The world record for the longest journey on an electric motorcycle on a single charge has just been absolutely demolished.
And it was done so by a Zero Motorcycles rider traveling 436.5 km (271.2 miles) before finally running out of juice.
The ride, completed by Belgian rider Jelle Verstaen aboard a Zero DS electric motorcycle, earned a new Guinness World Records title and blew past the previous record of 310.7 km (193 miles) by more than 125 km (78 miles).
And this wasn’t some one-off aerodynamic streamliner built specifically to chase a record. The bike was a production Zero DS equipped with the company’s optional Power Tank, bringing total battery capacity to 19.2 kWh. Verstaen was joined for the ride by two others on Zeros as well, with all three beating the previous record.
The record attempt began high in the French Alps and eventually wound its way down toward the Mediterranean coast, with Verstaen aiming to maintain an average cruising speed of around 52 km/h (32 mph).
That might not sound particularly fast for a motorcycle – and it certainly wasn’t – but speed was very much the enemy here. Aerodynamic drag increases dramatically as speeds rise, making relatively slow riding one of the best ways to stretch an electric motorcycle’s battery.
The result was a ride that lasted deep into the night and through the next morning.
Zero says the team specifically chose nighttime riding to reduce traffic, helping Verstaen maintain a steady, efficient pace. That became especially important as the route transitioned from the Alps toward lower elevations and eventually the Mediterranean.
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