We Put the Benzina Zero Duo and V50 to Work
When you’re invited to the east coast of Italy by Benzina Zero to test ride two of its electric bikes, in what world would you say no?
So we took the Duo and V50 out around Vasto to give them some proper seat time. Along for the ride was our youngest recruit as a 2-up pillion passenger. At seven years old, he offered roughly the kind of additional weight that the Duo was designed to carry.
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The Duo
The Duo is built for the jobs where two wheels and a bit of electric grunt make life easier. Loading up the cargo rack, moving stuff around town, getting down roads that aren’t exactly pristine and generally dealing with the daily grind. It's a working tool. So instead of spending the day café hopping (very easy in Vasto), we put the Duo to task.
Country roads, dirt tracks and some seriously steep climbs, Vasto has it all. With our recruit on the back, the Duo got dragged into pretty much everything we could throw at it. To be fair, it took it well.
There were a few moments where we wondered whether we’d bitten off more than it could chew, especially with two of us aboard. The last thing we needed was to push the bike back into town. Italian days are hot enough already. But thankfully, the Duo didn't sweat it.
First impressions are that it's a robust piece of kit, somewhat indestructible and designed in a way that makes loading and unloading cargo pretty straightforward. On the really steep and long inclines, there was a noticeable drop in speed as we approached the top, which was to be expected from the 60V, 1.2kW-rated motor. But the 2.2kW peak kept hauling us upwards without too much dramaand we didn't have to dismount.
It isn't going to win any races. That's not the point. The Duo already has some proper working miles behind it, including commercial use with Pizza Hut, Domino's and, more recently, with postal contractors in Australia. We even spotted another Duo out doing deliveries for a pasta business. With a Benzina Zero retail and distribution centre in the town, that probably shouldn't have surprised us.
After putting it through its paces, we'd happily recommend the Duo for the job it's designed to do. Our biggest gripe? No reverse gear. On a bike designed to carry stuff and do jobs, being able to back yourself out of a tight spot would make a lot of sense. A little more power wouldn't hurt either.
The Duo we had was the first-generation model. Since then, Benzina Zero has built the Duo+, which pumps up the peak power to 2.7 kW (3.62 hp) and top speed from 50 km/h (31.1 mph) to 65 km/h (40.4 mph). Both models are tuned for torque and come with a 60V 42Ah lithium battery, with claimed range of roughly 105 km (65.2 miles) for the Duo and 95 km (59.0 miles) for the Duo+.
But if that's not quite enough grunt for what you have in mind, BZ is bringing the Duo HS to market in Q1 2027. The new HS packs a 72V 45Ah battery, an 80 km/h top speed, reverse gear, a dedicated parking brake and a bunch of other kit designed to make it more useful that is still being kept under wraps.
We've already pulled the full spec sheets for the Duo and Duo+ into BCB Bike Compare. They went live today, so you can check them out and compare them side-by-side with other electric motorcycles.
The V-50
The V-50 is a completely different machine. Benzina Zero calls it a seated scooter. the thing is, there's no pedalling, there's a proper twist throttle, a decent seat, and it feels much more like a lightweight electric stepthrough than a standing scooter. We reckon there's a place for bikes like this at BCB.
RACQ, the Australian motoring organisation in Queensland, has tested the V-50 and suggested it could represent the “minimum requirement for a scooter”. It's got 14 inch wheels, and with shifting regulatory margins in Europe, the V-50 is certified and ready for when or if it later requires a registration plate. Basically, its road ready in its current form.
It's a city hopper for people who don't fancy pedalling an e-bike but also don't want to join the teenagers on their electric kick-scooters. It's stylish, easy to ride and, even though it's carrying significantly less power than the Duo, it also made short work of Vasto's hills.
The BCB Take
The Duo isn't pretending to be something it isn't. You aren't taking it to the drag strip, and you're probably not going to mistake it for a Ferrari. But that's not what it's for. With the Duo, form follows function. It's a little electric workhorse, and after throwing some genuinely awkward roads, hills and two-up riding at it, it seems to understand the job without complaining.
Give it reverse and a bit more shove, and the upcoming Duo HS could make an already useful machine even better.
Ride safe, folks.
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