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[Richard230]

The February issue of American Motorcyclist, the monthly magazine of the American Motorcycle Association, contains a great 4-page illustrated article, written by Ben Rich (AKA benswing), describing his tour on a 2014 Zero traveling from Washington, D.C. to Mexico, through the U.S., to Canada and back home. He averaged 310 miles per day, with his longest day ride being 475-miles. He spent only $249 on lodging (apparently it is a good idea to have friends all around the country) and $53 for charging fees. If you are a member of the AMA I recommend checking out his article before tossing the magazine into the dumpster. 

You may recall that he published a blog of his ride on this forum, but it is really nice to see his experiences with his Zero, when used for long-distance touring, published in the official magazine of the largest motorcycling club in the U.S.

[MostlyBonkers]

There may be copyright considerations, but is there any chance of a soft copy of the article Ben? I'd love to read it. I've managed to watch quite a few of your YouTube videos on the trip.

Thanks for letting us know Richard.

One thing I've been meaning to ask though: Is it such a good idea leave those Elcons exposed to the elements? Surely they aren't waterproof?

[Richard230]

There may be copyright considerations, but is there any chance of a soft copy of the article Ben? I'd love to read it. I've managed to watch quite a few of your YouTube videos on the trip.

Thanks for letting us know Richard.

One thing I've been meaning to ask though: Is it such a good idea leave those Elcons exposed to the elements? Surely they aren't waterproof?

The article mentioned that one fizzled when he got caught in the rain.  But it came back the next day after it dried out.

[bigd]

Ben Rich AKA Benswing, will certainly go down in the EMotorcycle hall of fame :-)

[MostlyBonkers]

That was covered in one or two of the videos too. Just looking at the Elcons with their standard issue computer fan, I would have thought it can't be good to get them wet. Being the super cool dude I am, I'd be tempted to wrap them in plastic bags at the very least! Other, more elegant solutions may be available... [emoji6]

[KrazyEd]

I got my February issue of the AMA magazine the other day, didn't notice the article.
Dug it out, went through page by page, still didn't see it. THEN, I noticed on the
first couple pages, I see that they have two different magazines that they send out.
Street, and, Dirt / Competition. Since I used to race, I still get the competition issue.
Sigh. It shows a clip of the cover and mentions the article page number. Went to
that page, no luck. 
Congratulations Ben for not only getting your story out,  but, on making the Cover.
Hopefully, from following his exploits on here, I didn't miss too much by not having
the article.

[Justin Andrews]

That was covered in one or two of the videos too. Just looking at the Elcons with their standard issue computer fan, I would have thought it can't be good to get them wet. Being the super cool dude I am, I'd be tempted to wrap them in plastic bags at the very least! Other, more elegant solutions may be available... [emoji6]

My plan was to put them in a top box, with cut outs & grommets in the box to allow the cables & air to pass through. That way you can lock up the box while charging, knowing its a least a bit harder to nick the charger / cables, or for some scrote to unplug your charge cable.

[Richard230]

I just noticed a note in the magazine as follows:

The magazine says that "members" can read both versions (the road and competition versions of the magazine) on line for free at www.americanmotorcyclist.com/magazine

I also forgot to mention that Ben (with his big smile) and his Zero covered the entire front page of the magazine.   

[KrazyEd]

That's the problem with tunnel vision, you only see what you are looking for.
Have to check it out.
Thanks

[benswing]

Thanks for posting this, Richard!  It's been quite a journey and I hope to get ICE motorcyclists to think of electric bikes in a different way.  This is some awesome exposure and I appreciate the AMA for publishing the article. 

One thing I've been meaning to ask though: Is it such a good idea leave those Elcons exposed to the elements? Surely they aren't waterproof?

The Elcons are actually IP67 rated, which means they are dustproof and waterproof (submerged b/w 15cm and 1m).  I have mounted them to the back of my bike for all 3 summer rides of 5,000 miles or greater and they only went on the fritz once in Ohio after riding through a pretty epic downpour.  They made it find through several sunshowers and spots of rain here and there. 

Not sure if I can get a copy of the magazine to you, but I plan to have more information up on my Ben Rich - Electric Biker facebook page soon.   https://www.facebook.com/BenRidesElectric

here's the cover (sorry it's big, don't know how to shrink it):