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[stunthamster]

Hi Guys;

Picked up my 2015 SR the other day from Street bike, and so far absolutely love it. I got the power tank on the basis that on my commute is around 70 miles or so, of around 75% 70mph, and the rest around 30 or so. In terms of hills, I live in the flat lands of suffolk, so no real inclines to speak of.

I managed to do the commute by holding it around 65 mph on a fairly standard UK day (Not much wind, pretty cool), but got home with only 7% charge left; this was entirely on ECO mode (Stock, not custom). Does that sound about right to everyone?

Cheers;

Mike

[KrazyEd]

Zero says 94 miles at 70 mph with power tank. I would imagine that this is in as generous a situation as possible for the testing.
Probably bike strapped to dyno, disconnect charger when full, run up to 70 mph and hold until dead. No hills, no wind, no rider weight.
IF that is the case, then, you seem to be in the ball park. The "fun factor" never really wears off, but, the newness might. As you get used
to the bike, and, adjust your riding style to electric, you should be able to get well in excess of what they claim. I Hypermile almost
all of my driving, and, am usually able to easily exceed mpg estimates for any vehicle that I drive. Mild adjustments to riding style should
offer 10%~20% range extension. More severe adjustments should allow for greater extensions. Of course, the greater your range,
the lower the "fun" meter goes. Proper belt tension, and, tire pressure will keep range at it's best without YOU having to make changes.
Congratulations on your choice.

[Electric Terry]

Yes that sounds exactly right.  The numbers listed on Zero's webpage are the maximum range in a tuck riding position.  Sitting upright or going faster will reduce range.  Warmer weather will help that just a little for a variety of reasons. But it looks like you have enough for the commute which is perfect!  You're commute is going to be more fun and exciting and something to look forward to than it has ever been! 

Do you have the commuter windscreen?  I don't think there are any hard range numbers but those that have one and sort of tuck behind it swear that their range goes up a little.  Might be worth seeing if it works for you.

Congrats on your new bike!!!

[grmarks]

The stated range with power tank at 70mph is 94 miles. But it depends on how you ride. This figure is based on a steady speed which is more gentle than eco mode. If you pin it to overtake cars etc. expect less range (even in eco). If you take off from lights as fast as you can, expect less range (even in eco). If you have a head wind expect less range.
Because 25% is at 30 mph you would expect to get more than 94 miles (if you ride very gently with no head wind).
Another factor is the temperature. If it is cold expect less range (around 0 degrees C). The cold affects the chemical reaction in the batteries and has no lasting affect on them. I don't have first hand experience with the cold but others have commented on it. I believe it can be quite significant.

[Richard230]

Check your Zero app and make sure that it is showing over 13 kWh when fully charged.  If it isn't your power tank could be defective (mine was and was replaced under Zero's warranty). I have found that cold temperatures just above freezing seemed to cut my battery performance so that it would take 20% more power to travel the same distance along the same route that I could go during the summer.

[grmarks]

Ah, I see others have posted at the same time as my self.
I have the "commuter" screen and it does give a little more range, but it is extremely difficult to know how much as my range for the same commute can vary as much as 5% over 40% commute (ie 40% to 45%) based on head wind and traffic speed. But it seems like it might be around 2% over 40% commute, no tucking required.
The commute is on a freeway (100 km/h (60 mph))

[melbrader]

That sounds about right to me. I have a 2016SR with tank and with the weather around 40 I get about the same. but when I do my own custom setting and set it at 15 torque and 100% on both braking and regen with temps around 65 and being very careful on starting nice and easy with all in town driving I have seen 208 miles on my the estimated number that I get on my display and so far its been very accurate with every fill up. What I have figured out so far with the little testing that I have done around town is. the slower the speed with the least amount of stops will give you the highest distance. I did a small test around town at was only going 25 mph and my estimated mileage was climbing so fast that I think it would have been well over 300 miles but I ran out of time to get the total distance to give you a good number. I hope this helps a little.

[KrazyEd]

Have you tried little to no regen on trailing throttle, and, full on braking?
I know that if you pay very close attention that you can achieve the same
thing, but, being able to "coast" to  light that you know will be red when
you arrive beats keeping the throttle on until you get close then major
regen when you roll off. I think that I ended up with around 15% regen
when off throttle. Seemed to help range a bit for me. Nowhere close
to your 300 miles,  but, have gotten very close to 100 with my FX 5.7
several times.

[2014ZeroSR]

14 SR w/PT range – I plan on 100 miles.
Battery capacity is a bit above 13kwh.
Windscreen – none.
Tire pressure – about 34 psi.

Best range with max conservation was 120 miles.
I was very easy on the throttle, didn't push hard etc.

Modes – Custom used often, Sport and Eco – rarely used.
Custom settings:
Top speed = 60
Max torque = 30
Max Regen = 0%
Max Regen brake = 100%

Lake County, California – not many highways (max speed = 55 mph).
Lots of accents/descents with wonderful twists/turns.

Winter, about a 5% decrease.
Winter Temps here run about 25-30 F.

Here's a final thought – know your max range.
Twice now I've arrived home with 0% showing.
The first time, just after connecting the charger, the app showed 4ah remaining.
The second time a month later, I did a bit better – 5ah remaining was displayed.
Pushing home one's bike is not enjoyable – just ask Richard230.

[Richard230]

That is right.  I live on a hill and when my 2014 S "died" after it hit 0%, I tried pushing but I couldn't push more than a few feet without feeling like I was going to pass out, (I think the drag of the electric motor adds about 100 pounds to the Zero's uphill weight.) So I turned the ignition back on and discovered that the bike would take me another 100 feet at 5 mph before it died again. I then turned it off, waited a minute, tuned it back on and was able to travel another 100 feet uphill. I did that about 8 times and finally made it up the slope and into my garage. Probably not the best treatment for the battery pack, but both it and I survived and lived to ride another day.     So remember just because you come to a stop, there may be a little life left in that pack if you really need it.   

I might add that it took my pack about 15 hours to fully recharge and balance after that little episode. 

[melbrader]

Richard, you made me laugh  a lot while I was reading yours because I could picture you doing this 8 times.  Its great to know what we need to do if we ever get into that bind. KrazyEd I will try that setting with the regen to see what happens at this time I have mine set at 90% and I got it the where I can time my stopping to the point of not using my brakes to the very end like around 8mph. one thing that I like about that is, I don't think I will every have to replace me brake pads lol or not.... my son wants me to do exactly the setting that you talk about so I'm looking forward trying it.

[BenS]

Lol, yep, funny story, Richard, and good info to know! I've done that a couple of times on my e-bikes after they shut down, just to see if I could still get home without pedalling.

[stunthamster]

Sorry for the late reply, hectic time at work!

Some excellent tips here, especially for the custom mode; I'll give that a go and see how I get on. I'll also be having a nice word with my clients and seeing if I can lob an extension cord on at the other end which would then solve any range issues I have.

Seriously loving this bike though, never ridden anything quite like it!

[Richard230]

When I was working here is how I solved my charging issues.  At the time I lived 10 miles from work and my EMS GPR-S was only good for about 17 miles without recharging at highway speeds. My desk was on the other side of that window.