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[Doctorbass]

----------  DOCTORBASS review of the new 2013  ZERO FX and S model:  ----------

Yesterday I went to our nearest Zero dealer at Chateau Richer ( about 50km from home) to visit my friend Dave, the owner of Univers Traction Sport to  try the two recently arrived ZERO 2013 FX and S models. This was another great reason to enjoy my DS 2011 for another great ride =)

I have read a lot of review on the 2013 and a lot of comments but yesterday was for me the time to try these two model wich are my favorite!!

I was really curious to test the FX after I have read the impression of Luke ( Liveforphysics).

The FX I have tried have the 44hp drive train and the S model had the 54hp.

I first tried the FX.  Dave, the dealer said that they don’t let anybody to try it since it might be dangerous for someone not too familiar with that kind of beast.

I confirm !.. The FX is really quick and brutal acceleration and sustain it up to about 125km/h!
My main conclusion is that it is like the TESLA Roadster of the zero motorcycle!.. when I tried the Tesla I tasted that great acceleration and was really impressed. That kind of acceleration became for me the reference for comparison. Now I can say the FX is as quick as the TELSA Roadster!... Wheelie very too easy and the control of these wheelie is very smooth and easy!.

I also noticed that compared to the 2011 zero, the new 2013 motor have this little coging you can feel at very low speed when moving the bike manually with your foots.

Once you turn the throttle a little bit, you can hear a kind of High frequency noise coming from the motor just like a PWM with noise and you still hear it 1-2 second after the motor stop runing. It’s like the sevcon controller they use is working like that.. or maybe it’s the encoder but I thing encoder don’t make noise at all..  That sound is really low volume and you only can hear it when moving about 0-10kmh than the rest of all other noise come over that.

The S model I tried was the one with the beautiful yellow body. I was immediately surprised by the lower height the seat is!  I did not tried the 2012 yet  but I can say that compare to the S 2011, the seat is considerably lower heat. It was just perfect for me and I measure 5’10’’

What surprised me on the S model is the powerband and how comfortable we feel. The acceleration is not as brutal as for the FX since the weight of the Zero S  is like more than 100 pounds heavier but it was still impressive to taste that acceleration during wide spead range!.. at 150km/h you feel you still have nearly the same acceleration  than at 50. The S is 10 more hp but over 100 more pounds. With proper manouvers we could easy lift the front wheel I think but I did not tried.
The throttle sensivity is way better than on the 2011! wich is an improovement  factor that many will appreciate!

I know some guys installed a Sevcon size 6 controller on their 2013!!  Oh man!! These 2013 should become  a monster with these!!

The stock controller are sevcon gen 4 size 4 ( 420A phase current) and the size 6 are 660A !! The battery are 28s  and same cell voltage as lipo.

So the 2011 are 14s, the 2012 raised to 20s and now the 2013 are 28s.

Well if I had to choose between the S and the FX model the choice would be definitively hard!  The look the FX have is just like these motorcycles  that James Bond  had in the 80’ movie during hot pursuit!  The FX is very quick but for long ride I don’t feel it would be confortable enough for me. I don’t feel very familiar with very wide handlebar like motocross have for long ride but it’s my personal choice as well.

I was a bit anxious to feel disappointed  about my 2011 DS after trying these new 2013 with the new brushless motor and I can say YES the power they have is NOT comparable with the 2011 with the Agni.. oh not !! but we have to agree that the 2011 is two generation behind !!... and yes.. i still like my 2011 :lol: 

Now the temptation to finish the upgrade to 84V on my DS raised a bit ! and also maybe to upgrade to the new great impressive 54hp brushless motor too!.. a 2400$ investment for the 54hp brushless and sevcon size 6 !

Even if you have the ocasion to try the 2013 , go ahead!!..  you will a have no doubt that these can compete easy with the gassers !

Doc

[trikester]

Hi Doc.

I will be taking my 2013 FX into the Klamath Forest in a week to do the same week of mountain fire-road riding that I did on my 2012 DS at this time last year. Since conditions will be similar and the dirt roads the same with their over 4,000 feet of climbing each (highest 4600 vertical), it's going to be very informative for me to compare the two different bikes and 2012 to 2013 models. I'm expecting a little lower range with the smaller battery on the FX (6 kWh vs 5 kWh).

I kept a detailed data log of my rides last year and will do the same this year & I'll post the results after the week's riding.

Trikester

[NoiseBoy]

I also tried the new 2013 S yesterday.  Was very impressed.  Its twice as fast, twice as comfortable and twice as well built as my 2012 S.  That about sums it up.

Its lucky that i have developed such an emotional bond with my Zero as I cant afford to upgrade so soon!  I wonder if the the new MY13 motor could be shoehorned into a 2012 bike and whether it could work with a size 6 at the lower voltage with appropriate gearing changes.

[dkw12002]

More importantly Doc, the motors on the 2013 should not burn out, which is not the case with the 2011 DC brushed motor. I also owned the 2011 S and now own the 2013 S, and I concur with your assessment. Zero has made a quantum leap with the model.

[Doctorbass]

The new 75-7   54hp motor is 8 3/4" long while the agni 95R is 7.0" total shaft to bottom

there is 1 3/4" difference. The 2010-2011 and 2012 frame are prety the same.. the 2013 is a bit different and motor bracket are differnet. This will require some diy as well.

by calculations people that upgrade to the size 6 controller would get close to 84hp!!

Sevcon gen4 controllers:
660A ( size6)
420A ( size 4 )

diff = 1.57 !!

1.57 x 54 = 84

My guess is that the upgraded controller  2013 S would perform acceleration very similar to the FX with stock controller...

I will measure the inside clearance of my 2011 evening.

we will know if YES or NOT these beast motor could fit !

Since the 54hp is acheived with 28s ( about 118Volts) and that the stock 2011 is 58V, that's about half the possible performances while the 2012 are 18s ( 76.6V), this is like a trade off for 75% performances..

Doc

[protomech]

2012 are 18s, 75.6v max 67v nominal 58v cutoff iirc

[vchampain]

Doc,

In your choice please note that the S can take a passenger, whereas the FX dont. This is the reason why I chose the S...

[Doctorbass]

2012 are 18s, 75.6v max 67v nominal 58v cutoff iirc

Thanks for the clarifications Protomech!

Information corrected

Doc

[benswing]

Thanks for the thorough writeup Doctorbass! 

I had the chance to ride a 2013 FX down 9th ave in NYC and a 2013 DS up 8th and I agree with your conclusions.  The FX is probably the most fun motorcycle I've been on, but for distance it's probably not the most comfortable.  I did a total of 5 wheelies on the FX in about 2 miles of distance. 

Getting back on my 2012 Zero S with a size 6 controller was not bad at all and I'm really pleased with the balance of comfort and weight of the setup I have now.  Happy riding!

[trikester]

The 2013 motors mount on both ends across the frame and the drive is on the left side (I don't know if the motor is designed to favor one direction of rotation over the other).

I was told by Zero engineering that I needed to connect the motor in my 2013 powertrain kit correctly to begin with. I couldn't just hook it up and see which way it rotated and swap two leads if it was reversed. That is the usual way to treat 3 phase motors so there may be something about the Zero motors that we can't reverse them to use in older models with right side drives, aside from the mounting problem. It may have something to do with the rotation sensor that is built into the motor.

Trikester

[Doctorbass]

The 2013 motors mount on both ends across the frame and the drive is on the left side (I don't know if the motor is designed to favor one direction of rotation over the other).

I was told by Zero engineering that I needed to connect the motor in my 2013 powertrain kit correctly to begin with. I couldn't just hook it up and see which way it rotated and swap two leads if it was reversed. That is the usual way to treat 3 phase motors so there may be something about the Zero motors that we can't reverse them to use in older models with right side drives, aside from the mounting problem. It may have something to do with the rotation sensor that is built into the motor.

Trikester

I see what you mean.. usually on our ebike hub motor, when the need of reversing it, we only need to swap two of the 3 phase wire and play with the hall sensor wires too. Any brushless motor can do reverse without problem, the encoder could probably too... i dont see any problem with that... my main concern is anout the motor dimensions and the clearance on the previous 2012 and 2011 model.



Update:

Damn! : I measured the clearance between the two swing arm of my ds 2011 and i measure 7" 7/8   ... there is about 1 inch less clearance than the 75-7 motor require... ( if the measurement that the dealer gave me  wich correspond to 8" 3/4 long for the motor with shaft...

Trikester could you confirm the 8" 3/4 long for the total lenght of the 75-7 motor?

Doc