Zero Motorcycles has announced the release of the company’s iPhone and Android mobile applications for the Zero’s range of electric motorcycles. A handy interface to change the basic performance settings on the motorcycle’s EV components, Zero’s mobile app connects via Bluetooth and allows a rider to adjust the bike’s top speed, torque, and regenerative braking.
The app also allows the rider to get more detailed information about the state of the motorcycle’s charge, operating temperatures, battery volts/amps, and ride statistics. Additionally, a rider can configure the application to show the money saved using electricity instead of gasoline, C02 spared from entering the atmosphere, etc.
With the mobile interface is available on all of Zero’s 2013 models, one of the more interesting features of the mobile application is that it also allows a Zero owner to send diagnostic information back to Zero HQ for analysis and troubleshooting, saving a trip (and presumably a fee) at the dealership. Chewy.
While it may seem a little gimmicky to some riders, Zero Motorcycle’s mobile application is just the first of many similar apps from electric motorcycle manufacturers, and shows a new platform for enthusiasts to further tinker and customize their motorcycles.
We can think of a few petrol heads who will be put-off by lost romance of cleaning out a carburetor with dirty hands, but the ability to affect the drive performance of tae motorcycle with just a few clicks is a powerful tool, and opens the possibility for even more fine-tuning of the machine by end-users (think MotoGP-level adjustability for laymen).
The phone-home feature to Zero for diagnostics is also very compelling, and could potentially alter the way riders interact with their local dealer. As electric motorcycles become more of a mainstay in motorcycling, and applications like Zero’s become more commonplace, it will be interesting to see how the landscape in motorcycling changes as well.
Source: Zero Motorcycles
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