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[MostlyBonkers]

Thanks to doing a lot of biking over the last four years or so, I've got a pretty good feel for the lay of the land near where I live. Therefore, it wasn't difficult to come up with a nice little circular route that would give me a good couple of hours of riding and test the range of my new bike.

My first stop was the Honda dealership in Letchworth. Steve has Sundays off but Oz was there and I must have spent about half an hour chatting with him about my new Zero. Like many bikers, Oz was interested in the details. He had no idea what Honda's plans are for an electric bike, but he was certain they would be working on something.

I hoped to make it to the Silver Ball, a transport cafe popular with bikers. Conveniently, it's just up the A10 from a lovely stretch of the A507 between Baldock and Buntingford. In the event, time and battery capacity prevented the extra leg on this trip. I did do the A507 though.

My route back home took me along quite a few narrow country roads, which I enjoyed on the DS. I managed 65 miles with 5% remaining.  It was very mixed riding with very little of it at high speed. All in custom mode with all the sliders to the right.

I won't be doing many rides with so little power left at the end, there are too many other variables like wind that could see me stranded. I'm going to have to count on about 60 miles range when planning rides.  I had hoped for 70-80 miles of real world riding if I'm honest. I'm sure that's achievable in Eco mode if necessary though.

The bike goes round corners remarkably well, soaks up the bumps nicely and has plenty of acceleration for a fun ride. I'm very happy with it so far. [emoji4]

[MostlyBonkers]

It's a bit mucky already. Also seems to be doing a good job of spreading water and mud up my back.  I don't see how that's possible with the rear hugger...

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

It's a bit mucky already. Also seems to be doing a good job of spreading water and mud up my back.  I don't see how that's possible with the rear hugger...

This happened to me, too, when I first got my DS. The top case mostly stops that, but it really would be better to have a fuller rear hugger.

[MostlyBonkers]

Good to know, thanks Brian.

[Erasmo]

Also found out the same, even damp roads will get you a nice mud stripe. I'm planning to visit a motorcycle junkyard to see if I can find something that fits and stops the water a bit better.

[grmarks]

Guys all you need to do is this!

[Erasmo]

Something like that is gonna be the temporally solution until I can fabricate something neater.

[stevewp]

I found the same when I had the DS for the weekend. Which reminds me - I need to clean my hi-viz

Sent from my SM-T560 using Tapatalk

[grmarks]

Something like that is gonna be the temporally solution until I can fabricate something neater.

I reckon it looks really neat as most ppl don't even notice it.

[MostlyBonkers]

I like it, thanks for posting!

[grmarks]

My route back home took me along quite a few narrow country roads, which I enjoyed on the DS. I managed 65 miles with 5% remaining.  It was very mixed riding with very little of it at high speed. All in custom mode with all the sliders to the right.

I won't be doing many rides with so little power left at the end, there are too many other variables like wind that could see me stranded. I'm going to have to count on about 60 miles range when planning rides.  I had hoped for 70-80 miles of real world riding if I'm honest. I'm sure that's achievable in Eco mode if necessary though.

I reckon if you remove the police bars on the front you will get better range as these will cause drag.

[Erasmo]

Something like that is gonna be the temporally solution until I can fabricate something neater.

I reckon it looks really neat as most ppl don't even notice it.

I was thinking of more of a extended fender from a scrapheap as a long term solution. But do you have the dimensions of your plate?