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Author Topic: Zero Motorcycles Rep Here  (Read 1955 times)

MUEV

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Zero Motorcycles Rep Here
« on: February 24, 2009, 05:56:11 AM »

Hi All-
I just found this forum and think it's great us two-wheel EV'ers have a place to talk.  We are the Colorado reps for Zero Motorcycles and have both an '08 & '09 X.  If anyone has any questions about the X they'd like answered, fire away.

Thanks,
John
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skadamo

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Re: Zero Motorcycles Rep Here
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2009, 11:41:59 AM »

Hi John, thanks for signing up and posting!  Welcome to the forum.

The one question that comes to mind and probably everyone who has never ridden an electric vehicle (most of the world :D)  How long with the bike go with my riding style? 80 - 90 degree heat, tight trails, hill climbs, some sand.  Not non-stop.  We take breaks.  Its a small riding park usually.  That is me.

Oh, and then there's yesterday when I rode my DRZ in 25 degrees and 6" of snow and the poker run I like to do in the fall that is about 25 miles wfo.  I know the answer to that one, but I'm sure you get that asked. :D  I don't expect miracles from break through tech but I'm sure some do.  I am curious about the cold/snow part though. http://twitter.com/skadamo/status/1241418599

"My" varies for everyone so I assume the answer will change over time until there is a great answer that everyone can relate to.

How are you answering this question now to perspective buyers?
« Last Edit: February 24, 2009, 11:54:53 AM by skadamo »
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MUEV

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Re: Zero Motorcycles Rep Here
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2009, 09:02:00 PM »

Thank you for the kind welcome  :)

We just mounted our motor on the '09 on Friday, so we haven't gotten a whole lot of riding time on it yet.  But I can talk about the '08 in regards to riding time as the battery is virtually the same.

As you probably know, lithium-ion batteries are much more resistant to temperature extremes than lead acid or NiMH.  Also, the thermal cooling on the Zero's Zenergy pack is amazing; the batteries have never even gotten warm to the touch, NEVER.

We are up in the mountains of Colorado, and while we haven't done a ton of riding this winter, we haven't noticed too much of a range difference from the cold.

In general we try to avoid using the whole charge from a pack.  We bought a spare pack and usually switch them out when we get around a 50% charge (best for life of battery). 

The day we filmed this video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPBdiCnVpMw we had people on it from around 1pm-5:30pm, one after the other and went through about two packs worth of juice.

The bike can easily handle a 25 mile commute (bring your charger or buy a spare) and riding time is fairly consistent as long as you're not wide open, straight uphill a majority of the time.

It really is an amazing bike and a totally unique experience.  Getting people who've ridden it to accept the ride time is not that hard.  What is more difficult is getting people to understand what it really is.  It is not an MX bike.  It's not like any bike you've ridden before.  I've started comparing it to those speeder bikes in Return of the Jedi (http://gas-holes.blogspot.com/2009/02/zero-impressions.html), because that is the closest feeling I can think of  ;D
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skadamo

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Re: Zero Motorcycles Rep Here
« Reply #3 on: February 25, 2009, 03:37:37 AM »

Speeder bike?  Sold!

Interesting.  Looks like everyone was having fun on the test ride. :D  Thanks for the info!

"It's not an MX bike" - I think the majority or riders are fine with that.  Why are most reviews on an MX track? :D

Your best marketing will probably come from grass roots stuff like posting on forums.  But I'm biased.  And the green bloggers that ride.  The mags are gonna have a lot of trouble switching gears from MX.  Just my opinion. 
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skadamo

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Re: Zero Motorcycles Rep Here
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2009, 08:21:39 AM »

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MUEV

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Re: Zero Motorcycles Rep Here
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2009, 12:32:01 AM »

Thanks for the tips skadamo, and I agree.  There are quite a few people for whom the Zero is the perfect bike, but they are too spread out to reach by conventional means.  It is more efficient and productive to try and get our information out there in a way that when those people are ready to look for the Zero, they'll find us.  As such, I'll drop by this forum quite a bit.

I think there are two reasons most demos are done on MX tracks.  First, force of habit.  You got a dirt bike, lets take it to the MX track.  Second, people are always curious as to how this little bike will do on jumps.  It does OK, but it's kind of like taking a pair of sweet powder skis through a mogul field.

From this point on, we are trying to focus most of our demos on trails. 

And no, we can't attend the race.  It would be a lot of fun, but we've got work to do.  Maybe next year!
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skadamo

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Re: Zero Motorcycles Rep Here
« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2009, 09:48:01 PM »

Sounds good MUEV, thanks for the info! 
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