The Zero S motorcycle is certified to get 455 miles/gallon equivalent

Zero Motorcycles recently announced achieving three significant milestones and claim to be the first electric motorcycle company to do so. These milestones are to pass US safety standards, pass Canadian safety standards, and to receive an EPA Certificate of Conformity. As a result, buyers of the Zero S and Zero DS can now benefit from major government incentives. Presumably the certifications also give reassurance to quality and environmental benefit.

Zero Motorcycles claims that under the proposed EPA regulations issued on Sept 15, 2009, the Zero S and DS achieve an equivalent of 455 MPG and generate zero grams of CO2 per mile. However as previously noted electrons do not come in gallons and gasoline does not come in coulombs, hence to claim “455 MPG” must involve some sort of conversion factor (see 230 MPG WTF: Looking at todays Volt announcement from GM). Zero Motorcycles says the conversion they used comes from a proposed EPA regulation issued on Sept 15, 2009.

The Zero S is a fully electric motorcycle that is built from the ground up around its revolutionary drivetrain technology. It is a street legal supermoto motorcycle that is designed for urban riding. The Zero DS is the dual sport version of the Zero S and can be ridden on anything from city streets to dirt trails. The motorcycles are not only zero emissions vehicles; they are also completely non-toxic and almost 100% recyclable.

Achieving these U.S. certifications means that the Zero S and DS meet all the requirements for newly created Federal tax credits on street legal electric motorcycles. It allows buyers to receive the 10% Federal tax credit and the state sales tax credit established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The tax credit in question is from section 1142 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The credit applies to two- or three- wheeled electric vehicles with at least a 2.5 kilowatt-hour battery pack.

For more info:

Energy Provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Zero Motorcycles Leads the Industry: First to Pass National EPA Certification and to Meet US and Canadian Safety Standards: Zero’s All-Electric Motorcycle Achieves Equivalent of 455 MPG

Zero Motorcycles supports nationwide tour of the FUEL film

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About David Herron

David Herron is a writer and software engineer living in Silicon Valley. He primarily writes about electric vehicles, clean energy systems, climate change, peak oil and related issues. When not writing he indulges in software projects and is sometimes employed as a software engineer. David has written for sites like PlugInCars and TorqueNews, and worked for companies like Sun Microsystems and Yahoo.