Print

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

[Magpie3469]

Hi all. I am looking to buy a demo 2014 DS. I had been planning to get the one without the power pack, but I am now not sure. The extra range would be nice. From what I have gathered on other topics, the power pack does add some top weight, making cornering a little bit less agile. Are there any other considerations I should think about in deciding between the two? Does anyone have a good real life estimate of range with either or both? Also, if anyone has experience either good or bad buying a demo direct from Zero, please let me know.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

[grmarks]

I just bought a Zero SR and had the same dilemma. I was looking at the 2014 S at a discounted price than adding a power tank or buy a brand new 2015 SR without power tank (about the same price). So I asked an owner about the power tank and he said he hardly ever needed it and, in hind sight, he would have not got it.
So I bought the 2015 SR (no power tank) but I opted for an extra charger (1 hour of charge will give me the same as the power tank). You get a little more range on a 2015 over a 2014 model anyway.

So I would recommend you consider a 2015 with no power tank but get an extra charger. Should be close to same price. 

[Magpie3469]

Thank you for that response, it gives me something to think about. My issue is that I believe the quick charger has to be plugged into a separate outlet string than the onboard charger, if you use them at the same time, is that correct? I only have one outlet string in my garage. Also,  one of the occasional rides I do is about 32 miles, and includes mostly slower highway speeds of about 60. I'm thinking that the power pack may allow me to do that without recharging, including the return trip. Do you think that is feasible from your experience? Am i confusing the quick charger with something else?  There is a demo 2014 with power pack I could get now,  but I'm trying to decide if i should wait to see if a demo comes available without the pack,  presumably at a lower price than this one.  Unfortunately,  i can't afford a brand new one. ..

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

[grmarks]

A round trip into the city and out is about 60km. I use 2% to get to the freeway 12% on the freeway and 6% of inner city travel = 20% one way, 40% for round trip. Speed on the freeway is between 100km/hr and 120km/hr. Speed to get to the freeway is about 70km/hr. Inner city speed is between 30km/hr and 60km/hr with some stop starts. I don't know the distance break ups, just the total distance.
you could do your 64 mile round trip on a 2015 S or SR with no power tank and no need to recharge until you get home. I would expect that would be less than 80% of a full pack if you ride like I do.
Occasionally I will blast off from the lights at full throttle, but mostly I take off gently. Can't have my electric bike looking slow compared to a petrol (gas) one!
The auxiliary charger plugs in just above the motor and you need the on-board charger plugged in as well to make it charge. I charge my bike in side my house from 2 different outlets.
With a 2015 you have 10% more battery than a 2014 so that 80% on 2015 will be close to 90% on 2014. With battery sag over time, you would probably need the power tank on a 2014.
With mixed freeway/city riding I get about 150 - 160 km from a full charge (calculated). I have never used more that 65%, mind you I have not had it for very long yet.       

[Doug S]

You need to take a close look at what you're going to use the bike for.

In my case, I have a 2014 SR with the 11.4kWh battery pack. My primary goal was to use the bike as a "power commuter". My daily commute is ~52 miles round-trip, mostly freeway speeds, and I always get home with 30-35% left, toward the higher end in the summer, toward the lower end in the winter. Any other riding I just manage, knowing how much range is available. If I want to cruise up to the mountains near me, no problem, I know how far I can go. I live about 20 miles from the beach in San Diego, so I can go cruise the beach, but not very far.

I find that I worry far less about running out of power now than I used to. I've actually run out of power twice; the first was on an extended ride to intentionally push the range of the bike, and the second was on Craig Vetter's mileage challenge July 4th of this year. The first time I had to push the bike maybe 200 yards to get home; the second time I had to stop for an hour and find an outlet to plug into to finish the ride. Both times I knew there was a possibility of running out of power, and probably as a result of knowing that, it was just no big deal. The first time I was grateful I only had to push 200 yards -- even I can do that with a bike this light. The second time I was just embarrassed I didn't make the finish -- at the turnaround point I had 52% remaining, and the return trip was mostly downhill instead of uphill, but I forgot to account for the ~5 mph onshore flow that made the bike think the trip out was at 60 mph and the trip back was at 70.

So I'd say that if your primary use for the bike is met without having the power tank, don't worry about it for now. You can manage the rest, or if you change your mind later, you can always add the extra capacity later.

[Richard230]

What I like about my power tank, if you can afford it, is that it relieves me of "range anxiety". I like to keep my battery pack above 30% during a ride.

[Magpie3469]

Thanks for all those comments and thoughts.  The detailed information about actual range, and the other thoughts about range anxiety and battery sag are all very helpful.  I remember that one person reviewing electric motorcycles said that the beauty of motorcycles is to be able to get on and go, without caring about range.  While I don't necessarily believe that, and have enjoyed them even with very limited range (my Vectrix was down to about 20 miles when I sold it), I do think there is something to be said for having as big a cushion as you can afford.  Unfortunately, I just found out that the 2010 DS I had bought used is probably dead in the water, as it would cost more than what I bought it for to ship it to California and pay for reconditioning the batteries and possibly replacing the controller.  The dealer thought he could get them to do the repairs for free, but now is backpedaling (after it has sat for almost a month with no resolution).  In any case, I'm thinking that I should probably stop dinking around with electric cycles that are that limited, and just take the plunge.  Since the one I'm thinking about is a 2014 demo with the pack, my biggest hesitation (in addition to the money I will have put out, including the $2,000 for the dead one) is whether it has any "issues."  It seems from reading this forum that once one has a  significant issue, it can be a lot to get it diagnosed and fixed, and I'm not real excited about calling Zero and the dealer twice a week as I've been doing for the past month. The tech at Zero tells me it's been checked out at their "hospital," and is in good shape, but I'm not sure whether that is comforting or means that there are some issues they had to resolve.  If anyone has thoughts about that (or any of the rest), I'd welcome them.

Otherwise, happy (and quiet and emission free) riding!