When I think of in-app purchases, I think of mobile smartphone games. Clash of Clans, Among Us, those sorts of things. What I don’t think about are full-sized electric motorcycles. But if you want to unlock the full potential of the 2022 Zero SR electric motorbike, you have to spend some money through their app.

Upgrade your 2022 Zero SR electric motorcycle with in-app purchases

Using the Cypher store, you can link up your 2022 Zero SR electric motorcycle and download additional updates that’ll improve your bike. Some of the upgrades include more power from the motor, and extended range, and faster charging. Other than power, these are some of the biggest complaints of electric cars, so I’m sure many people will flock to these add-ons.

The cheapest of these upgrades according to SlashGear is the 100% faster charging, which will put you out $1,495. If you want that extra power, it’ll cost you an additional $1,795. If you need 20% more electric range, tack on another $2,195. That’s $5,484 for those three upgrades alone, and the company plans on adding more.

But there are some questions this new method of speccing your bike raises. For starters, if all these capabilities are already in the bike, someone smart enough is going to figure out how to hack it. Plenty of people tune and modify cars without knowing what the engines are capable of. So if Zero claims the SR can get a better range, people will automatically know what they’re looking for.

But more importantly, the bike is already rather expensive. And if all these features are as simple as code rewrites, this just feels like a bit of a cash grab.

The base model Zero SR electric motorcycle is already expensive

Starting at $17,000, the base model 2022 Zero SR electric motorcycle is rather pricey. By comparison, the average price of motorcycles according to Motorcycle Habit was $15,000, with beginner bikes hovering around $4,000 and high-performance bikes at about $70,000.

At $17,000, you can buy a gasoline motorcycle like the 2020 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa, which has nearly 200 horsepower and advanced technologies. Meanwhile, the base model Zero SR has 74 horsepower at a similar price.

But let’s say you do go ahead and purchase all these upgrades. This includes opting for the higher trim level Zero SR, as the stock version only comes with a 14.4 kWh battery. Chances are, you won’t regret it.

If you fork over the money, the highest trim of the 2022 Zero SR electric motorbike is pretty impressive

The main feature this top-of-the-line bike boasts is incredibly battery density. For starters, you can get the main battery up to 17.3 kWh of energy density. But on top of that, you can add an extra tank that brings the total to a whopping 21 kWh.

The higher the energy density, the better the range. And if you properly spec the 2022 Zero SR, you’re looking at 223 miles of city range and 113 miles of flat out 70 mph riding. For an electric motorcycle, that’s not half bad.

And on the power side, while the bike starts at 74 horsepower and 122 lb-ft of torque, you can bump the power up to 113 horsepower and 140 lb-ft. So the 2022 Zero SR may be worth the extra money after all.

There are plenty of questions around over-the-air software updates, and there will be for a while as the new technology emerges. But if Zero can pull it off, the high margin, low volume 2022 SR may help the company produce other, more affordable electric motorcycles further down the line.