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The Electric Motorcycle Thread

moonlitnight said:
Will do, thanks. Another reason I like EVs is that it can make you more conscious of the energy being used.
Click to expand...
There are many reasons to go EV. One thing I notice on my Zero DS often, is BOTH directions on the same road seem to be mostly downhill! The reason is the torque making steep hills feel level, but you can tell downhill very easily when the regen kicks in.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
 
DonTom said:
Yeah, and it can do 100 miles on the freeway. 200 on slower roads. And I can keep the stupid range meter off on that bike! Those things are in stupid the way they work. If you ride with the wind or downhill and it says you have 50% range left, no way can you make it home!

Since the Zero DSR/X gets one freeway mile for every 1 SOC as average, that is all I look at. Much more accurate than the stupid range indication that is based on current riding only.

FWIW, for average mixed riding in miles, multiply your battery KWH by 7.

IOW, expect 70 miles from a 10 KWH battery of normal riding on just about any bike. From their adjust for the conditions (in your head). But do not waste your time to look at a "range left" meter. Only Tesla does that the correct way, by basing it on SOC%. Expecting your ride to be 100% the exact same conditions is about as unrealistic as can be and that is what the range meters do. I have seen mine say ~400 miles range left to say 15 miles just ten miles later! That is the difference between downTh hill and uphill! It's 100% useless, especially in hilly areas.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
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The guess-o-meter on the Leaf does the same thing, took me a while to get used to it but now that I've driven it enough in various modes it's not an issue.

100/200 range sounds ideal.

There's a new 2023 Zero going for $5995 at Contra Costa Powersports- seems like a pretty good deal all things considered.
 
DonTom said:
There are many reasons to go EV. One thing I notice on my Zero DS often, is BOTH directions on the same road seem to be mostly downhill! The reason is the torque making steep hills feel level, but you can tell downhill very easily when the regen kicks in.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
Click to expand...
Hah, that's wild. Regen makes so much sense.
 
My wife went with an EV moto in our household first. I wanted one ever since but I need to road trip. Until the Experia came out there wasn't really a viable long distance bike (with Range, DCFC, and luggage options). Now that I've had the Experia for two years, and a bit more than 30,000 miles on it I don't think I'll ever get another ICE bike.

If you look at the miles I ride in a year, 80% is commuting, 10% is day trips and group rides, 10% is multiday road trips. EV moto is amazeballz at commuting. HOV with only one person so half the bridge toll and all the free express lanes. Pennies a week in fuel because I charge at home. I can rack up the miles without oil changes, valve adjustments, clutch maintenance, etc. Brake pads last twice as long thanks to regen braking. Relatively slim profile makes it easy to split lanes. You're never in the "wrong gear" and snappy torque at all speeds. Speaking of torque, getting out front at every stoplight makes getting across SF that much easier. Plus sitting at a light in the summer without a metal hunk of explosions roasting the inside of your thighs (my previous ICE bikes were KTM 990/1190s) is pleasant.

Day trips and group rides are great on the EV Moto. I'm familiar with the charging near where I live and ride. Group rides are usually around 120miles and typically feature lots of twisty roads so its pretty easy to make the charging transparent to the others on the ride. I arrive fully charged at KSU (kickstands up) and can do the whole ride. Sometimes I can influence the coffee or lunch stop to be near a charger so I can swing it with the "lets keep going" contingent.

Travelling long distance is a compromise. Solo is no problem but having a travel partner can be a drag, for them, if the charging takes too long or there is nothing to do except stand around in the sun and watch a bike charge. But that is the least of my riding and I have found the rhythm that suits me best. Its about 350 miles in a day. (~120 miles and DCFC for a 40 minute coffee stop, ~120 miles and then DCFC at the 1 hour lunch stop, ~120 miles to the overnight plugin at the hotel/campsite. Repeat as needed)

After owning an EV moto for this long, I feel like my KTM 1190 ADV was an amazing travel bike (I mean, hands down the best touring bike ever IMHO)....but it feels like commuting and day trips/group rides were a bit of a compromise. (the heat, the weight, the maintenance)

I'm clearly biased, but EV motos fit my use case better than anything else. The biggest element of my use case is that I only have one bike at a time. Honestly if I had time , space, and money....I would still have the 1190 ADV for road trips and a Zero DSR/X for everything else.
 
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DonTom said:
Which model? Zero has around 15 different models these days.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
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Looks like a 2023 Zero S ZF7.2, which I'm guessing is the base model:

www.contracostaps.com

2023 Zero S ZF7.2 | Contra Costa Powersports

2023 Zero S ZF7.2 Features may include: NAKED ELECTRIC The model that originally defined electric motorcycle street riding is still able to thrill riders all over the world. Stunning acceleration at any RPM, sharp lines and sporty ergonomics transform your daily ride into a thrill. This...
www.contracostaps.com www.contracostaps.com
 
motoproponent said:
My wife went with an EV moto in our household first. I wanted one ever since but I need to road trip. Until the Experia came out there wasn't really a viable long distance bike (with Range, DCFC, and luggage options). Now that I've had the Experia for two years, and a bit more than 30,000 miles on it I don't think I'll ever get another ICE bike.

If you look at the miles I ride in a year, 80% is commuting, 10% is day trips and group rides, 10% is multiday road trips. EV moto is amazeballz at commuting. HOV with only one person so half the bridge toll and all the free express lanes. Pennies a week in fuel because I charge at home. I can rack up the miles without oil changes, valve adjustments, clutch maintenance, etc. Brake pads last twice as long thanks to regen braking. Relatively slim profile makes it easy to split lanes. You're never in the "wrong gear" and snappy torque at all speeds. Speaking of torque, getting out front at every stoplight makes getting across SF that much easier. Plus sitting at a light in the summer without a metal hunk of explosions roasting the inside of your thighs (my previous ICE bikes were KTM 990/1190s) is pleasant.

Day trips and group rides are great on the EV Moto. I'm familiar with the charging near where I live and ride. Group rides are usually around 120miles and typically feature lots of twisty roads so its pretty easy to make the charging transparent to the others on the ride. I arrive fully charged at KSU (kickstands up) and can do the whole ride. Sometimes I can influence the coffee or lunch stop to be near a charger so I can swing it with the "lets keep going" contingent.

Travelling long distance is a compromise. Solo is no problem but having a travel partner can be a drag, for them, if the charging takes too long or there is nothing to do except stand around in the sun and watch a bike charge. But that is the least of my riding and I have found the rhythm that suits me best. Its about 350 miles in a day. (~120 miles and DCFC for a 40 minute coffee stop, ~120 miles and then DCFC at the 1 hour lunch stop, ~120 miles to the overnight plugin at the hotel/campsite. Repeat as needed)

After owning an EV moto for this long, I feel like my KTM 1190 ADV was an amazing travel bike (I mean, hands down the best touring bike ever IMHO)....but it feels like commuting and day trips/group rides were a bit of a compromise. (the heat, the weight, the maintenance)

I'm clearly biased, but EV motos fit my use case better than anything else.
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Great rundown, thanks for the insight. Sharp looking bike. It's so nice to live in an area with so many charging stations as well.
 
moonlitnight said:
Looks like a 2023 Zero S ZF7.2, which I'm guessing is the base model:

www.contracostaps.com

2023 Zero S ZF7.2 | Contra Costa Powersports

2023 Zero S ZF7.2 Features may include: NAKED ELECTRIC The model that originally defined electric motorcycle street riding is still able to thrill riders all over the world. Stunning acceleration at any RPM, sharp lines and sporty ergonomics transform your daily ride into a thrill. This...
www.contracostaps.com www.contracostaps.com
Click to expand...
I think that one has the small drive belt, which needs to be replaced often, unlike the DS or SR model of the same year.

When I replaced my drive belt on my SR at just above 20K miles, no way could I tell the new one from the old. It is supposed to last 27K miles, but I did it during a tire change just over 20K. The smaller belt will not last nearly as long, and at least the older "S" models had the smaller belt. Compare to the DS and SR. If it is the same belt, then all is fine. Perhaps they no longer use the smaller belt.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
 
moonlitnight said:
It's so nice to live in an area with so many charging stations as well.
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If you can charge at home, there is no need to look for chargers near home. I start looking at 50 miles or so away from home, depending on the bike.

I enjoy my electrics the most, but they are not for everybody. I even enjoy the charge breaks. During a charge break I could be under a shady tree typing these messages out, doing about the same thing I would do at home anyway. Or going for a hike or other such stuff that I often miss with my ICE bikes.

I am retired and never in a big hurry these days.

-Don- Redcrest, CA (RV trip with my Zero DS--Ave of the Giants):

1751911554541.png
 
Good to know about the age of such "new" bikes, and about the belts too, thanks. I'm currently leaning towards a DSR.

I'd mostly be charging at home, but a few times a year I ride with my buddy in Rio Vista around the Sac delta and Napa. He has an e-bike and is looking into e-motorcycles as well.
 
moonlitnight said:
Good to know about the age of such "new" bikes, and about the belts too, thanks. I'm currently leaning towards a DSR.

I'd mostly be charging at home, but a few times a year I ride with my buddy in Rio Vista around the Sac delta and Napa. He has an e-bike and is looking into e-motorcycles as well.
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If you plan on longer rides, best to have a charger that can do at least 6KW. See if you can find a Zero DSR/X even if used.

But I do not know where you're starting out from with your home charge.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
 
DonTom said:
If you plan on longer rides, best to have a charger that can do at least 6KW. See if you can find a Zero DSR/X even if used.

But I do not know where you're starting out from with your home charge.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
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Will do, thanks for the suggestion. I'm in San Leandro, and used to ride an ICE down to LA etc, but about the farthest I go now is Sac.
 
moonlitnight said:
Will do, thanks for the suggestion. I'm in San Leandro, and used to ride an ICE down to LA etc, but about the farthest I go now is Sac.
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Sacramento is a 180-mile round trip for you. You will need to charge a couple of times on such a trip.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
 
Sound doable. Also have friends in Fairfield and Davis with level 2 charging setups who I can barge in on at a moment's notice :)
 
motoproponent said:
Now that I've had the Experia for two years, and a bit more than 30,000 miles on it I don't think I'll ever get another ICE bike.
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Same here, but every so often I get the urge to ride my 1,000-pound Harley Road Glide Ultra. Not so much the other ICE bikes, but my Harley (shown in my Avatar here) has an addicting feel to it and it is NOT the slightest bit like any of the countless other Harleys I have ridden in the past that were all nut shakers.

BTW, when they first designed this bike, the Harley engineers rejected prototype on the first ride because it was way too smooth. Probably smoother than their Livewire at the time. The exact quote was "riders cannot even tell they are on a motorcycle with this!". Then they reduced the engine balancing just enough so riders "could tell they are on a motorcycle". And it does have a great feel to it! But I would be curious to try out that first version! But I have to agree, it has a great addicting feel to it and is not the slightest bit harsh. Before this model, I hated every Harley I ever rode. But this one has the new M8 engine and the larger frame than the other Harleys.

I doubt if I will ever buy another bike (but I have also said that before my last few bikes!), but I will keep the dozen bikes I now have until I drop dead.

-Don- Redcrest, CA
 
All right, you folks seem pretty well versed and knowledgeable. I'd love to have an ebike, but I worry about the ability to rebuild the battery. Part of my brain thinks, it's a drill: motor, controller and simple BMS, I get that. But my experience with emtb's is it's not so simple. A lot of manufacturers use proprietary BMS's that the motor's canbus will only talk to. And if that BMS dies, it's bricked. Alta, Brammo (and Polaris), Energica are all gone, ostensibly no replacement batteries. There are plenty of Zero's where I could pay twice for a replacement what it would cost to have it rebuilt. I'd love to have an Alta, but how likely would I be able to have a battery repaired for it, or any other manufacturer. Sorry if this has been addressed before. But my biggest conern is that it will be a giant paper weight in 3-5 years.

I'm guessing, with my drill brain, you could replace the controller too, along with a simple bms and a backyard battery, maybe I'm wrong. But I just hate the thought of getting something disposable like that.

Thanks in advance, and I apologize for ignorance when it comes to this.
 
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