New Zero likely to be made in India alongside similar Hero Vida VxZ
California’s Zero Motorcycles’ next new model could be the most important in its 20-year history as it reflects a tie-in with Indian manufacturing giant Hero MotoCorp that could vastly reduce build costs.
The bike seen in these images is the Zero Lompico, which was teased last November in shadowy photos with limited information, but is shown much more clearly here in design drawings that confirm that it’s mechanically identical to the upcoming Hero Vida VxZ. The Hero model, also teased last year but so far only seen in detail in design registrations like the Zero ones, will be the highest-performance model yet from Hero’s Vida EV sub-brand.
That means the Vida VxZ and Zero Lompico (that name is likely to change to ‘SF’ for the production version, reflecting recent trademark applications by Zero) are likely to emerge from the same factory in India.
The two models’ frames, motors, batteries, wheels, brakes and suspension all appear to be identical, but visually they take completely different routes. The Hero Vida VxZ is a conventional-looking model, while the Zero is unlike anything else on the road. Words like ‘beautiful’ probably don’t spring to mind, but it’s definitely distinctive.
Those mechanical parts include a 30kW (40hp) electric motor, believed to be the same Z-Force 75-5 unit used in the existing Zero FX, with a new 8.8kWh battery pack in a steel tube frame.
Where the Zero Lompico gets really different is the styling. The bodywork has the emphasis on horizontal lines, giving the impression it’s perched on top of the chassis rather than wrapped around it. Unusually, it’s a naked bike but with a fixed-position headlight, clamped between side panels that extend around the fork legs. Those panels each carry a vertical, blade-like light unit, while the main headlight sits in a frontal opening that looks like an fake air intake. Rear blade-style lights sit either side of an arched, diffusor-style opening under the pillion seat.
We expect production to start soon.
