At Agnellotreffen with the electric motorcycle

Riding in the middle of winter in the snow-capped Alps is perverse. Even going there with an electric motorcycle has something depraved. So I did it without thinking twice.

The opportunity was given to me there’Agnellotreffen, the winter motorcycle rally than with his 1.615 meters above sea level is the highest in Italy (and I also know about Europe?). It has been held for six years – come si evince dal nome – on the Colle dell’Agnello and more precisely in Pontechianale, last town before the inevitable interruption of the road due to snow.

Read more: www.agnellotreffen.com or join the community on Official Facebook page of Agnellotreffen the, yet, follow the Instagram profile.

What did I go to Agnellotreffen with the electric motorcycle?

The answer is quite simple: the organizers asked me to do, like I did last year, the video that tells the edition and to follow the related communication. When to duty, in conclusion, pleasure joins. I decided to take the leap to see how an electric motorcycle behaved in this situation. But before we get there… here below the video I made for Agnellotreffen 2019!

The bike: Zero Motorcycles DSR

For this “experiment” frozen i used the bike that Zero Motorcycles he kindly made me available in recent months: the DSR with equipment Black Forest, or the top of the range of the Californian brand. If you have followed me for a while, you will know that I have been using this bike since the beginning of the summer and – ahimé – my long test period is about to end. Together we have already traveled about 4.500 km and at the end of winter the bike will go on sale. But I'll talk about this another time.

The DSR is the sportiest dual sport of the House. It mimics the GS or Africa Twin enduro bikes, but it's actually more the size of a scrambler. The “threw” is exceptional thanks to 146 Nm of torque always present, the weight is acceptable (210 kg), the driving position is comfortable and drives well. The battery is from 14.4 kWh which translates into a real autonomy of 180-200 km with a state road pace. Charging times vary depending on the source: range from 2 hours for a quick column until 8 hours to the 220V domestic socket.

How equipped I was?

The DSR that was provided to me has almost all the desirable options for touring except the heated grips. Compared to the standard bike we find parabrezza, paramani, trio of Trekker Dolomiti suitcases of GiVi in aluminum and above all Charge Tank or the “tank” which allows me to attach the electric motorcycle to any column that has a Type2 input in order to be able to charge it quickly. Unfortunately, this is not a standard feature, but with an optional that is mounted directly by the manufacturer (at a rather salty price). This choice, however,, allows those who use the bike only for commuting (or never in a hurry) to save both euros and grams.

As for my personal equipment to deal with the Lamb of Reffen, I admit I've been pretty optimistic. However, I have neither frozen nor regretted what I used, on the contrary. Go to the rally with an electric motorcycle – what then… non scalda – allowed me to test the touring suit even better Moto One composed of Vert jacket 360 and Rider pants 360 (click on the names to see my reviews!). Accomplices of the temperatures that are all in all acceptable, they did very well. Under my jacket I had a wool sweater on the way and a fleece on the way back, but above all a thermal underwear Carbon Energized which really makes a difference in both summer and winter. Ditto for the always thermal tights, while for the socks I had a pair of lana merino rather thick, of those from the mountains. On my return I tried some synthetic socks, but I had to wear two pairs so as not to feel cold.

Gloves deserve a separate chapter Calgary always provided by Moto One and that I was seriously testing for the first time. Their task wasn't easy as I didn't even have a pair of mittens other than heated grips! However, my hands did not freeze and this is already a success. It is therefore a good product especially for the 55 euro list, although not exempt from some minor criticisms: if it rains or, as in my case, it snows is not waterproof; the upper part does not completely isolate from the air so on the back and little finger it feels cold in extreme conditions. If, on the other hand, the hand gets wet, maybe from sweat as soon as the temperature rises, the otherwise comfortable inner lining tends to stick to the skin and then it becomes difficult to put them back on.

Which route did I follow?

I left home on Friday morning, aware that it would take much longer to reach Agnellotreffen with the electric motorcycle than with an endothermic one. As I have said several times, the electric motorbike prefers the minor roads or the continuous use of the throttle “whip” instead of the constant opening of the current. So I opted to go through the Novara and Vercelli areas before going up to Monferrato and then arriving in Asti still with a good residual autonomy.. Here I had already identified a couple of charging stations that in a decent time would have allowed me to continue towards Langhe and Roero before climbing into Val Varaita.

When I can, I try not to follow the same route on the way back. I like the idea of ​​seeing different places even if that means, in the case of traveling with an electric motorcycle, to give up the comforting safety of a column that has already been tested. So on Sunday, once in Saluzzo, I headed towards Turin, giving myself as a refill pit stop (and lunch) Chivasso. This allowed me to pass into some areas that I didn't know how Bardassano where the road becomes fun. Certo… if it hadn't started snowing obviously!

After recharge in Chivasso I aimed directly at home but I gave up the idea of ​​doing all state and I granted myself the highway as the weather conditions had worsened in the meantime and the autonomy gained allowed me to get home.

In general I can say I'm lucky: I found a good path all along the way. Only in Monferrato, going up to Moncalvo, I found the icy surface that made me fear for the grip of the tires. A po’ of ice and snow were present in Val Varaita after Sampeyre but… there I expected them. The weather conditions this year have graced us and above all those who went up to Agnellotreffen on Saturday found a perfect road and a mild temperature.

Driving an electric motorcycle in the dead of winter…

The main goal I set myself in this experiment was to understand how the driving of the electric motorcycle changes – se cambia – during the freezing winter. The DSR is a very pleasant motorcycle to ride. Relaxing as it has no vibrations and requires less effort since there is no gearbox and clutch but it is single-speed. The portentous torque always available combined with the much less portentous Pirelli MT60 tires as standard that do not shine for grip on the slimy and the lack of any traction control outside of my right wrist, however,, they keep awake and cautious.

The ability to use the map “Eco” – that I would have called more than anything else “Rain” – or to sew one made to measure on the spot thanks to the simple app on your smartphone, they are a great help to avoid getting into trouble.

I played with the mappings – or better, the modalities – in the steepest or icy stretches and I must say that the taste was not affected, especially when what matters is moving forward feeling safe rather than having fun.

The fact that the electric motorcycle does not heat up is perhaps stranger in winter than in summer. If in the summer this gift is only a pleasure, when it's cold, on the other hand, he wouldn't mind having that warmth from the stove. I admit that at some point I looked for cylinders to be able to warm my hands…

Autonomy and recharges when it's cold

In addition to the grip of the tires, my main concern was understanding how the batteries would perform at these temperatures. During normal daily use I had not found any drop, but it is one thing to stay in the city and in the garage and it is quite another to go to the mountains.

I can say that I have not noticed anything strange. Consumption was average as well as charging times.

On Friday night I deliberately left the bike in the cold without recharging it to see if it would have any problems the next morning. Yup, I know, I like the thrill. Well he had recovered a little one 1% and gave no sign of difficulty, while many endothermic engines made the starter run for minutes in the throes of coughing fits…

Another interesting note is given by the slopes. On the outward journey I climbed in altitude and obviously found a higher consumption than the same kilometers traveled on the flat. I would say between the 5 and the 10% in più. In contrast to the return downhill I used the engine very little and even managed to overtake other motorcyclists without slapping and above all earning more than one 10% of battery that, translated, are 20 km more or, if we want, the possibility of doing the same distance but faster.

Travel diary in vlog

How much did it cost me to go to Agnellotreffen with the electric motorcycle?

We take our nice sheet of the butcher and do the math. It cost me less than ten euros to go to Agnellotreffen and come back with the electric motorcycle, by approximation we can say 8,80 Euro.

So much? Little? Now I'll explain.

The first recharge in Asti at Enel X it was quite salty: I spent 3,9 euro to embark 8,67 kWh at the cost of 0,45 euro per kWh. When I arrived at the Agnellotreffen I then scrounged a 220V socket at home. Being weekend and at night I can estimate a cost of 7 cents per kWh, therefore by excess, assume that you have boarded 14 kWh (but they were certainly far fewer) I arrive at an expense of 0,98 Euro. Added to this is the top-up in Chivasso kindly offered by the supermarket Bennet. I have embarked 8,8 kWh, but I do not know exactly the expense also because the operator EvWay works with a prepaid method: 5 euro correspond to 500 credit ladybugs. If I assume a cost similar to that of Enel X, we are in excess of a 3,9 Euro.

It is to be hoped that with the spread, the prices at the columns will drop because even if compared to petrol they are negligible figures, compared to how much domestic energy is paid there is a big difference.

But money isn't the only cost when traveling, there is also time and with the electric motorcycle it takes longer. Then…

How long did it take?

Both the outward and the return journey took more or less the same amount of time, that is 5 hours and a half. Lots to do 250 + 250 km! Yes but it scales down if we think about those 5,5 hours I also had lunch with all calm, managed social media, made video, telefonate… And considering also the conditions of the roads I can say that it was not a big inconvenience.

Morale della favola

The moral of the story of this Agnellotreffen on an electric motorcycle is quite simple and perhaps a little bit’ discounted: si può fare.

As I always say there are more power outlets than gas pumps, therefore without wanting to summarize every single aspect of electric travel, I just say that it is not a challenge to find something to recharge. I thought about where I would stop, I checked from my smartphone how the charging point would have been thanks to the feedback from other users, I have always managed and paid from the mobile phone… In short, it is another world. And once at the Agnellotreffen I adapted as shown below…

Total expense for the trip: 3,95 Euro. That is the cost of the first recharge in Asti, the only one for a fee. Yes, because in Pontechianale I have “scroccato” to the very kind managers de “The Buca di Bacchus” and in Chivasso the recharge is kindly offered by the Bennet shopping center to its customers. That’s all!

All roses and flowers? Not, I would not say. Traveling with an electric motorcycle requires some “predisposition”. You need to know your vehicle very well to understand how far you can go and at what pace; it is necessary not to be in a hurry either when driving or when it is time to fill up; it is necessary not to suffer from panic attacks when autonomy drops much faster than expected. The “range anxiety” it exists when the range of action is widened as in this case. The good news is that the columns are increasing every day and that the people I have met so far have never refused me an outlet..

#RIDEMORE