ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2012 and older => Topic started by: jpaulus on August 27, 2012, 10:57:34 AM
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Do you get those odd looks from people at intersections who are too shy to ask? Or you're flying by on the highway and others are not sure why they don't hear you and likely don't know that they can commute without gas? Perhaps it's time to advertise. I had these made at http://doityourselflettering.com/ (http://doityourselflettering.com/) using reflective vinyl material. It's to our benefit as well to get more people going electric.
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Great -- we need these. and even point them to a website.
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Jpaulus, that's a great idea. I wonder why Zero chose not to put some obvious marker on the bikes that they are electric.
Me, I ordered some reflective "lightning bolt" stickers for my Zero (still awaiting delivery, of the bike). I figure that will get the point across without having to spell it out, so to speak.
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I started with this idea, then switched to a standard license plate frame due to the redundency.
The license plate is on the top, our Store sign on the bottom.
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Awesome guys! Just awesome! This gave me some great ideas!! :)
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That is a great idea. I agree that Zero should introduce some "bold new graphics" next year and do something to advertise that their bikes are all-electric. Most people that I meet seem to have no idea that my Zero is battery powered, in spite of not making a lot of noise and not having an exhaust system. During the past 2000 miles of riding I have had only 4 people come up to me and ask if my Zero is an EV. ???
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During the past 2000 miles of riding I have had only 4 people come up to me and ask if my Zero is an EV. ???
Holy crap! I ususally come back to the charging station each day and have at least 4 people gathered around the bike looking at it from different angles. I always walk up and the first thing I say is "yes it's electric" cause if I don't the completely obvious question gets asked to me.
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Those look great,getting the word out that EV's can do everything you need is great. Another badge that is out there in the EVcar community is the EVbadges badge. They are OEM quality chrome lettering and I think would look great on the battery pack of a Zero maybe. They are not cheap but they are very good quality.
http://evbadges.com/products/plug-in-powered-badge (http://evbadges.com/products/plug-in-powered-badge)
I have one on my Volt. ;D
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/wainair/E-powered3.jpg)
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/wainair/E-powered1.jpg)
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I usually get queries from the guards at the gate as I go through.
I've only had a few people "in the wild" come up to me as I was arriving / leaving, but I see people looking at the bike trying to figure out wtf it is.
Just MHO, I don't want to slap a "look at me I'm electric" graphic on the bike. A lightning bolt would be more subtle perhaps.
Riding is advocacy in its own way. Visible electric vehicles in a community serving as practical everyday transport does more for changing people's views on EVs than millions of dollars in advertising.
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I've only had a few people "in the wild" come up to me as I was arriving / leaving, but I see people looking at the bike trying to figure out wtf it is.
Lol, I've seen that a few times. People stare at it, knowing something's not quite right but not quite able to figure out what it is.
I'm more a fan of subtlety here as well, though I'm always willing to talk to people about the bike. I thought about a catchy custom license plate, but Texas wants too much money for those.
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I had a guy I knew come running over to help me because he thought I was coasting past his house ;D
My 2012 had a Hollywood Electrics logo below the license plate but it started peeling off in the first couple of weeks so I removed it.
I think one reason people don't notice that it is electric is because there are gas bikes now that are extremely quiet. Every time one of those goes past me, when I'm driving my car, I look to see if it is electric.
I was told a short time ago that I am still the only ZERO owner in populous Orange County CA (other than the guy who works for ZERO who told me that). Surprising! It's probably because there are no dealers here yet (I keep trying to talk Harlan into moving H.E. to Orange County) ;)
Trikester
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My Brammo has "ELECTRIC" on the side, but I think people don't bother reading anymore. Plus, it's usually obscured at least partly by my leg. I have toyed with the idea of getting my motorcycle jacket embroidered with the letters "Yes, It's electric!"
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Today I was filling my gas tank on my Honda pickup with my ZERO DS in the bed. A guy who said he was a desert and dirt track racer came over and said he had been hearing more and more about electric bikes and ZERO in particular. He said from what he heard he had concluded that ZERO was the company that was most on top of the game in e-bike design and production.
He also said that he was hearing an increasing number of dirt riders talking up electrics. I told him the same thing I have said on this forum; when dirt riders do their first ride on an electric they won't want to go back to gas. Electric is just plain superior to ICE for dirt riding and it only takes time for riders to discover that. It will follow an exponential curve as more dirt riders talk to more dirt riders. I hope ZERO is ready to lead that explosion :o
Another dirt racer that a year ago was bad mouthing my 2010 DS, until I handed him the key, returned from the ride with nothing but good to say about it, and he did a pavement ride that time. He was really impressed when I showed up with my 2012 DS telling all his buddies how great the bike was.
Trikester
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I think the stickers are pretty cool. They look fairly professional in jpaulus's pix, too.
Jpaulus, were they hard to install? Getting the bubbles out from under the vinyl, etc?
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A different approach.
Buy this...
http://tinyurl.com/9kbo46v (http://tinyurl.com/9kbo46v)
Attach a few feet to your Zero.
Looks like this...
Daytime
(http://i47.tinypic.com/2vt1kyq.jpg)
Dusk
(http://i45.tinypic.com/1oneki.jpg)
Night
(http://i46.tinypic.com/wjidqa.jpg)
Says "electric" to observers without making them read an advertisement.
Makes the bike safer, too.
Legal in most states ;D (White and < 300 lumens at 75 feet)
Let's make it the Zero look!
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Hmm.. I like that, ZeroS. elwire seems like a bad idea, what with the inverter hum and the general fragility. So I read.
Is it as blinding as it appears at night, or is that the camera?
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Hmm.. I like that, ZeroS. elwire seems like a bad idea, what with the inverter hum and the general fragility. So I read.
Is it as blinding as it appears at night, or is that the camera?
4 ft of it draws irrelevant power.
Cameras aren't eyeballs. The strip's bright enough to get the attention of a teenager arguing with her boyfriend on her iphone driving Dad's SUV beside you but not so bright as to get the attention of law enforcement.
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It's not EL, it's LEDs on a flexible strip. Cool stuff, and straight 12VDC if you don't dim it.
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It's not EL, it's LEDs on a flexible strip. Cool stuff, and straight 12VDC if you don't dim it.
Yeh, it's hard to keep up with LED tech. 16 ft for $11. Only need 4ft for the zero. Connect to the rear tail light power. Draws a couple watts.
Costs nothing and takes minutes to install.
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Looks great! Make sure to check with your state laws. I learned the hard way that in Nevada only red lights are allowed on the rear of any car, truck, motorcycle, and even bicycle. the only the exception is indicator lights (turn signals, reverse) and even those are limited to certain colors.
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Legal in most states ;D (White and < 300 lumens at 75 feet)
Are you sure that the unit is in Lumen??.. because i think it should be more in Lux !
Lumen are not rated at a distance, but lux does.
Because 1 lm/m2 = 1 lux so the lumen you specified should be for a given surface area. ;)
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Legal in most states ;D (White and < 300 lumens at 75 feet)
Are you sure that the unit is in Lumen??.. because i think it should be more in Lux !
Lumen are not rated at a distance, but lux does.
Because 1 lm/m2 = 1 lux so the lumen you specified should be for a given surface area. ;)
Er, I meant candle power. ::)
Texas law on lighting prohibits lighting, "...that projects a beam with an intensity brighter than 300 candlepower shall be directed so that no part of the high-intensity portion of the beam strikes the roadway at a distance of more than 75 feet from the vehicle."
State laws have two concerns about adding lights to vehicles:
1. That the lights may cause drivers to confuse the vehicle for a police or emergency vehicle. For that reason all US states have laws that prohibit blue and red lights, except that red lights are allowed if they show only from the back of the bike. Most states prohibit flashing lights of any color. Continuous white lights on the rear are discouraged because drivers may confused them with backup lights. Most states permit amber, green, or white lights visible from the sides of a vehicle but with restrictions on how far the light projects, because...
2. That the lights may interfere with the operator's or other drivers’ vision. Many states’ laws read like Texas law This is where high intensity LEDs shine, so to speak, as they are very bright but due to the way they produce light they do not project it far without special lenses. This makes them lousy for illumination applications but ideal for indicator lighting.
So far I have not had any issues with the law.
Texas Law
Sec. 547.305. RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF LIGHTS. (a) A motor vehicle lamp or illuminating device, other than a headlamp, spotlamp, auxiliary lamp, turn signal lamp, or emergency vehicle, tow truck, or school bus warning lamp, that projects a beam with an intensity brighter than 300 candlepower shall be directed so that no part of the high-intensity portion of the beam strikes the roadway at a distance of more than 75 feet from the vehicle.
(b) Except as expressly authorized by law, a person may not operate or move equipment or a vehicle, other than a police vehicle, with a lamp or device that displays a red light visible from directly in front of the center of the equipment or vehicle.
(c) A person may not operate a motor vehicle equipped with a red, white, or blue beacon, flashing, or alternating light unless the equipment is:
(1) used as specifically authorized by this chapter; or
(2) a running lamp, headlamp, taillamp, backup lamp, or turn signal lamp that is used as authorized by law.
(d) A vehicle may be equipped with alternately flashing lighting equipment described by Section 547.701 or 547.702 only if the vehicle is:
(1) a school bus;
(2) an authorized emergency vehicle;
(3) a church bus that has the words "church bus" printed on the front and rear of the bus so as to be clearly discernable to other vehicle operators;
(4) a tow truck while under the direction of a law enforcement officer at the scene of an accident or while hooking up to a disabled vehicle on a roadway; or
(5) a tow truck with a mounted light bar which has turn signals and stop lamps in addition to those required by Sections 547.322, 547.323, and 547.324, Transportation Code.
(e) A person may not operate highway maintenance or service equipment, including snow-removal equipment, that is not equipped with lamps or that does not display lighted lamps as required by the standards and specifications adopted by the Texas Department of Transportation.
(f) In this section "tow truck" means a motor vehicle or mechanical device that is adapted or used to tow, winch, or move a disabled vehicle.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 380, Sec. 1, eff. July 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 229, Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2011.
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As I recall, California vehicle code prohibits any white light showing from the behind the vehicle. That's why rear facing flood lights, over a pickup bed, have to have a cover or be turned to face downward, when being driven.
Trikester
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I think the stickers are pretty cool. They look fairly professional in jpaulus's pix, too.
Jpaulus, were they hard to install? Getting the bubbles out from under the vinyl, etc?
They were quite easy. You just tape the edge and then roll them on. No bubbles.
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Do you get those odd looks from people at intersections who are too shy to ask? Or you're flying by on the highway and others are not sure why they don't hear you and likely don't know that they can commute without gas? Perhaps it's time to advertise. I had these made at http://doityourselflettering.com/ (http://doityourselflettering.com/) using reflective vinyl material. It's to our benefit as well to get more people going electric.
For those who are interested the font was 'batman forever' on that web site.
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How about this? My plate reads 80VLT. They don't allow 6 characters on mc plates here in az
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How about this? My plate reads 80VLT. They don't allow 6 characters on mc plates here in az
Nice plate. I like it. I thought about seeing if "EMOTO" was taken here in Colorado, but haven't yet.
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Just got my signs from DIY Lettering referred by jpaulus. The ones on the sides are
reflective, the one on the windscreen is not. There are three types of material. The
3rd is the reflective. The 2nd is next best without reflective which is what I used for
the windscreen.
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thanks, folks. now i have the same "electric" stickers on the sides, and the LED strip wrapped around the back the same way. the latter certainly makes the bike much more visible especially at night and from the side.