Longest electric motorcycle ride on a single charge world record has just been completely demolished with incredible new milestone

This is the Zero DS and it just set a new Guinness World Record for the longest ride with an electric motorcycle on a single charge.

This would be news under any circumstances, but it’s especially newsworthy because of the numbers involved.

That’s partly because the new record is especially significant.

And more to the point, because it broke the previous one by a staggering margin.

How the electric motorcycle beat the previous record

The Guinness World Record for the longest journey on an electric motorcycle on a single charge has been shattered by Zero Motorcycles, with a rider taking a production Zero DS a staggering 436.5 km (271.2 miles) on one battery charge.

The ride started from the Alps and finished down by the Mediterranean, covering public roads, changing elevations, and various landscapes.

In other words, it’s a real-world scenario, not a ‘lab’ one.

That’s great.

And what’s better is that the Zero DS is powered by an (unmodified) sub-20 kWh battery pack.

That’s easy to produce and lightweight.

The only caveat, if we absolutely wanted to nitpick and find one, is that the rider avoided major highways in favor of slower, single-lane roads.

Also, Zero used three different riders.

This was mostly for safety and efficiency reasons.

Riding a motorcycle in a methodical, record-breaking way requires extra effort and concentration, which can be tiring.

Still, not a bad result.

The margin is crazy

The new Guinness World Record is impressive per se.

But it’s even more impressive when you consider the margin.

The previous record was beaten by 125.8 kilometers, marking an improvement of more than 40 percent.

Obviously, this rise won’t be exponential.

In fact, as battery technology improves, engineers may face bottlenecks or diminishing returns, but it’s still mighty impressive.

Why electric motorcycles aren’t taking off as fast cars are

There are a few both reasons electric motorcycles aren’t gaining mainstream traction.

First, one of the biggest problems with EVs is that they’re heavy.

Battery technology still suffers from a significant deficit when it comes to energy-to-weight ratio, which is less of a problem with cars.

The second problem is the price tag.

Automakers spent years developing EVs in the high-end segment just so they could then scale up in production while scaling down in prices.

Motorcycle manufacturers haven’t, which means electric motorcycles are still too expensive.

The third reason is entirely subjective.

Cars are tools – that’s how and why most people use them.

Motorcycles, by contrast, are mostly used for fun.

And that’s why the average buyer doesn’t worry about efficiency and still wants an engine note.

Electric two-wheeled vehicles are super popular, though

If we’re talking about electric motorcycles then no, they’re not hugely popular.

But two-wheeled vehicles in general are.

Electric mopeds, scooters and bicycles are popular because they’re convenient, quiet, and quite nippy even though you wouldn’t call them fast.

In an urban environment, you need something that’s quick off the line at the light but you don’t need raw power and torque.

And because these motors are small, the batteries can be small, and therefore light.

You get an e-bike that’s just as fast or faster than a non-electric one, and just as lightweight or only slightly heavier, but much, much cheaper to run.