Is riding an electric trail bike the best way to jump start your off-road riding skills? Ben Weeks goes back to school aboard the Zero XE to find out.
I have a confession. During nearly 30 years of riding motorcycles, I’ve ridden sports bikes, sports tourers, custom cruisers, naked street bikes, and retro classics, but I have very little off-road riding experience. You see, while it’s true that adventure bikes have also formed part of that history, my current bike is a prime example of why I’ve spent so little time off the tarmac.
My Triumph Tiger 1200 has carried me on numerous tours over countless miles, and down a fair few light green lanes, but it has been hard to gain the offroad confidence needed for more technical trails on such a big, heavy bike.
Particularly when, in the back of my mind, I’m wondering how I’ll pick it up if I drop it, and then pay for the repairs. In short, my trail riding life has been permanently stalled for some time now. So, when the opportunity to learn some off-road skills a lightweight electric trail bike, the Zero XE, came along, it was a no-brainer. I immediately said yes and headed to the Desert Rose Off Road Riding Academy in East Sussex.
LOOK MUM, NO GEARS
I’d ridden electric motorcycles before, and the lack of a shifter on the left footpeg and a clutch on the left handlebar had taken a little getting used to. But the XE was different again. As expected, there was no gear pedal, but there was also no brake pedal on the right. Instead, the rear brake was applied using the lever usually reserved for the clutch, with the right lever performing the usual front-brake duties.
In essence, the Zero XE was laid out like a beefed-up mountain bike, albeit one equipped with an electric motor putting out 635Nm of torque at the rear wheel and generating a top speed of 58mph. The advantage of this set-up was immediately clear as instructor Gary led our group of riders out onto an open field to practise body position on the bike.
“Make sure the traction control is turned off. You won’t be needing that,” he said.
Standing up on the pegs, with nearstraight legs, elbows high and wide, and ensuring the balls of my feet, not the arches, were resting on the footpegs, it was much easier to maintain this riding position while not having to worry about using my toes to shift gears or brake. And after a few laps kicking up dust and skidding the back wheel, it was time to take to the single-track course through the woods.
CHASING TRAILS
Charging through the woodland, the handlebars skimming past the trunks of crowding trees, I was grateful for the lack of gears. With all my focus honed on the trail, the simplicity of using the throttle to go and the brakes to slow down was infectious.
The front wheel pitched in and out of ruts and bounced over gnarled tree roots, scrubbed free of earth by the passage of tyres, the undulations absorbed in equal measure by the XE’s suspension and the slight bend of my knees.
If I got a bit heavy-handed with my right wrist and the front wheel began to lift, or the chunky rear tyre spun free of the dirt (both entertainingly easy to do), it was just a matter of easing off the throttle until the bike regained its composure.
And once the bike was pointing in the right direction and the back wheel had sunk its rubber teeth back into the ground, the instant power from the throttle was addictive. Somewhere amid the intense concentration, I realised I was having a lot of fun.
OFF-ROAD HIGHS
With my confidence growing, the grand finale beckoned: getting airborne. In a corner of the 80-plus-acre forest and fields Desert Rose calls home, a dusty trail threaded through yet more bluebell-carpeted woodland, with tighter corners, steeper drops and ascents, and more than a few opportunities to get me and the bike off the ground.
It started with a shallow ramp in a straight line. I gave a quick squeeze of the brake, compressing the front suspension before a blip of the throttle lifted the front wheel and spurred the bike into the air.
On the road, grabbing at the throttle only to be met with no discernible noise had felt weird. But here I was too focused to notice. The jump felt big, although it was only a matter of inches. But better was to come.
Hammering up a shingly hill, twisting between brambles and enjoying the twitch of the back wheel cutting loose, I followed the track as it went into a hollow, which was like a tree-lined half-pipe of dust and earth. The bike climbed up the left bank, then swung back through the hollow to launch up and out of the steep right bank.
There was no second-guessing this time as both wheels sailed through the air. The first landing was rough, a cloud of dust and a writhing bike. But with little more to worry about other than hanging on, I did. The second time round was better.
By the fifth, I was questioning when I’d last had so much fun on two wheels and what I’d been worrying about all this time. Riding off road well and with confidence suddenly felt achievable.
ELECTRIFYING THRILLS
Alas, the day’s ride came to an end all too soon and I had to give the Zero XE back. Out there amongst the trees, it made so much sense. It was light, agile, forgiving, fun, and completely took the fear factor out of riding a bike off road.
In fact, it was the perfect vehicle for an off-road newbie. Would I have an XE in my garage alongside my Triumph? Absolutely. And I suspect it would give me the bigger grin.
You can find out more about the Zero XE over on the manufacturer’s website HERE.
