Zero's Electric Motorcycle Rides 271 Miles on One Charge, Toppling Range Record

Zero Motorcycles, the California-born electric two-wheeler maker, has claimed a fresh Guinness World Record for the longest single-charge journey on an electric motorbike. A Zero DS covered 271.2 miles (436.5 kilometers) riding from the French Alps down to the Mediterranean coast, a distance that comfortably surpasses the previous mark of 193 miles (310.6 km) set earlier in 2025 by a Verge TS Pro.

The decisive factor behind the run was hardware rather than riding tactics alone. The record-setting DS carried Zero’s optional Power Tank, an official dealer-installed accessory that lifts the bike’s usable battery capacity from 15.6 kilowatt-hours to 19.2 kWh. It is a factory-sanctioned upgrade rather than a one-off engineering experiment, which makes the result more relevant to ordinary buyers.

Belgian rider Jelle Verstaen was at the controls, and the route was deliberately chosen to avoid major highways and two-lane roads. The group favored quieter single-lane stretches where a steady, efficient pace could be held; where legal limits and conditions allowed, riders targeted roughly 32 mph (52 km/h). The convoy departed in the evening and pressed on through the night, only to meet a heavy storm the following morning before completing the attempt.

The supporting bikes in the group also performed well. An SR/S finished after 217 miles (350 km) and a DSR/X covered 238 miles (384 km). Notably, both of those figures still exceed the record previously held by the Verge TS Pro, underscoring how much ground Zero’s lineup has gained in real-world endurance.

Officiating was handled with standard record protocol: the charging port on the record bike was sealed before departure, the rider carried two GPS trackers, and a Guinness World Records representative verified the logged route at the finish. The DS, which is not offered in the United States, uses a single rear motor rated at 45 kilowatts (60 horsepower) peak and 11 kW (15 hp) continuous. Zero did not disclose the exact route or average speed, leaving some variables open, but the verified distance stands on its own.