ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Other Electric Motorcycles => Topic started by: jateureka on January 07, 2015, 08:46:49 AM
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There doesn't seem to be many posts on here about scooter style motorcycles, so I thought I would start a thread as I just purchased and registered my first e-motorcycle, a ZEV 7100 LR.
I purchased my ZEV as new old stock and the warranty had expired, but the price was right for me. Unfortunately there was no user manual, so a bit of search and I found what I needed here http://www.environmentfriendlystore.com/pdf/ZEV-Operations-Manual.pdf (http://www.environmentfriendlystore.com/pdf/ZEV-Operations-Manual.pdf)
ZEV tips and trouble shooting http://www.environmentfriendlystore.com/zev-tips-battery-gauge.html (http://www.environmentfriendlystore.com/zev-tips-battery-gauge.html)
http://www.environmentfriendlystore.com/zev-tips-troubleshooting-case2.html (http://www.environmentfriendlystore.com/zev-tips-troubleshooting-case2.html)
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Welcome!
That company is somewhat known for making bold claims, but I haven't heard anyone with firsthand experience. How does it ride? What is the acceleration like? What about range in different riding conditions? Any numbers that you have measured would be appreciated.
Also, if you have gone for a test ride on a Zero or Brammo, how does it compare? On their website they claim it is the most amazing 2-wheeled electric vehicle out there, but I'm interested in how it really rides.
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Well I only just got the ZEV registered here in QLD Australia, so have only clocked up 76.5km so far on one charge. This is the long range (LR) version with 84V 60Ah nominal battery pack.
I am still waiting for my 2011 Zero S to arrive from Sydney, so can only compare it against my e-bikes (fastest does about 45km/h) and my Yamaha MT-07, which is a beast of a wheelie machine!
The ZEV is quite zippy and you can definitely feel the surge in power when you change up from 1st to 2nd to 3rd by pressing the button next to the throttle. I think they marketed that feature as an 'electronic 3 speed transmission' but it is not a transmission at all, but rather 3 different power settings in the controller so really it's like 'eco', 'normal' and 'sport' modes.
I had no problems doing a hill start. I got up to 110km/hr indicated on the speedo, but was probably more like 100km/hr as that was the speed limit and I was keeping up with other traffic. You sit tall enough that other road users can see you but you are protected from the wind with the high screen. Brakes work well but there was no regen braking that I could feel. I think it makes for an excellent commuter vehicle.
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How is it holding up? I'm more into the scooter format than the legal outside at her metal format myself these days, so I'm thinking I could get one of these. I see old vectrix for sale but a brushed DC is a dead end IMHO.
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ZEV S-7100 Scooter
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j245/saxeharp/General17/scooter%203_zpsfonwf76t.jpg)
I bought my first motorcycle in 1968, rode until 1977, then came back in 1996. Since '96 I've had three Kawasaki ZZR250 twins, followed by two BMW F650CS singles, the last one I bought in 2004, and I'm still riding it. I also ride bicycles and recumbent tricycles, of which I have three trikes, two fitted with electric motors and solar panels feeding the batteries. I've been looking around for a "real" electric cycle, either motorcycle or scooter, and as luck (and diligent searching) would have it, I came across a ZEV S 7100 scooter, 2012 second hand, with 405 km on the odometer. It was a demo model and hadn't been ridden very much. It seemed to have been fairly well maintained, so for under $5,000 AUD on Easter Sunday 2017 I became the proud possessor of "Le Pari" ("The Gamble").
I see in this thread there have been requests for some figures, so I might be able to supply some. Le Pari now has over 1,000 km on the clock and I think I have a fairly good grasp of it. I live in the Hills behind Perth, Western Australia - and the area is called "the Hills" for a good reason. There is very little flat ground, and the altitude is roughly 210 metres. I bought the ZEV to cover distances which were not long enough to really give the Beemer a good warm up, and too long to cover on my trike in a reasonable time. Mostly consisting of going down onto the Flatlands, riding out a radius of about 20 km and returning via one of four roads.
I have estimated that the 5 year old batteries have still got a fair bit of life in them, but new ones will probably give better results. Top speed. If I want to go fast I ride the BMW, but I've had the ZEV up to 85 km/h on a highway, but I was unable to go faster as the traffic speed was being restricted by roadworks. I then went up Welshpool road, the longest "climbing" road in the area, at about 65 km/h, but as I approached the summit the speed went down to about 58 km/h. (I weigh 90 kg and am 178 cm tall.)
The Zev is recharged via standard 240v domestic socket, via rooftop solar panels, lead acid batteries and a "smart" charger, so effectively it is running off the sun. I have an in-line watt meter with a spike suppressor adaptor, as I've heard that the Zev chargers can be fried with dirty electricity. The previous owner had fitted a "Cycle Analyst" computer (http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-analyst.html (http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-analyst.html)) which gives some useful results. The longest distance I have ridden is 43 km, and whilst this may not seem very far, in fact I was riding around some pretty hilly terrain, with a very ungentle hand on the throttle, occasionally hitting over 75 km/h. I found myself facing some hills I had forgotten and turned back to home, but the batteries went flat about 3 km from home. Luckily I was able to "borrow a cup of electrons" from an obliging householder (with solar panels) and 10 minutes of charging was sufficient to get me back to the nest.
Whilst I didn't take an exact note, my recollection is that the Cycle Analyst showed that I had consumed about 23 Amp-hr. Recharging took roughly 3 hours and the in-line meter showed a constant draw of 1,600 watts, which was confirmed by my wireless link from my laptop to my domestic batteries. For the next test I rode (with the lights on) to the flatlands (Midland) where I averaged 2.9 km per A-h over 19 km, then on the return leg, ascending via Gooseberry Hill road, the consumption went down to about 1.9 km per A/hr. I've since worked out a more robust means of estimating power consumption. When I have go out I reset the Cycle Analyst to zero, and as I'm riding I can (with some awkwardness) see the count up of amp-hr consumed. (There is an dashboard "meter" but this simply shows that you have just about exhausted the battery, which, in my initial case, was too late!) When I get home again, I note the A-h figure, zero the meter, and see how many A-h (which shows up as a minus figure) the battery takes to recharge. These figures vary by less that 0.5 A-h. (I suspect that this discrepancy is probably due to regeneration achieved going down hill, which might reduce the A-h figure, but I'll need to do some more exploring.)
Over several weeks, I've worked out that riding on the flat land Le Pari gets roughly 3 km/A-h, and normal riding around the Hills is just on 2 km/A-h. This is quite satisfactory, and that range covers probably 95% of my non-cycle trips. The BMW is for high speed, long distance work. The bike/trikes can tow a mono-track trailer with a capacity of 35 kg, and the Zev has a standard top box on the back. I wouldn't want to put too much mass in it, but it would carry an open face motorcycle helmet, so moderately useful. I'm considering throw-over pannier bags, but for present purposes a backpack/courier bag will suffice.
Performance. I'm very impressed with Le Pari. It has sufficient acceleration to keep ahead of the pack (or at least abreast of it) at the lights and whilst I don't intend to do much highway riding, over a short distance, it will suffice. Around town, where speeds are limited to 50/60 km/h, it does an excellent job. It's comfortable, simple to operate, quiet and it is actually great fun to ride, being very stable in corners. The BMW, being a BIG single (650 cc), can throw the front wheel skyward with an injudicious mixture of clutch and throttle, but there is no chance of the ZEV behaving like that. I haven't had a pillion passenger so I can't comment on that, and whilst it would probably handle it (albeit with a reduced range) I don't really have any intention of anything other than just going around the block.
So there are my thoughts on the ZEV. I'm very pleased with it and hope those figures are useful to somebody.
Bluegoose
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Do people know if many of the ZEV scooters exist in Australia?
The agent closed down many years ago and I am interested in getting a ZEV scooter.