For decades motorcycle license practices were made with Vespa, regardless of the type of license. Obviously, there came a time when testing with this scooter ended up being something completely outdated given the reality of the increases in power and performance of the models on the market.
With the change in format of the driving test, the motorcycles on which to be tested also changed. In addition to practicing on copies already with a gear change, the possibility of doing it with automatic scooters was even opened up and obtaining a license for this type of machine.
Well, the Barcelona center La Meva Autoescola goes one step further and together with the Zero brand has just approved a Zero SR/F as the first electric motorcycle in Spain available to take the A driving license tests.
The idea of the training center and Zero Motorcycles Spain is to reach that segment of users interested in enjoying the motorcycle but aware, at the same time, of sustainability and decarbonization.
Mireia Brunet, director of the driving school, explains it clearly: “We need to look further and open our minds to know how to enjoy something that we like, such as riding a motorcycle, without endangering other things that are not sustainable. For ecology and for responsibility as trainers. People who have obtained the automatic A2 license for their daily urban commutes and want to drive a larger scooter or motorcycle, people who are not directly interested in using a motorcycle with gears, or motorcyclists who are really interested in the electric world and their mentality is more ecologist”.
The importance of the approval of the Zero lies in the fact that, for the first time in our country, anyone who wishes can request to take the practical and driving test to obtain a type A driver's license with manual gearbox -for the moment only the license A- with the aforementioned electric motorcycle.
For this purpose and so that students arrive at the exam with more experience, Meva Autoescola offers them the opportunity to test their Zero SR/F for about 15 minutes outside of training hours so that they know the different sensations that come from the handlebars of an electric machine.
Another important detail to note is that obtaining the A card with an electric motorcycle with manual gearbox -as is the case- does not subsequently limit the possibility of driving a conventional motorcycle with a gasoline engine, unlike the exam with automatic models that does restrict the license to scooters with automatic gearbox.
Mireia also explains that the road to achieving this pioneering homologation in our country has been very complex due to the lack of knowledge on the part of the administration of many technical aspects related to electric two-wheeled vehicles: "We have gone out into the jungle and opened up with machetes the way to be able to homologate these motorcycles. It took us 9 months to get the bike fit for work”.
The lack of knowledge that the driving school professional refers to has to do with the confusion that is generated for the administration because combustion motorcycles have a known displacement and power and the limitations are established on those. But the electric ones have two powers on their technical sheet: the maximum and the continuous one. The latter refers to the amount of power the engine is able to sustain continuously after 30 minutes.
The problem is that for the approval the second is taken into account, which is always less than the maximum.
Another of the obstacles to overcome has to do with the empty weight, which in the case of an electric motorcycle is accounted for by subtracting the weight of the battery, which is much greater than that of a gasoline tank, so the motorcycle does not comply the regulation of homologation of motorcycles for driving school.
All this translated into endless reports, documentation, ITV tests, paperwork, etc. until demonstrating that the features and specifications of the Zero SR/F were compatible with large displacement motorcycles, finally managing to approve, for the first time in Spain, an electric motorcycle for the A license.
