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[Zelidar]

A couple of weeks ago, I was staying overnight in a hotel and their single Type 2 charging station was already occupied. The staff told me I could use a power plug in the laundry room so I parked my SR/F next to it and used an indoor domestic wall plug, charging at around 3 kW. That also was closer to the guest rooms.

My original chargers were swapped last summer, to solve that isolation fault problem. The new pair behaves a little differently using a wider range of RPM, a little quieter at the beginning, but they also quickly settle at max speed/RPM for the rest of the charging session, just like the old ones did. Just as loud.

Later that evening, the phone of our hotel room rang. It was the night shift manager. He informed us that a guest had complained about noise coming from my motorcycle. He asked me if I could do something about it. I unplugged the bike, it had already reached 100% charge.

The SR/F and SR/S are definitely louder than any other electric cars I have ever heard charging. In fact, I have not been able to hear any ventilation noise at all from most large and modern EV's. On my SR/F I cannot notice any difference in the noise level when charging at 3 kW or 6 kW. Also, the ambient temperature seems to have little to no influence on the noise level. That does not make sense!

I wonder how the DSR/X compares, or the Energica's and Livewire's when charging AC at 3 kW ?

[kylealden]

I just got a new DSR/X two weeks ago, it's definitely louder than my other EVs (Model Y and R1T) and seems not connected to temperature.

It's not usually loud at L1 (120V) charging, but on a 3-6kw charger the fan is always on and is loud.

My guess is it's actually the AC charger on the bike that is cooling, not the battery pack.

[JaimeC]

I've got a 2021 (Gen2) SR with 6kW Charge Tank.  I always hear the fan when plugged into a public L2 station, but never hear anything when plugged in at home on household current.  I agree, pretty sure it's keeping the charger cool, not the battery.

[Zelidar]

My SR/F is MY 2020 and its 14.4 kWh battery is passively cooled. The noise I am hearing while it charges comes from the two 3 kW chargers.

Starting with MY 2022, the new 15.6 or 17.3 kWh batteries come with a pair of fans inside. They add up to those from the charger but I can't tell if they are active during charging, and if so how. Here is an extract of a related article I found online (NOV 4th, 2021.):

https://www.popsci.com/technology/zero-motorcycles-unveils-sr-bike-new-battery-tech/

Brian Wismann, the vice president of product development at Zero, says they’ve dealt with this hot issue in a couple ways. One is by “optimizing” its passive heat sinks—the diecast aluminum with the ridges on the sides of the battery pack. Those “extract heat from the cell,” he says.

The more dynamic way they’re handling the heat issue is by adding two fans to the battery assembly to actively cool it down, a new move for the company. Those fans could be spinning “even when the bike’s sitting there and charging,” he says.

“That active management allows us to extract the most out of this new cell technology,” Wissman adds. “This is a fairly novel approach, and it’s been very effective for us in testing so far.”

[DonTom]

I've got a 2021 (Gen2) SR with 6kW Charge Tank.  I always hear the fan when plugged into a public L2 station, but never hear anything when plugged in at home on household current.  I agree, pretty sure it's keeping the charger cool, not the battery.

Sounds like Zero should do what Energica does, lets us adjust the charger fan speed.


I think I heard that the Experia doesn't even use a fan. Perhaps it is coolant cooled. I will have to check the next time I am charging. I would think I would at least hear the motor for the coolant.


-Don-  Reno, NV

[T.S. Zarathustra]

I'm pretty sure these are standard fans. You should be able to replace them cheaply with same dimension and cfm fans that have a thermal speed control built in.

[DonTom]

I think I heard that the Experia doesn't even use a fan. Perhaps it is coolant cooled. I will have to check the next time I am charging. I would think I would at least hear the motor for the coolant.

I home charged my Expeira last night for a trip today and it does sound more like a water pump running than it sounds like a fan.


-Don-  Auburn, CA

[Zelidar]

I home charged my Expeira last night for a trip today and it does sound more like a water pump running than it sounds like a fan.

Lucky you! Water pump noises are not known for causing problems with neighbors .

The complaint I got was the very first one in 4 years throughout countless charging sessions. Should that repeat, I would limit the charging power to about 1 kw and ask for a cable extender so as to be further away for guest rooms.

[mdjak1]

OP, was it extremely hot outside?   Is your fan loud even when cool outside?   Even my Chevy Bolt will kick up the fan quite high when charging and it is hot out or the car was run at higher speeds just prior to charging.   

[Zelidar]

Is your fan loud even when cool outside?

Yes. It is clear that sound emissions from the onboard chargers didn't make it to the list of things to be zeroed for Zero .
All things considered, this is a minor annoyance which typically does not bother anyone. As already stated, first time in 4 years.