“This thing is stupid levels of fun,” I shout to Zero’s European team as I whir past them. They smile and offer a thumbs up, and I disappear into the trees.
I’m spending the day at Desert Rose Riding Academy in East Sussex, testing the new Zero XE – a barebones electric dirt bike that has completely altered my opinion of off-road riding.
The test ride had started with one of the riding academy’s team leading moto-journalists on a little loop – through some trees, across a field, back into another section of trees – but on the second time round I got lost, speeding straight ahead where I should have turned left. The unintentional detour has led me on a full exploration of Desert Rose’s roughly 80-acre site and onto a trail that is considerably more technical/difficult than I would ever attempt.
But there is something about the 101kg Zero XE that inspires confidence. Add in, too, the fact that there is no clutch or gears to think about. No rev range that I need to find and maintain. Just twist the throttle and giggle.
It is easy. It is fun. And so I find myself navigating over stumps, through deep ruts, across long patches of sand that linger next to drop offs, and up steep inclines, all while zig-zagging between and around trees.
By the time I find my way back to the collection of trailers where the day had started – shouting a hello to Zero’s team – I am drenched in sweat and panting. And having the time of my life. Honestly: I have never enjoyed off-roading this much.
Therein lies the short version of this review: if you’ve got the £5,590 that Zero asks for the XE it is money well spent.
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How we got here
This is a banner year for Zero Motorcycles: the company celebrates 20 years in existence in 2026, making it an old man in the world of electric motorcycles. I can think of literally dozens of electric bike makers that have come and gone in that time but I can think of no other that has managed to hang in the game for so long.
Founded in Northern California in 2006 by former NASA engineer Neal Saiki, Zero has come a very long way since its early days. Its top of the line bikes, such as the excellent DSR/X, have styling and build quality that matches or exceeds plenty of petroleum-driven competition – with ranges and charging times that are nominally livable, and performance that is incredible. The DSR/X, for example, boasts 169 lb-ft of torque; launching that thing forward is insane.
Dirt has been a part of the Zero DNA from the very beginning. Initially, Zero Motorcycles was known as Electricross, with its single product, the Drift, being not much more than an electric mountain bike. Indeed, the first street-legal Zero didn’t come around until three years into the company’s history.
Things came full circle last year when Zero partnered with Chinese manufacturer Zongshen to create its X line of street-legal off-road motorcycles: the 20.7bhp XE and 10bhp XB. (NOTE: The Zero/Zongshen partnership was reported by MCN but I can’t find a lot of evidence that supports that claim, so take it with a grain of salt.)
Or, well, they are street legal in the UK and Europe; in the United States they are off-road-only vehicles. And, to be honest, with top speeds of 53 mph and 28 mph respectively, the XE and XB aren’t bikes that I would want to ride on the road except in the process of getting from one trail to another.
Look, fit, and feel
To a certain extent, the XE is a glorified fat-tire mountain bike, with both front and rear brakes actuated via levers on the handlebar – no foot pedals. But it is a glorified fat-tire mountain bike that offers up 468 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheel (no, that’s not a typo).
The bike looks genuinely off-road ready, but not intimidating. It is tall – seat height is 900 mm, and there’s 390 mm of ground clearance – but not as overwhelming as some petrol-driven alternatives. It is approachable. Deliberately so. Zero says it has chosen to paint its bikes white to give them an inviting and law-abiding spirit.
A quirk of the electric dirt bike segment, it seems, is its popularity among scofflaws, who find the vehicles to be excellent tools for criminal enterprise: silent, quick, easy to maneuver, and light/small enough to be brought into one’s house or flat.
The XE is indeed small. I am 6 feet 1 inch tall, but notoriously slender; notice how my size M Spada Vanguard jacket and trousers are slightly baggy on me in photos. Yet notice, too, how big I look on the XE.
Throw a leg over, however, and the bike doesn’t really feel small. It feels manageable. I’d argue that this is a good thing for an off-road vehicle. You don’t actually want ‘intimidating;’ you want ‘fully capable of being steered away from trees.’
Related to the bike’s functionality, let’s go back to that ground clearance figure: 390 mm – or 15.3 inches for those of us who love freedom – is massive. Yamaha’s WR125R is a nominally comparable petroleum-powered alternative (the two bikes have similar peak horsepower), but it is only able to offer up 240 mm of ground clearance.
Credit that and the XE’s narrowness to the fact there’s no engine. The battery and 15.5kW motor are slim, so there’s not much to force you into a wide stance. Personally, I was able to get both feet on the ground when sitting on the bike. Not that you’d want to sit for long. The narrow saddle is very firm – not wholly unlike sitting on a 2×4. Fortunately, you’ll spend most of your time on the pegs with this bike.
Looking ahead, the view again mimics that of a mountain bike. Outside of a small, 2.4-inch TFT panel on the left grip there is nothing on the bike to obstruct your view. The panel serves as the bike’s dash, providing information on speed, charge level, mileage, riding mode, and so on. As far as I’m aware, it does not connect with your phone.
Overall build quality is good. Everything looks and feels robust. Thanks to my one crash of the day (I can’t ride off road without crashing at least once) I know that it actually is good. I sent the bike into a pine tree and it came away unscathed.
Motor and battery
I happen to have a Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Limited on loan at the moment and used it to ride to get to Desert Rose. On my way back, I couldn’t help but notice that the Harley, with its 95 lb-ft of torque, felt anemic on acceleration compared to the wallop of torque that comes from an electric motor.
There’s just so much of it – available at an instant, at all times. Power delivery is smooth and digitally perfect, but all that torque can bite you if you’re not careful. This was the root cause of my one crash for the day.
In the process of attempting to look cool for photographer Chippy Wood (who previously took one of my favorite photos of me, crashing a Triumph Tiger 1200), I jammed the rear brake, getting the bike to skid in the dirt. The idea was to kick up a big trail of dust, but all I really managed to do was throw off my balance. A sloppy grab at the bars resulted in my whiskey throttling the bike. It rocketed out from underneath me and hit a tree; I hit the ground.
I was fine, the bike was fine, but the incident illustrated the need to approach the XE’s throttle with respect. It will bite you.
One possible solution, I suppose, would be to put the bike into ECO mode. The bike has three riding modes – ECO, Standard, and Sport. I’d assume that ECO would tame throttle response. I didn’t think to test the various modes, though, because Standard felt right and I was too busy having fun to stop and fiddle with settings.
Meanwhile, the obvious benefit of such a torque-rich electric motor is the fact that you will never be left wanting. You will never run out of puff and stall on a hill.
As mentioned, top speed on the XE is 53 mph. That’s plenty for me off road, and enough on road that you’ll be able to connect green lanes and byways with short jaunts on pavement.
Meanwhile, one of the selling points of the XE that Zero won’t/can’t tell you about is the fact that an electric bike opens up your off-road riding options. The primary issue that people have with off-road riders is noise. But if someone can’t hear you they’re highly unlikely to care about you.
I am willing to bet that a rider with a friendly disposition – that is, someone clever enough to offer a big, friendly wave and “Hello” to anyone he/she encounters – would have no problem riding an XE in some spots where off-road bikes aren’t technically allowed.
Hours of swappable fun
Zero claims a range of 65 miles for the XE, which is almost certainly inaccurate and irrelevant in an off-roading context. That figure is determined by how far the bike will go if ridden at a constant 31 miles per hour. Which is something you never do anywhere, but especially off road. So, it’s probably best to think of range in terms of time.
In total, I spent two solid, sweaty hours riding the XE in twisting, hilly terrain (ie, there weren’t a lot of long, fast straights). At the end of it, I was exhausted, probably wouldn’t have wanted to ride a great deal more – lest I start making mistakes due to fatigue – and the bike still had 67 percent charge.
That suggests to me – unscientifically – that the battery is good for five to six hours of riding. When it comes to an activity that is as physically demanding as off roading, five to six hours is a good day.
The best part, though, is that the battery is removable. Keeping in mind that the majority of off-road riders have to transport their bikes to a given location in a pickup or trailer or van (the XE would comfortably fit in a Volkswagen Caddy), the removable nature of the battery means that you could bring along a spare. Although, admittedly, the cost of an additional battery for the XE is a spicy £2,309.
Also, for a rider like me, who does not own a pickup/van/trailer, and whose garage does not have electricity, the removable nature of the battery means that ownership remains a viable possibility.
Chassis and brakes
The XE comes equipped with knobby tires from Chinese manufacturer CST. The tires – a 21-inch front and 18-inch rear on spoked rims – are narrower than you’d find on an internal combustion engine motorcycle, adding to the ‘glorified mountain bike’ feel. But, according to Zero, it is possible to equip the XE with a fatter rear – useful, apparently, for hustling up muddy slopes.
As mentioned, the XE is well built and built to purpose. The fully adjustable suspension was set up just right for my tastes, but I will admit that I know very little about what’s kosher in the world of off-road suspension set-ups. I only know that it worked for me. It worked on bumps and rocks and over logs and through ruts and on the little jumps that I found.
I’d class myself as an intermediate off-road rider, albeit leaning considerably more toward novice than experienced. I felt that the XE’s suspension offered everything I needed for both my current skill level and to be able to step things up a notch.
The huge amount of ground clearance helps in that endeavour, as does the bike’s relatively light weight – achieved in part thanks to a forged aluminum frame and swingarm.
The brakes worked well, too. Apparently the front brake is set up so that it will not lock up. I didn’t aggressively try to test this.
Fancy stuff
The Zero XE looks and feels pretty straight-forward/bare bones, but it’s got a fair bit of technowhizzbangery hiding within. There are the three riding modes, for example, as well as adjustable levels of regenerative braking. You also have switchable traction control (which Zero’s team suggested shutting off when riding off road), hill hold control, and a tip-over sensor that will kill the throttle when the bike is dropped.
There’s even a reverse “gear” – an absolutely excellent feature that gives you the confidence to explore even further. Ridden into too tight a situation? Just press a button on the left grip and back out at walking pace.
The TFT dash is easy to read, understand, and navigate. Although, Zero’s decision to place it on the handlebar means that it isn’t as easy to glance at when riding.
The XE has changed my mind about off-roading
Despite having a certain amount of off-roading experience – thanks almost entirely to the fact that manufacturers often include off-road segments in press rides for adventure bikes – I would not have described myself as a fan of off-road riding until about five months ago.
That was when I got a chance to ride the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Mana Black. The relative lightness of that bike (compared, at least, to the larger bikes that I was used to riding – and crashing – off road), along with its ease of balance, and dual-sport-focused chassis, opened my mind to the idea that green laning might actually be fun. That it might actually be something that I’d want to do.
But even then, my mindset was that I didn’t really want to take on heavy technical stuff. A nice, not-too-curvy dirt road on a sunny day – that was my kind of thing. And, to be honest, it still largely is. But the XE has opened my mind further to the idea of taking on trickier stuff. Or, at least, being willing to tackle it when I accidentally stumble into it – as I did at Desert Rose.
Outside of the incredible confidence boost that the XE delivers, there is also the greater sense of connection that comes from an electric motorcycle.
Not too long ago, in my review of the 2026 Honda WN7, I wrote about the fact that the reason I love motorcycling is that it gives me a feeling of connection to the world around me. On a bike, I can feel and smell and (by extension) taste the world that I would otherwise just see from inside a car. An electric motorcycle awakens the fifth of your senses, allowing you to also hear your surroundings.
This is especially blissful in a natural/off-road setting. As I was zipping through narrow gaps in trees and launching the bike off little jumps I was able to hear birdsong: a sound that an internal combustion engine would not only drown out but frighten away.
Competition
It’s a bit difficult to find any traditional, internal combustion engine competitors for a bike like the XE. Powerwise, it’s on par with a 125cc machine – hence my comparison to the Yamaha WR125R – but in terms of rear wheel torque it’s on the level of a Chevrolet Silverado 1500.
When it comes to electric, it appears that the Sur-Ron Ultra Bee provides the most direct competition. You’ll find loads of videos and articles comparing the two. Although the XE is a little heavier, the general consensus seems to be that it is also more stable, has smoother throttle delivery, has more ground clearance, and is better suited to taller riders.
Verdict
I’d genuinely like to have one of these in my garage. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, riding the Zero XE delivered the best off-road riding experience I’ve ever had.
Never before have I enjoyed being in the dirt this much. Not even close. At the end of my time with the bike – drenched in sweat, breathing heavy, and heart still racing – I was manic with glee. The XE is hilarious, thrilling, and made all the better by the fact it is electric.
Mountains of instant, grin-inducing torque. No clutch levers, shifters, or rev ranges to occupy any of the brain space that I’m using to avoid trees. And no noise to slowly wear on my nerves or annoy everyone within a two-mile radius. Just the light whirring of a motor, the occasional clack of the chain, birds singing, and the sound of my breathless, giddy laughter.
Being electric, it also saves you tremendous amounts of time, money, and effort in terms of servicing and maintenance. Off-road motorcycles have notoriously short service windows; not so much with the XE. Bits like brake pads, tires, and chain/sprocket will wear out over time and need to be replaced, but you’re not having to mess with grubby, complicated things like an engine or transmission.
The XE is not really a road bike, despite its legal status as such, but it is pure joy when the pavement ends.
The three questions
Does the 2026 Zero XE suit my current lifestyle?
As a do-everything bike? No. As a fun thing that I use on sunny days? Yes. Although, at that point, it becomes a hobby and I already have too many of those. My wife bought me a canoe for my birthday back in March and I’ve still not had a chance to use it.
Did the 2026 Zero XE put a smile on my face?
Yes. As I say, I have never had so much fun off road.
Is the 2026 Zero XE better than my current motorcycle, a 2012 Kawasaki Versys 1000?
Off road, and in terms of torque delivery, yes. But in all other ways, that is a laughable question. The XE is a toy. A delightful toy. A toy that is totally worth having. But, ultimately, a toy.
Gear worn in photos
Helmet: HJC RPHA 60
Jacket: Spada Vanguard
Gloves: Richa Atlantic GTX
Trousers: Spada Vanguard
Boots: Sidi Taurus GTX
2026 Zero XE specs
| PRICE | £5,590 |
| POWER | 20.7 bhp |
| TORQUE | 468 lb-ft (at the rear wheel) |
| TOP SPEED | 53 mph |
| BATTERY | 4.3 kWh |
| CHARGING TIME | 5 hours |
| RANGE | 65 miles |
| SEAT HEIGHT | 900 mm |
| GROUND CLEARANCE | 390 mm |
| WEIGHT | 101 kg |
| FRONT WHEEL | 21 inches |
| REAR WHEEL | 18 inches |
| FRONT BRAKE | 240mm rotor, dual piston caliper |
| REAR BRAKE | 220mm rotor, dual piston caliper |
| FRONT SUSPENSION | 210mm fork travel, 220mm front wheel travel, fully adjustable |
| REAR SUSPENSION | 85mm rear shock travel, 248mm rear wheel travel, fully adjustable |
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