for how limited they are, but having something like this Soco TC max for everything local and a bigger gas bike for trips seems like the most reasonable compromise with todays tech and prices.
Had to sell my Zero SR due to the pandemic, and as much as I miss it I don't think I can justify buying a new one when things are back to normal, looking more into options like this.
Awww bummer.. but yeah I agree. That's a great point. Electric commuter + gas road tripper is a great combo.
@@NewZeroland It really is. I'm super excited for the all-electric future but until both pricing and infrastructure really improve I'm gonna have to wait. My car is a both-worlds solution too, the chevy volt.
I really like the design of the motorcycle. It's really good to use electricity instead of oil for your pocketbook and for the environment.
I love mine. 4,500 km riding to work. I desribe it as 9/10 sized. Its practical and fun. I have riden from Geelong to Lorne via Great Ocean Rd. And it was fun. Its different to riding a 900cc. But it hits a lot of boxes. Fun, cheap, low registration, low maintenance, charges from standard outlet. Not the bike to ride around Australia but is it?
Dude if you went on a multi-day, multi-charging, epic road trip circumnavigating Australia on a Super Soco, I would LOVE to see your photos / videos! 😁 That underdog story is always fun. Taking the bike nobody else would, just for the challenge of it.
@@NewZerolandno way you.can do it on this one unless you can find a power outlet on a tree. There is some very vast areas that even for a petrol one are hard to achieve 😊
I would totally put up a poster of this bike in my garage if I had a garage. The scoop for cooling the motor kind of makes it look like the Livewire with the big lumpy cylinder on the bottom. I honestly think they breathed more life into this little bike than a lot of the Zeros. The Zeros definitely have better performance but I kind of think this one has more passion put into it.
You could be right.. it has pretty cool style to it, and for the price, I'm not sure what else I was expecting. I just wish it did more. This is definitely a more appealing bike than a new Zero haha.
It seems for that price you either get the performance or the fit and finish. If you want both the price shoots up. The other 2 bikes you mentioned had the same thing going on with performance.
Having ridden the Livewire (which I think you show at the end of your video) man was it a LOT of fun. Enjoy! Still ended up purchasing the Energica. Come back!!!
Hahaha yeah I agree man. The Livewire really impressed us both, but we're buying more Energicas :D There's just no competition!
Perfect for (big) cities. I test drove one a few times. It's no nonsense but still a blast to ride, makes getting to work or doing errands a fun thing to do again!
Yeah man! Agreed. I think this test ride hit right at the unfortunate time when my wife decided she didn't want to ride to work anymore because she wasn't riding "for fun". Maybe we took out our frustration on it.
Someone once said "It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow." I kinda wonder if that can't also be said for bikes. I mean not everyone is a hotrodder or can even handle bikes with insane amounts of power so for some people the Super Soco is enough if it handles nice... like me mostly, I work at home so I wouldn't mind one for neighborhood riding.
Yeah for sure, and I think the Super Soco handles really well. It's light and nimble. I guess the problem I have is that's all it can do. It's the wall I hit with my Zero years ago. Someone else mentioned having an electric bike for commuting and a gas bike for road trips, and that could be a great justification for buying one of these.
I beg to differ. I think that saying is just a typical sour grapes response. I'd much rather cruise slowly in a fast car than drive fast in a slow car. The issue here is limitations. It's much better to be limited artificially by things like speed limits and traffic than to have hard technical limits with, say, a vehicle that can't even get up to the speed limit.
I love, love, love riding my Zero SR even in city traffic at residential speed limits. But it galls me to no end to be limited to one charge of range in a day. And that's the point. For several years now it's been technically very easy to implement DC fast charging on any EV. There's just no excuse for it not being standard on every electric motorcycle that is otherwise capable of sustained high-speed (better than max highway speed limit) riding.
But the thing about motorcycles is that even Type 2 AC charging is capable of giving Tesla Supercharger equivalent charging speeds, and they aren't even doing that. Zero's current AC charging options are half what they could and should be, and that goes for pretty much every other model out there. Even the Energicas have half the DC and half the AC charging speeds they ought to.
The thing about EVs, though, is that at least on the AC charging side of it it's not that difficult or expensive to upgrade with aftermarket chargers, so you do have options.
In my case, If I had just gone the DIY route with generic parts I would already have the capability to road trip on my Zero, but unfortunately I went for a Kickstarter purpose-built kit that caused the creators to give up completely after several years of building success, just on the cusp of making something great. With the amount I spent on the kit I can't afford to just toss it out and start over from scratch, and I don't have the technical expertise to reverse-engineer the communication protocol, so it's going to be a while until I can do the physical repackaging and get help with the electronics to make a custom control unit. But once that happens, I'll be set!
The beauty of high power AC charging motorcycles is that you get the really quick charging speeds with chargers that are often completely free and that are much more ubiquitous than DC chargers. In other words, with the right AC charging setup, DC charging on a motorcycle is irrelevant.
@@awo1fman I hear ya man. I disagree about AC and DC though. I haven't seen an AC station with over 43kW of power, let alone 300kW like the new DC stations. The reason why motorcycles can't charge faster is heat. None of them have liquid-cooled batteries like cars, so it's really hard to sustain high performance while riding and also high performance while charging. In terms of money, DC is more expensive, but it'll take a lot of DC charging to match the cost of aftermarket chargers. I think if this Super Soco had the ability to fast charge, AC or DC, it would be a HUGE contender.. especially at this price point.
@@awo1fman I beg to differ as well. The saying is less about absolute speeds but rather about how much of your vehicle's abilities you are able to experience and control. When you are constantly busy with taming the beast, you won't be able to enjoy the ride itself.
Under the right circumstances, light and less powerful bikes are often the more exciting choice.
Nice. I love the Guts from Berserker. And Dean from Supernatural was perfect.
Thanks! I was hoping somebody would get that XD
I love Supernatural. I have watched all 13 seasons so many times.
And Berserker is fun. I made a full size oak practice sword for a friend that was the same as Guts’ sword. That thing was super heavy.
@@stevenb7319 holy cow awesome! That musta been huge haha. I wonder if they'll ever make a live action Berserk.
@@NewZeroland my friend was the one that commissioned this sword.
ua-cam.com/video/pfOAgKA7h7g/v-deo.html
So he needed to get a good work out with the wood one before the other one was done so he didn’t pull a muscle. He was already a huge powerlifting enthusiast luckily.
Great to see you riding around in my neck of the woods, and LOVE that the battery is removable. If my quick bit of research is correct, a spare would cost around NZ$1,500 (incl. delivery), so having the option of charging it away from the bike is huge means theft is far less likely and you could double the range since it only weights 11kg.
Great point about theft! That's a really appealing feature. The battery weighs 22kg though, and it's really big.. so I don't think you could carry another one comfortably on the back, or something. That might be tricky, but I'd love to see it haha.
You're right, that's double what I thought it was and a little on the heavy side, but I still think that's doable for a long distance ride. Depends on the weight of the rider too.
Also, if the battery goes bad, it's an easy swap with no removal and installation costs.
Jimmy, I actually built a battery for the Super Soco myself, using 21700 cells instead of the 18650s they use in the pack. Better density meant I could make a battery that was the same capacity as the original but half the size. The original BMS was expensive so I just used my own, which meant I wasn't able to get the display to show the state of charge. So I kept one original battery in the tank as a "reserve" battery, and filled the space for the second battery with two home-made ones, tripling the capacity. When I ran out of charge on my home-made batteries, I switched to the reserve battery, displaying the state of charge for the last leg of the journey to make sure I didn't run out. Another advantage was that I could get a charger for my home-mades that worked way faster. If you're confident with basic electronics, it's easy enough to learn, there are YT turorials you can search for.
@@gallaghergibson8024 Thanks for sharing, Gallagher, that's pure genius. If you haven't done a video already, you should partner up with @NewZeroland and share your achievement. Hell, it makes me want to buy the Soco for that exact reason. Do you have any idea of the range you're capable of now? Do you enjoy any boost in power?
P.S. I love that the OEM battery is a reserve just like traditional bikes have a reserve tank of fuel.
Waiting for the next video...excited too!
😁 it should be a good one!
Prior to Covid my commute was via airlines. Luckily I have not had to car commute for ten years. Your question about why we ride is a very good one Sam. I ONLY ride for pleasure. Even when I was street riding my smoker bike back in the late 90s to work it was just for pleasure. I read somewhere either here or on your Livewire post that someone feels that a 600 smoker is a better deal. I guess it's how one defines a better deal. Everyone is different. For me my 2017 DSR with Charge tank for 10.5k USD is just right for me. I do plan to test ride a Livewire because my friend in Australia wants my view of it compared to my Zero. Paying double for a new bike doesn't hit my jam button right now. My Cybertruck is delayed and I'm hoping to match an Airstream Basecamp 20 to that and put my DSR and Sur Ron in the back to hit the road. So like I said it's all about everyone's individual priorities. I feel sorry for those whose motorcycle priority is for commuting.
Yeah man! Well said. Different strokes for different folks, but hopefully no more smokes 😂 As with everything in the e-moto realm, these bikes are more expensive up front, but the "cost" is relative. Not just the fuel and maintenance cost, but the air quality and environmental cost. Most people can't look past the dollar amount to what they're really buying. Also, that instant torque 😂
@@NewZeroland As a lifelong smoker bike lover I will simply say that I never plan to return to the smoker world. No more valve adjustments, oil changes, transmission rebuilds, leaking radiators, water wetter, ring replacements, fuel injection timing, blah blah blah. LOVE racing LOVED it, but that's not my thing now. TO JUST RIDE is heaven and I'm the guy who loved to wrench. Being an early adopter is a bitch yes, but I'm so excited to be riding an EV. Riding ALL THE TIME not wrenching or gassing up. To each their own brother, but I'm not going back. Just like not going back to writing checks at the grocery store. EVER. Most here never even remember NOT having an ATM card. But so many of the very same resistance to that little change are the same as EV critics.
Thanks Sanford!
I really liked Jen's review at the beginning, she really conveyed how it feels to ride it (but was worried about the ghost foot brake, glad it wasn't an emergency situation.) It was really nice to have at that start of the video before you came with the stats and info. Also the other two Soco models are hub motor, I'm sure they feel different.
I need a poster of the Damon Hypersport for my garage wall... first I need a garage.
Haha yeah the Damon is totally "dream bike garage poster" status. I have no idea how they're going to pull off the 200kg weight with all those specs, but it's an amazing design anyway. Thanks for the feedback on the video! Jenn didn't say much so I didn't have a lot of footage from her ride, but I'm glad you liked that little bit. I'll try and do something similar with the Livewire video.
I have a non-max I use for my daily commute, luckily mine is able to be de-restricted to 80km/h. I agree that the drivetrain is pretty uninspiring, but the real fun of these is their low weight. You can really throw these things around, and they can carry a lot more speed through corners than you might expect!
Nice! I'll be honest, I'd probably love one of these for my insanely short commute.
I have a super soco TS.
I upgraded it with a Kelly controller
Whoa I didn't know you could do that! What kinda performance does yours get now?
@@NewZeroland I took 4 seconds off the 0-50 kmh test!
And I added cruise control too😇
I have yet to upload that video about it tho. Been driving with the Kelly in it for half a year now and it still works awesome!!
I have 4000w nominal settings in the kelly instead of the 2400 peak performance of the main controller
Good looking bike 😎
Yeah, pretty cool cafe racer style.
Due to rules in Canada the SC max is limited to 70 km/hr. But a benefit is it is classified as a moped which only requires a regular car license.
I still think the new Zeros may be a better fit. Just a bit pricey. Hope they come out with DC charging.
The only appeal at that point is the low price. I still think the best option is a used Zero SR or DSR. A few years old and they get pretty cheap, but that's interesting about not needing a motorcycle license.
Very good points there, thanks
Thanks for watching!
Ah me, the old "why do we ride"question. I have a commuter bike and a weekend funtimes bike and try not to think about it too much. I could see myself getting a super SOCO to get to work, although I don't think they are available in Freedomland.
Yeah the electric commuter + gas road tripper combo seems like the popular way to go. They'd probably be a hard sell in the states because everything is so spread out. Any bike with less range than a Zero might be tough.
You have created a new riddle for transcendental mediation.
If an electric motorcycle doesn't make a sound on the street, is anyone actually there riding it?
Mind vortex.
Third person motorcycle shopping is more enjoyable than I would have expected. :)
Bwahahaha dude I love your comments. They're so well-written XD
Are motorcycles built with purpose in mind, or do the owners give them purpose? Like getting a tattoo.. was it meaningful from the start, or does meaning come from it?
Hopefully all these little test ride videos help to show how many electric motorcycles are available now!
it's continious power output is 3.5kW and peak is 5kW..when the going gets hot it cuts power and slows down, which can be dangerous
Yeah I don't think this is meant to do much highway speed.
Think a used ZeroSR with lower power/speed setting is better. For awhile I set my SR to max speed at 60mph but had it on full power. So still had the fun acceleration, which from a dead stop tops out at about 76mph then bike cuts power/speed back down to 60mph. If I'm already rolling at say 20mph and give it full electrons bike would power down and tops out at 60mph. This worked out really well cause I still had some take off speed where if someone wants to steep up I can still get up to about 76mph and leave them in the dust but still not waste power while on the move maxing out at 60mph. This setting increase my range by a wide margin cause higher speeds uses up batter power faster. After a couple months of this I decided to increase top speed to 80mph with full power and find that to be perfect cause 80mph is about as fast as I usually go. At 60mph I would hit that speed limiter a lot and it got annoying. 80mph limit, riding for me, still gets me about 100mile range unlike max speed limit I would only get about 80mile range.
That's a good idea! I think that's another benefit of buying a Zero: the app. Being able to adjust power, top speed, amount of regen, all that is huge. It's stuff that makes electrics unique. So to have an electric motorcycle without regen, and with 3 modes that only change the top speed is kind of a let down. Hopefully the next generation of Super Socos is better!
This was one of your top 10 videos, loved Jen starting it off and all your thoughts. To me, this lacks the thrill of the throttle that pulls me to ride my Zero DSR as often as possible. I want a bike that challenges me to up my game on a spirited ride, plus get me to where I need to go practically. The DSR is still my perfect bike, but I can’t wait to see what you two decided for your next ride.
Thanks man! I really appreciate it, and I agree about acceleration and instant torque being the most appealing factors of electric motorcycles. Without that, it's hard to justify buying one. It'll still be a few months until we get our next bikes, but I can't wait to share what we're getting :D
Yep which is why I'm loving the FX ride 60km round trip via back roads to get a hot chocolate and a pie. Life is good as are Real Town Pies :-)
Bwahaha electric pie runner!
Is it the same size as the SR?
I agree with your question "has the joy of riding been replaced by practicality?".
For me it's hard to decide whether I pay more for range like the SR/DSR/SRF/SRS or maybe just get the FXE/S/FXS/FX/DS and use it just for commuting... And I have based my decision on my commute to work. Kinda sad... Should be more about riding rather than about practicality.
Nah the Super Soco is smaller than the SR. I wish I had it there to compare, but there's.. a reason the Zero wasn't there.. O_O
You're right man.. there are a lot of factors to consider. Does it get enough range to have fun on AND make it to work and back? Is the price point right for what you want to use it for? An FXE might tick all those boxes for ya.
@@NewZeroland oh ya? Wow kinda looked like the same size. Ahhhh I see I’m picking up what you’re putting down 🤐
Ya brother I think that’s where the ICE bikes got them beat (in the prices) for now. Problem with the FXE is that it can’t go the distance I need for work lol. Almost like I have to wait the full 9hrs to charge it to get home (highway speeds of course 110km/hr). I guess we’re working OT LOL
@@NewZeroland if only they listened to someone about fast charging… 🤔
Hey! I have that bike! It only cost 5.000€ here in Munich, Germany and i dont commute, its purely for fun and getting places. A lot of people have complemented the looks, so yeah i think people would put up a poster on the garage wall! It doesnt go 100kmh though, maybe 85-90kmh.
I think 5k euros is about 8k nzd. I'm glad you like it! It definitely looks cool, like a mini cafe racer.
I had been curious about this bike so I appreciate the review.
I'd say... IF you want a "bike" for work commuting, much better these days to get an electric bicycle, (you know... with pedals), since it is much cheaper to buy and own, easier to store and those with mid-drives, (and about 1000-1500 watts), can achieve insane speeds and crazy torque (unlocked). To me, an e-bicycle is the perfect work-commute-mobile. But if you want something for touring and fun, then really it still comes down to Zero.
I agree. There are so many of these "meet you in the middle" mopeds that are really good at commuting but are so limited at everything else.
That depends on the distance. I have to ride 42 Km to work (85 in total each day) and I have been thinking about a speed-pedelec, or even the e-rockit. But I ended up with an Energica (also because the fastest way to work is mostly highway, 100-130 Km/h - although I can avoid the highway if I want to)
Hey dude, for a cheap commuter with a tick more ooompf check out the Evoke e-motorcycles. They get imported to Australia and perhaps NZ too?
Not interested. Sad to say, they're still hub drive and have a fraction of the power Zeros have, so I don't even feel like riding one 😂
@@NewZeroland For commuting hub is best. Silent and maintenance free. Probably more efficient also.
@@moestrei hub motors and high speeds don't mix though. Supposedly the new Evokes run cooler, but for that kinda price I'd rather just buy a used Zero. All these "new" electric motorcycles can't even match the performance of a 5 year old Zero.
@@NewZeroland Did I say Commuting? The Aptera has 3 50kw hub motors and doing alright performance wise and is king efficiency wise. The Lordsdon (?) Pick up has 4 hub motors (which we probably will never see as they seems to go broke). Zero was not successful here in Australia and to my knowledge there is no importer / service available at the moment. Doesn't mean there was something wrong with the bikes though ( except the AUD price tag).
@@moestrei yeah true.. it's sad that Zero doesn't want to come back. Someone in Sydney is importing the new ones though (a few SR/F and SR/S models as well as an Energica) so hopefully you guys get more options soon.
Well I have fun commuting to work on my IEC bike. Don't do too much fun riding, so my bike needed to be more than a bit practical. Why I got a C50 with saddlebags. For an IEC, great mpg and utility. The electric bikes would really fill the fun checkbox, and range to work and back is my only real concern. For me it's that dang price tag. I want to support Zero, Energica, even Livewire. I just don't have over 20K USD lying around to do so. Anywho, thanks for showing another e-bike option. Really would love to know your thoughts on the Livewire.
For sure, man. New electrics are crazy money. If you're buying one to replace a gas bike, the only option is $20k, but to commute.. I always suggest going with a used Zero SR or DSR. A few years old, around the $8k usd mark.. those are solid.
That's why you don't buy a brand new zero. Recently found a very lightly used '18 model (620 miles) for $7000. S model, and yes the battery warranty is transferable.
Shame about the speed.
I've been looking for a reasonably priced bike that'll be alright on California Freeways. The US west coast has charging stations everywhere so no range anxiety, until you hit a ~40mile deadzone.
Wanted the Lightning Strike... But the company just doesn't communicate, and I can't be asked to send ~10k in deposit to a company that can't reply to emails in 3 weeks.
Might wait to see what Zero and Energica have in store for 2022.
Great video as always!
Cheers! I feel ya. If you're on a budget, a used Zero SR is the answer. They do about 80 miles on the highway and can get up to 100mph if you need to 😂 But if you're into road trips, there isn't anything better than Energica.
I have a non MAX TC and its a fun little 45kmh bike :)
Nice!
Looks like a cute little scooter hehehe
Haha yeah definitely moped sized. Micro cafe racer without the racer part 😂
@@NewZeroland hey man. Every one of them is one step closer to the inevitable end of the I.C.E. age for cars and bikes.
@@jace2wheel762 true! Very very true.
Interesting thing is that if the electric rebate applied to bikes, this sucker would be free. Id buy that for a dollar. As to the "Fun" of riding, yeah, one of the things I liked about my e-bike was it was fun, but limited speed put me in the direction of motorcycles. Now would I go back to a speed limited device? I guess it would depends where you are having fun. I like slower more technical roads, so maybe this would still be fun. I think fun can be found in making something slow go fast.
HAHA dude, it turns out Super Soco has a model called the CUx, and it made me think of the SUX 6000 from RoboCop. I should have put that in there! Total missed opportunity. Great point about slow-speed technical roads. I'll admit the TC Max was fun to ride, but then it comes to the small 3.24kWh battery limited where you can have that fun.
But if there is a way for you to upload custom sounds for the startup and shutdown, then you have to get it.
Make it play La Cucaracha and I'm in!
I have a Super Soco TC (the 3kW one with the hub motor) and it's already had several critical components fail, with under 1,000km on the odometer.
It *would* be a great little commuter if owning one wasn't such a crap-shoot: which bit's gonna fail next, and will it happen in the garage, or in traffic?
Oh man O___O well that's not good to hear. Do you think that's a problem with that price point? Cheap bike = unreliable?
@@NewZeroland I think it's just that it was rushed into production without enough road testing.
There's a million comparably-priced ICE bikes out there that'll run smoothly for another 20 years, because bits like cables, twist-grips, indicator switches etc. have been generously over-engineered for the last 40 years already. Those aren't even the expensive bits!
Everything about the TC, though, seems like it was engineered to just barely squeak through. Cables that'll maybe withstand 50 amps before they melt their connectors, for example. While the motor only draws 50 amps, they should've known to use a cable rated for at least 100 amps, just in case of the inevitable.
You already noticed the cheapo indicator switch. I'm glad you didn't get to experience kill-switch roulette, or the twist-grip that gets stuck when it rains!
@@alexmcleod4330 what :O Wow haha, now your Super Soco sounds like a Zero.
OK, here's the answer to my question I asked under this video :-D
Examples of those comparable priced but better bikes plz. Over here the soco seems way cheapest. Am afraid of it being crap though
Thanks, another great review. I hope you're going to try one of the Evokes that have just come into the country? They seem to be the best compromise between performance, range and price to me.
Ahh I'm not too interested, but I guess I should. Evokes are just more cheap bikes from China that still haven't matched the performance or range of a Zero from 5 years ago. It sucks that they're the best NZ has to offer for that price point. I'll think about it. If I can get up to Auckland I'll try and ride one.
@@NewZeroland alrendo ts bravo maybe? Similar spec to a Zero from China, but cheaper
@@kalvindeane1 specs aren't really on par with Zero but the price is waaaay lower. Those look cool!
@@NewZeroland I meant the battery is a similar size to a Zero S sorry, and they both come under 125cc licenses for Europe with similar horsepower and a bigger onboard charger. I'm kinda interested in buying one, but at least you know a Zero will be pretty reliable and easier to find a dealership.
If zero could just bring out decent charging for the S and DS there'd be no dilemma!
@@kalvindeane1 oh yeah good point, the Zero S is very similar. Alrendo has a bigger battery but is way heavier. That would be a good comparison.
It's the million dollar question.. As a daily yes, weekender no.
Or be like most motorcycle owners and have 5+. Daily, dirt squirt, track, dual tourer, vintage, club ride.
Haha yeah, I guess we're still looking for that "one bike to rule them all" and it might be a foolish quest.
I have the tc for one year and a half is the best for the city and the speed limit is 80km/h because is unlimited and not limited only with a configuration you can change that 😬
Oh wow haha.. how's the hub motor handle that? Does it get hot at 80km/h?
Yes it get hot but not to much and in speedometer show how hot is it
@@jossruilova822 oh that's cool!
Nice video. I'm curious: how is the build quality of the Super Soco to really use as a commuter in hard-core conditions (thinking especially of the Dutch weather, with cold and freezing weather, rain, rain and more rain :-D). Electronics, rust, drive train, lots of KM's - is it all weather-resistable enough?
Thanks Rick! Not sure.. that's a great question though, because if it's build specifically for commuting, it needs to be reliable. Being cheap and Chinese usually means it isn't, but I'm not sure.
hi for supersoco electric bikes in sydney does rider requires to have motorbike license before you can ride supersoco electric bike in sydney nsw under new law?
I'm not sure.. maybe the little 50km/h model doesn't require a motorbike license, but the TC Max does.
Looking forward to the next one!
Sorry to say none of the electric bikes are ticking all the boxes for me yet mainly being price speed and range , one needs to down and the others needs to up lol.
What kinda bike are you looking for? Tourer, off-roader, racer?
@@NewZeroland tourer I guess atm with moderate off road capability.
This would cover commuting too occasionally.
Some of the stealth bomber bikes look ok but not road legal which is a problem.
@@FlyingFun. I've heard whispers of an electric tourer coming out next year, so hopefully it works out. Man those Stealth bikes are crazy fast!
How does this compare in power to a Honda grom? I get that one is petrol and one is electric but they say this is like a 125cc? What are your thoughts?
I feel like this would accelerate faster than a Grom, but the top speed is lower, and it's more expensive up front.
Isn’t a groms top speed only 95kph?
@@viciousviolet3783 nah they can get up to 110kph.. I guess they're both pretty close haha.
@@NewZeroland I’m also looking at the FONZ NKD have you tested it yet? Would love to see you do a review on it.
@@viciousviolet3783 oh yeah! Those are insanely powerful. I think they're only in Australia so far.
Great video once again, Sam. A lot of good questions at the end. Very philosophical.
I ride because I love riding. And the Zero SR ticks all the boxes I need from a bike right now. Would I buy another electric bike today? Yes, and it would probably be another SR. Ha!
Oh, and my "touring" windshield is great! Have seen my range increase by about 10 to 20 miles.
Thanks man! Stuff to think about :D Great to hear about your windshield. Jenn told me she absolutely wants one so that's on it's way.. just not for the Zero.. bwahaha!
Compared to the e-bikes 2 years ago, this bike is way more futuristic.
This video is from 2 years ago 😂
how can I turn off the startup sound? I hate it!
Hahaha sorry, I have no idea. You might have to unplug a speaker or something 😂
@@NewZeroland that also unplugs the alarm haha. I'm going crazy my startup sound is embarrassing af
@@iamtheblackwizard88 😂😂😂 aw damn! That's rough. Maybe somebody online has found a way to hack it. Hopefully it's a simple fix. Good luck!
Can i ask how tall you are? Im 6 foot 2 and considering buying one of these as my first bike but don't want it to be too small for me :/
I'm also 6'2 and it's definitely a tiny bike, but still fun. Plenty of pep and range for commuting. If you can find a cheap used Zero, I'd rather get one of those. They're a step up into properly sized motorcycles and way more usable.
@@NewZeroland wow thanks for quick reply. I've only ever had an electric bicycle because I'm not fond of driving cars and find it more comfortable. This seemed like the easiest transition to more power at a great price for getting around town. I dont mind it being a small bike if i can still get around on it comfortably. did you find it comfortable despite the small size?
@@lukehilton493 hey, yep! It was still comfortable and I didn't feel scrunched up on it. If you can take one for a test ride, that'll probably be your best answer. I liked it, and for commuting it would be perfect.
Can we still get a tc max these days?
Yep, I think you can order them online. Depends what country you're in though.
Zero and Energica are a really big names in the electric motorcycles world. Too bad your choices are very limited. That said: I drove a BMW C Evolution electric scooter once and although I've been driving for 20 years, I couldn't remember I had this much fun taking a motorcycle for a short drive.
Nice! I've heard good things about that scooter. Unfortunately it's still really early for high performance electrics. At least Ducati is joining the group, so I'm sure that will bring some motivation for Honda and Yamaha to do it too.
That was/is my issue with the DSR. With the range tether around home I mostly use it for commuting and local short rides. Charging being the issue. I see that being addressed in the future, but for now it is what it is. (Bay Area, California) Looks like NZ has it going on with charging infrastructure though :D
Yeah I feel ya. Zeros are a lot more fun, but they're still commuter bikes. All we have so far that break that mold are the Livewire and Energicas. At this point, it's hard to justify buying anything else.
@@NewZeroland I'm finding with 12kW charging it's not at all bad at doing big miles in a day. An hour off in every 2 or 3 hours riding, covering about 100 miles at a time... not really hugely far off what I do on ICE bikes, except I avoid the motorway like the plague.
@@caspianprince yeah good point! An hour charge isn't too bad.
@@NewZeroland I guess we're not too far off of half an hour and 200 miles but I'm happy enough.
@@caspianprince That would be the holy grail for us in NoCal. That's enough range to daytrip on a single charge or LA or Oregon with a recharge and a half.
It hurt so much in my brain to ride on the "wrong" side of the street. Super Soco is a cool brand.
Haha yeah I bet. If only there was an option to mirror youtube videos.
Yay!!! Next, Hog time. 😂 You might choke on you pre-ride champagne and canapés when they mention the price 😂
$54k nzd brand new hahaha. I'm so glad the price has dropped to a more realistic spot with the rest of the high-end electrics.
It's definitely a great commuting option. I was talking to an owner who loves his Super Soco last weekend, but yes, do you want to spend the money on a Super Soco or would you rather put it towards that/those new Energica(s)? 😉
Haha exactly! Multiple bikes that only do a few things, or one bike to rule them all??
Really cool that you've got some different frames to test out (and make content for while you wait for your Energicas x2)!! I think that each of these frames has a place in the market. We're seeing a lot of home-brew emotos here in the US (at least in urban areas where these would thrive) - EV Moto makers need to go where the market is or this will all flop. Even though EVs have been around for long enough - we still haven't jumped that 'early adopter' gap. People are still dumbfounded that a motorcycle can take a charge - I get asked EVERY TIME I charge my LiveWire if it's electric. Their heads really explode when they see it's a Harley-Davidson! People just don't know these exist yet, at least in the US market. Further proof that we haven't crossed over into wide adoption.
To your last point, I've realized that everyone rides for different reasons - there is no unified or singular reason to ride. Some people enjoy the pure ride, yes, others do it for social interaction. Some like to tinker and fix things or even modify them. Some people drool over tech specs and 1/4 mile times - others just want to hear the exhaust. To each their own. If people are enjoying their rides - doesn't really matter why. As long as you an Jen are getting what you want out of riding, then that's all that matters.
True, well said sir. Thanks for that comment! Do you think it's a problem with marketing / promotion? Even people with EVs will tell me they've never heard of a Zero before, even though I've had mine for over 5 years haha. You'd think Americans would at least know about American-made motorcycles like Zeros and Livewires. I guess it's still a special time where we can be in an elite group of unique riders. We're doing something different, and that's exciting :D
@@NewZeroland my thoughts exactly. There will come a time when an EV motorcycle is common. I’m enjoying the ride for the moment while it lasts! Thanks for the sub!
Marketing problem? Hard to say, I think that’s a deeper and more complex conversation. Range and charge time are the crux of the questions it get all the time. I think the advent of EVs a decade ago have held in people’s minds and they think the range and charge rates hold in their minds today. People scoff at the range, yet I’m certain not many people do more than 50 miles a week on their motorcycle - it would seem that 100-200 miles a week is being gracious with an average. Even though people don’t ride that far in a day, I think it’s more of a feature mindset than practical reasons. People like the idea that they can go 150-300 miles on a ICE bike tank, even though they rarely use it in a single ride.
@@AdventuresonZero for sure. If people ride under 100 miles a day, something like a Zero is perfect. As you know, charging at home is the ultimate convenience! For the occasional long weekend ride, get a charge tank or upgrade to a DC charging bike. While it's true that we're still early adopters, since just about all the mainstream EVs we see on the road have only existed for 10 years, the options we already have are pretty impressive. I just wish more people knew about them.. thus the youtube videos haha!
@@NewZeroland precisely! People just want to know that they can go 200 miles on a charge even though they will rarely need it. I think it’s a barrier for the general public that they just don’t want to get over. It’ll come with time though . Infrastructure has a huge impact as well. In the last year, DCFC has popped up in my area. As soon as I saw that, I sold the DSR and got the LiveWire.
And yes, the UA-cam videos will keep coming to educate the masses!
c'est pas fou comme moto mais ça le mérite d'être abordable =)
Vrai! Cette moto bon marché pourrait changer le monde.
@@NewZeroland Je suis convaincu que l'arrivé de la moto électrique se fera avec les modèles 11kw pas cher. Energica / Zero / Livewire c'est bien trop cher pour lancer cette nouvelle aire... (Désolé pour le google traduction ^^)
@@motardselectriques Tu as probablement raison. La plupart des gens ne peuvent pas se permettre des Harley et des Energicas, alors les cyclomoteurs comme ceux-ci seront populaires ! (Je suis désolé aussi.. J'ai besoin d'apprendre le français !)
@@NewZeroland non t'inquiètes c'est à moi d'apprendre l'anglais! Dont worry i have to learn english. It'is "la norme sur cette terre" XD XD XD
@@motardselectriques Il ne nous reste plus qu'à faire de l'électrique la norme !
Hi i live in india they rebrand the whole bike n its like super hit here there is 8 months waiting line to buy one and its only 2000 dollars here lol
Whoa cheap!!
The range is not as good as indicated, recently I rode a TC Max throughout the day, starting with an indicated range of 140km. Keeping the bike in level 1, I charged for 20 minutes in the morning, 35 minutes at lunch time and a further 20 minutes in the afternoon. I travelled 59km, and when I completed the ride the bike indicated a range of 50km available.
Yes it was cold, and I do weigh 100kg, and I do ride with plenty of throttle (for level 1), and due to the nature of the role there is lots of stopping and starting, but you would not anticipate loosing that much range, certainly my Hyundai has far better range accuracy, which then gives confidence to trip planning.
Whoa, thanks for sharing that. It only has a 3.24kWh battery so that's more range than I would have guessed haha. From what the owner said, the modes don't affect acceleration (only top speed), so level 1 in the city is a great choice.
@@NewZeroland we have been instructed to keep the bike in level 1 for regular use, and only use level 2 for going up the hills. We have also be instructed to keep our eye on the range, we also use the remaining petrol bike or a car for beats that are further out from base.
By the way, more Jen equals better channel hahaha
😂 agreed!
In India this bike is known as Revolt RV 400
Interesting!
First from mojo to soco
Yeah baby yeah!
Ha yeah the CCC deliver parking tickets with them 🤣😂🤣
I wish the Super Soco was adult size though
Aw crap lol. Now you're making me want to kick them over when I see them.
@@NewZeroland ah ha ha ha 🤣
Parking tickets are a joke here anyway, they start at $8 so actually cheaper than paying to park
@@willyd-adv OH WOW hahaha, well now I'm going to park wherever I want.
U.S. Dollars Price ?!
Not sure.. maybe $5k?
I have a TS…..was a TS now it’s a 15kw monster
How'd you do that?? Different controller? :O
I have tc, it is best for to work riders. Problem is that i like it a lot, so now I need too buy beter, biger, faster, stronger bike(4 cheap). Dayi motor s e-odin here i come.
Do you have Zeros there? That is a great next bike.
@@NewZeroland Not official diler in croatia, but fx was 12k euros. Too steep for my wallet. Tc was only 2k after the goverment grant(40%off the pp)
It can only go 90kmh, and the battery is aweful.
Zero is the sweet spot
Agreed. Zeros should be the baseline for all others to work from.
Price difference puts them in totally different markets.
i have the soco cpx
Oh yeah I totally forgot to mention the scooters! Like that one with the Ducati livery 😁
Please bro upload a video reviewing damon hypersport pro please😟😭😍🙄
Haha there has to be a bike to review.
@@NewZeroland oh well I thought there is however keep rocking bro.
"I want it all! and I'm not going to pay a lot for it!" Sure your not Dutch? :-)
I'm definitely paying more to get more. There's a bare minimum of what we need a motorcycle to do, and this thing ain't cuttin it.
LIVEWIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If i could replace my Fat Boy with this i would in a heart bear!
Beat
@@darrylhobbs3200 the new ones are $22k now!
@@NewZeroland NZD or US - i know they have dropped a lot in the US but still 58K odd here
@@darrylhobbs3200 $54k nzd, but the new ones should be sub $40k soon.
new zealand?
That's where we are, yes 😁
I started riding on a Super Soco notmax. If it hadn't struggled to get to 40mph, I might well have killed myself. It was exactly fun enough for me. Now I ride a Zero, which is what I really wanted all along, but I learned enough about myself and my ability on a bike on the Super Soco that I don't regret waiting.
Nice! Haha totally like starting on a 250cc and moving up to a 600cc. I like that. Super Socos definitely serve their purpose.
Thoughtful review. And good questions. As a home inspector, I need a car for my job. So motorcycles are or fun only. To me, the livewire was too small and too expensive. And the Harley name is a huge turn off for me. Also, I try to avoid buying products made by angry union employees with penny pinching bosses. The livewire is a perfect example of what you get. Overpriced, underperformance.
Thanks man! I dunno.. we were both really impressed by it. With the new $22k price, it would be super appealing if we weren't already buying Energicas.
@@NewZeroland less range. Less power. Less performance oriented. Slower fast charging. Shunned by "true" Harley guys. Interingly, Harley guys were interested in my ribelle at bike night last week. But it wasn't a Harley so it was OK. Plus, you're probably too tall for it. It's not a big bike.
@@NewZeroland wait wuuuuuuh?!
@@octopusenvy the only way to go is Energica :D
Hmm reminds me of the 18 months of ownership I had of a Soco TS, the advertised range & top speed of these are lies. Also after the fifth warranty repair (2 replacement batteries, 1 electrical gremlin, 1 charger explosion, 1 front wheel bearing & front forks collapse and replacement) in 18 months I was done with this bike. I cannot recommend strongly enough that people don't buy super soco's. Sorry to be negative about this but you get what pay for and there bikes are cheap.
Holy crap hahaha what an experience! That sucks man.. sorry to hear you went through that. What do you ride now?
Yeah not a great experience as my first bike. I was going to get a Zero S or FXS but the riding positions didn't agree with me. So going for Triumph Trident, unfortunately it's a dead dino machine. Hope you guys find some nice bikes you can tour on the south Island trip looked amazing 😺
@@nickbrigg5203 cheers man! No worries about the Triumph. Hopefully you have a better time than we did haha.
I'm sorry...I really want to watch this but 0:02 has broken me for life.
😂😂😂😂 That lady was riding for fun lol
Bye... Uiiiii... Dududu 🤣 haha best comment 👍
Brah but you forgot to do burnouts to show ppl it is a legit motorcycle 😎
I don't think it can do burnouts 😂😂😂
@@NewZeroland I doubt it.
Not Harley please. They are bringing out a cheaper version in the states. Those in NZ will be the expensive versions. Motorcycling is for whatever you need it for. Commute, Adventure & Touring or all 3 at one time!🚀
Haha the Harley branded Livewires might become rare collector's items now. The new ones should be the same though. Same power and range, etc, just cheaper. I've always thought of motorcycling as freedom, so being limited by range and top speed is a deal-breaker for us.
@@NewZeroland then stick to gas & you’ll have nothing to fear but fear itself 😎🙌☠️
@@stevesane800 nah, Energica :D
Lost interest in the bike but stayed for the lolz
😂 cheers!
well, is cheap for an electric bike, but is expensive for a motorcycle with the same power while this one got on top of that limited speed...
Yep, I think this is the ultimate commuter. Best bang for buck in NZ. Beyond that, I'm still not sure.
I see... it looks cool, but it rides up to a 100 km/h ? then is it classified as a light motorcycle and not an electric moped anymore? would one need an actual motorcycle licence with this one? thanks for getting back.. really am considering this but also see the old classic mopeds from the 70s as really efficient and cheap to ride. @@NewZeroland
@@SimplicityForGood yep you need a license to ride this. In NZ it's just a learner's license, but still a more powerful bike than a moped. I think mopeds are limited to 50km/h.
yes, is a sad development in Europe now.... in the past a moped could go 90 and no one really bothered you @@NewZeroland
"But is it exciting?" - Yeah, no. When I looked at the Light Bee, they also had various Super Socos in the show room. None of them appealed to me. It tries to look like a modern yet classic bike ..but I just can't. **cries in German** They have a similar design to the current Honda CB bikes - they are neither fish nor fowl. (Husqvarna Vitpilen is in a similar spot for me but their design is well balanced) Yamaha's XSR series looks much more exciting. On top of that the Super Socos have grey/silver metal and plastic parts that should have been chrome.
Why is it still such a hassle with (smaller) electric bikes and why does the vast majority still feel so half-arsed? :( Where are the electric Triumphs, Ducatis, and ?
PS: Your merchandise is too tame - you need to spice it up (just like these smaller electric bikes)! I don't think the UA-cam logo should be part of your "brand" (if I am allowed to say so).
Haha yeah, that's a huge complaint I have about most electric motorcycles. They just look like gas bikes! I would love a Sondors Metacycle just for the styling. Thanks for checking out my merch 😁 What kind of stuff would you want to see?
@@NewZeroland The Sondors is gorgeous :o
Regarding the merch: It lacks identification with your channel in my opinion. Maybe you could do something like a sketch of yourself and Jenn plus some mockup of an electric motorcycle ;-) I could also think of an indication to New Zealand (Silver fern? Kiwis?). The font for NewZeroland is fine in my opinion but not exciting enough to be on a shirt just by itself (you could change that but I don't think it is necessary).
As far as I understood, you guys are going the Energica route? If this is a long(er) term commitment, I would incorparate the Energicas for sure. Try to get some inspiration from other brands here (Triumph Street Triple and Ducati Panigale come to mind with their unique styles). There should be lots of options there and it might be worth to consult a proper designer.
I would definitely drop the UA-cam logo - I assume UA-cam is your only platform but I believe merchandise should be about the "what" not "where" (or at least not that prominent). If you want to keep it, it should be at the bottom/somewhere hidden in a way that people only spot it after their initial glance.
Hope this helps and please don't take my criticism personal ;X
@@g4m3r911 that was great! Thanks for the feedback. I definitely have some Energica-related merch planned, so that should be fun 😁
Ah yeah they really need to "fix" the turn signal button to something .... else.
That was an odd one. Not sure why they didn't just grab that part from another bike.
Amazing value for money. Is it Chinese? Can we add ethical and environmental considerations to the list of shopping head-scratch factors please? Boring? Yes. Somewhere at the top of the list of consumer considerations for the 'my first ever bike' generation? Totally Yes. That's a massive plus for the FTN when it comes to Kiwi new bikers I'd say. Shame my Nissan eVan got the Leaf battery and motor but not the fun chimes :-( But the chatty Japanese girl stowing away under the dash since the van was imported, is a boon substitute.
There isn't a menu to turn sounds on and off? The Leaf has four different tunes to choose from, I think. And yep, Super Soco is Chinese. I can't speak for the workplace conditions there but I've heard questionable things about the build quality and reliability.
🤔
NIce rev. for me it's simple. No. I want more fun. So a bike should be fun when we need it to be. That Harley looks great. but I have a feeling that Zero might be the end result after all these mathematical calculations you guys are doing 😎.
Haha you're in for a surprise then! I can't wait to share what we're getting :D
@@NewZeroland Oh boy, am getting exited now. You guys are masters in cliff hanger ends😁.
@@islabonita4193 haha thanks! The cliffhanger to the next episode is gonna be rough. Apologies in advance XD
@@NewZeroland I appreciate the heads up😁
I Russia i can buy this bike only for 4000$! Bud anyway i don't have such money. :(
Yeah New Zealand dollars are worth way less :\
buy the livewire electric motorcycle
Maaaaybe?
@@NewZeroland pay it on finance so you don't have to save for it lol
We have plenty of supersoco in paris. It's a big peace of crap
Haha aw... but surely they'd be great for getting around the city, right? Like those little electric cars all over.
@@NewZeroland not reliable, the range is half what the bike says. And on a tiny hillclimb you'll be overtaken by a guy in a wheelchair. They are really cheap for a reason :/
Sadly this is one of the worst electric bikes you can own.! Kollter es1-Pro is a much better value for money..!
Whoa, electric supermoto! I haven't heard of those. I don't think they sell them here. Looks awesome.
Why is it that expensive o er there? In Germany it is 4900€
Convert euros to NZD