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[dkw12002]

If I were to ride at 74 mph, which is the speed I drive my car along with almost everyone else on I-35, what kind of range could I expect with the 2012 Zero S with ZF9 battery do you suppose? Would 50 miles be reasonable to expect? I really don't want to spend $14,000 and ride in the right-hand lane with the gravel trucks and vans. I see on the Zero website, they claim a range of 63 miles at 70 mph? Is that accurate? Some knowledgeable person on this forum said to reduce the claimed mileage by 35% for practical numbers, but I'm not sure which number to apply the 35% to...the 114 miles or the 63 miles, or both? Help!

[oobflyer]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the ranges are quite exaggerated. I don't want to discourage anyone - the bike is awesome, but the range-claims are not realistic.
I have over 200 miles on my 2012 S FZ9. If you ride at speeds between 70 and 75 MPH the fuel gauge bars disappear at the rate of one bar for every two and a half to three miles. So assuming that one starts with a full battery and rides to empty - there will be around 33 miles on the odometer.

I did get 60 miles on a charge once, but I kept the speed around 50 MPH to achieve that range.

This is still a vast improvement over previous bikes and I'm enjoying the ride. Luckily I can charge at work, so I can ride fast each way (50 miles round trip).

[dkw12002]

Thanks oobflyer for that info. It's exactly what I wanted to know. It would still work fine for me cause I only use the interstate briefly. I was hoping for a little longer range, but I'm not really surprised. Actually, the 2011 works fine for one mile on the interstate every now and again and mostly 30-55 mph riding around town. I'm not sure the 2012 ZF9 would be any more useful for my situation where most trips are 3-10 miles,  except of course for the thrill of better acceleration and top speed. I'll know if that is worth the additional money after I test ride one.

[Richard230]

At 75 mph, aerodynamic drag is killing you.  My 2009 BMW F650GS motorcycle gets 65 mpg at 55 mph and only 45 mpg at 75 mpg - less if there is a headwind.  If you really have to drive that fast, try to come up with some way to cut drag, such as laying on the "tank", or finding an aerodynamic windshield - or find a big-rig truck to tuck behind (but not too close).

When I started riding in 1962, motor scooters were allowed on the CA freeways (for a year or two).  My Vespa 125 would only do 50 mph, but if I tucked behind a big truck it would easily cruise at 60.  Even back then I was aware of the risk - but you know how teenagers are.  That is why teenagers make good soldiers.   

[Biff]

On Zero's website they describe the formula for the 70mph commuting number.  it is

S and DS 70 mph Highway Commuting Range = 1 / [0.5/(70 mph steady-state range) + 0.5/(EPA UDDS range)]

since they give you the UDDS range and the 70mph commuting range, you can then determine what their 70mph rage is.  here is an example for the S ZF9

1 / (((1 / 63) - (0.5 / 114)) / 0.5) = 43.5272727

where 63 is the commuting range, and 114 is the UDDS range for the S ZF9.  So from that the range at 70mph at a nice and constant speed, probably in a tuck without a headwind, should be around 43Miles.

43miles at 70mph is 0.61hours
the nominal capacity of the battery is 7.3kWh (also on their spec page on their website)

So estimated power draw at 70mph is 7.3 / 0.61 = 12kW which is 16hp which seems about right to me.

I believe goes up with the square of speed, so at 75mph you would need about

(12 * (75^2)) / (70^2) = 13.7755102

about 14kW which would then reduce your range to

7.3/14 * 75 = 39miles.

But you also have to remeber that as power to the motor increases, the efficiency probably decreases, so 39miles at 75mph is probably a little higher than you should actually get (at constant speed, in a tuck, on a flat road, without a head wind).

-ryan

[dkw12002]

43 miles is coincidentally the est. range of last year's S model. You might almost look at it that the range for the 2012 with the big battery is the same as the 2011 with the smaller battery if you drive 25 mph faster. I have never yet met a sport bike rider that likes to take it easy. You are right about needing a lot more power to ride 70-75 mph though. Same thing as with gas motorcycles...a 250cc might do 70, but to go 75 mph and do it in comfort and stabilty, you need something much larger...like 600 cc. mostly due to wind and hills.

[protomech]

2011 S is probably 43 miles at 35-40 mph. So you're right, the 2012 ZF9 gives you about double the range at the same speed, or an extra 25 mph at the same range.

My 500 twin feels pretty happy at 75 mph, but is definitely struggling at 90+ mph (max speed a bit over 110). Have only brought it there a couple of times. The 600 sportbikes have well over twice the power, they're a bit overkill to do 75 mph comfortably : )

[RickSteeb]

If I were to ride at 74 mph, which is the speed I drive my car along with almost everyone else on I-35, what kind of range could I expect with the 2012 Zero S with ZF9 battery do you suppose? Would 50 miles be reasonable to expect? I really don't want to spend $14,000 and ride in the right-hand lane with the gravel trucks and vans. I see on the Zero website, they claim a range of 63 miles at 70 mph? Is that accurate? Some knowledgeable person on this forum said to reduce the claimed mileage by 35% for practical numbers, but I'm not sure which number to apply the 35% to...the 114 miles or the 63 miles, or both? Help!

At 75MPH you can expect about 43 miles with the ZF9, based on my getting about 30 miles at that speed with my new DS ZF6.  I have seen 80MPH once or twice; it will go 75 until the bottom bars blink!

My 13.5 mile commute, mostly 70+ in the diamond lane, typically takes 2.5kWh to recharge if traffic is light.  In "Eco" mode, it maxes out at 70, and takes about 2.25kWh for the same route.