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[rotoiti]

Zero DS "Features" page says "Ability to accommodate a passenger with an optional accessory". What kind of accessory is it? I have not seen it in the dealer's catalog. Did anyone install it?

[stevenvillatoro]

The optional accessory is a pair of foot pegs for the passenger, I believe.

[Richard230]

My guess is that the kit should also contain a seat strap or some sort of grab bar for the passenger, in addition to the foot pegs.

I am still waiting for the 2012 Zero accessory catalog to appear.  I have money to spend on farkles if they have some functional accessories for their new models.   

A easy to use helmet lock and a luggage rack would be nice, to name two examples that come to mind.

[protomech]

http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2012/03/md-quick-rides-2012-zero-s-and-brammo-enertia/comment-page-1/#comment-39013

Tom says:
April 5, 2012 at 7:18 pm
Actually, the Zero rear passenger foot pegs are in the design stage and are not approved by the DOT yet. They are not officially available.

Unsourced claim, but there you go.

[oobflyer]

I received this email on April 11 from Zero, in response to my query about installing the footpegs this week:

They were planned to arrive this week. So I think yes.

I took my FZ9 to the dealership yesterday and left it there for the week. During this week they will update the software to address the throttle 'glitch' problem, they will 'download the logs' to see if there are any problems (in response to my concerns about range), they will install the footpegs, and also replace a couple of the black plastic rivets that fell off when I leaned on the plastic area where the 'gas tank' would be (I was trying to 'tuck').

I'll pick the bike up next Sunday - hopefully it will be ready to ride with a passenger 

[dkw12002]

Let us know. Do you mean Zero says your lower mileage at higher speeds indicates something is wrong with the battery? Far as I know, you are the only one who has posted info about how fast the battery is depleted at higher speeds, yet that is what I think all of us want to know....what is the range at 80 mph indicated? That is highway commuting speed where I live at least. Somehow, when this question gets asked, it gets turned into range at 45 mph or something else, or includes lower speeds to get up to speed. No, no. I just want to know how long the big battery can go at an indicated 80 mph, flat surface, 200 lb. rider. I have a feeling the range is going to be quite low...perhaps 30 miles, but hopefully somone will let us know. In other words, we want the worst-case scenario or close to it...not the best-case scenario. I can easily take a Zero S onto W I-10 between San Antonio and El Paso and run it 80 mph and never even see another car let alone have to slow down if that's what they need. The speed limit there is 85 mph so I wouldn't even have to worry about a ticket. LOL

[rotoiti]

FWIW, I took my ZF9 to work today via 5 miles of local roads (in Eco mode) and 27 miles of hilly Hwy I-280. I maintained 70-75 mph on the highway in Sport mode. I used 6 bars out of 11.

[oobflyer]

I started a post on this topic - see "Real World Range".

I don't think you can ride the bike at 80 MPH for long enough to test the range at that speed. The top allowable "continuous" speed is 75 MPH. At that speed (75) the motor gets hot after riding for about 15 miles - the temperature light comes on - and if you don't slow down manually, the bike will slow you down automatically, to prevent damage to the motor.

[dkw12002]

Thanks. First I heard about the speed governor. I suppose on a typical highway commute that would still be OK. I try to think in terms of my car and my Ninja 250 and how I drive those and I was thinking 80 mph indicated on the Zero is really a 75 mph actual speed and 75 indicated is actually 70 mph. It looks right now like the bike might be a little slow for some commuters. Another 10 mph would sure be nice. The Ninja 250 goes 95 mph actual and some people worry about it being too slow for the highway. Mostly those folks are into speed though and not so much a novel, environmentally-friendly ride. Getting more speed is going to involve more weight..perhaps a high speed fan, radiator, something to cool the battery, and an even larger battery and motor, but I see that coming.

[oobflyer]

It's actually not a speed governor - it's based on the heat in the motor. You can easily accerate up to 85 MPH to pass, you just can't hold that speed indefinitely because the motor heats up.

It's only happened to me twice since I got the bike - once when I was riding directly into a strong headwind at 75 MPH for 5 or 10 miles, and once when I was riding a tad above 75 MPH for 15 miles.

For me (an ex-CBR1000 rider) the speed isn't an issue. The flow of traffic on my freeway commute is around 70 MPH, so I never feel left in the dust.

[CliC]

I posted (I think) in oobflyer's range thread. After 40 miles of ~90% 50 mph+ riding, ~70% at 70, I had 2 bars left. So at max speed, I think 30-40 miles is about what you'd get.

Considering that's about half an hour at 75 mph, the battery is delivering close to 25 hp on average to the controller and motor. It's more than I would have thought needed to push 500 lbs of rider and bike through the wind at that speed.

Anyway, back to topic. I look forward to the accessory catalog, too, and I think it's important for Zero to get it out on the web site soon (my dealer had a hard copy, but I didn't look at it in depth). The S and DS are primarily commuter machines, and accessories for extra cargo and possibly a passenger are important. If you do get the pegs, would you mind posting some pics? I'm curious where they attach on the DS.

[dkw12002]

I will be curious how the new bikes handle a passenger. I'm fairly sure mine would not do well. Hitting a pothole with another 120 pounds on board would be a problem I'm thinking. Footpegs? We don't need no stinking footpegs.

[ZeroSinMA]

My personal favorite.



The baby in the bucket is photoshopped but the rest is real.

[blake]

we seem to have gotten somewhat off thread topic here ;-) but at the Zero demo ride session last week I was told the foot pegs were a $350 option

[Richard230]

we seem to have gotten somewhat off thread topic here ;-) but at the Zero demo ride session last week I was told the foot pegs were a $350 option

Yikes!