Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[imahuph]

I am looking into purchasing a motorcycle and am quite the tech head.  my current round trip to work is about 70 miles averaging 50 mph very hilly commute average temp is around 40f.  I was wondering if the zero s zf11.4 is a good fit or if i will be range limited on this commute.  there is no place to charge while i am at work.

[Richard230]

I would say that the ZF11.4 should handle your commute well, as long as you don't spend too much time at freeway speeds.  If your speed going up hills isn't above 50 mph that part of your trip won't suck to much juice and you will use little if any power going down those same hills.  If you had to ride up and down hills on a freeway the entire distance, you would want to invest in the "power tank" option.  But from your description of your commute it sounds like the ZF11.4 is what you would want.

[imahuph]

thank you going for a test ride on saturday to see if I like the feel of the Zero S if it handles as well as the reviews say I think I will purchase

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

If you have the option to plug the bike in at your place of work, daily range will be even greater, but an 11.4 battery will handle this very well without it.

[Blotman]

I've done an 80 mile trip that was mostly 65mph and above going over the California Altamont Pass. I've made it with two bars to spare on my 11.4 kWh battery. Coming back, I actually ran the battery empty as I was dumb enough to be riding 70+ mph most the way, but was only 4 miles from my destination by then. I think you should be fine with a 70 mile hill commute @50 mph with plenty of detour miles for emergencies.

[protomech]

Electric motorcycles deliver vastly different range depending on operating conditions.

That's bad because it's hard to give a good, general answer for range. Zero claims 85 miles of range for the S ZF11.4 at a constant 55 mph, and that seems to be about right for a light rider on flat ground. Headwinds, additional rider or cargo weight, hills, cold temperatures (are you riding year-round? if not, how low will you go?), and eventually battery degradation will all eat into that range.

However, it's also good in a way because you have a lot of tools to extend range somewhat if you pay attention. For example, if you're running along at 60 mph and you see that your consumption is unusually high one day, maybe you lower your speed to 50 mph or detour to a lower speed route.

70 miles at 40F at an average of 50 mph (presumably meaning some at 30-40 mph, some at 60-70 mph) and lots of hills is probably pushing it pretty close on the ZF11.4 battery. You could probably make it, but I'd recommend getting the larger battery.

[imahuph]

thank you for the all the replies, might look into another route, cold weather and a heavy rider will make it a stressful commute might wait till the 15 or 16 to see if the range goes up some more

[benswing]

At this point you would need to go with a 14.2kWh to be certain you would make that distance.  In all likelihood you probably would make it on an 11.4kWh battery, but you are right about it being somewhat stressful. 

Nothing will change about the kWh needed to get you from point A to point B, and it is unlikely we will see a significant price drop for the batteries in the next 2 years.  However, you may be able to get a used bike and power tank, which would bring the cost down.

[Richard230]

Don't forget, you can always buy an 11.2 model and then if it does not quite have enough range, you can buy the "power tank" option later.  Since it is a dealer-installed option anyway, you don't need to make that decision when making the initial purchase.