Print

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

[manlytom]

hi all

keep wondering how your are going with old habits on IC bikes compared to the Zeros or any ebike for that matter.

I noticed that I still tend to wheel it out and "start" the bike before gearing up with helmet, cloves etc. That way in fact draining the battery more than needed.
Other issue is that my neighbours have complained as they are not being woken up by my Harley anymore ... and are sleeping in. Guess I need to get some sort of bike sound generator onto my Zero.

T

[Brammofan]

Other issue is that my neighbours have complained as they are not being woken up by my Harley anymore ... and are sleeping in. Guess I need to get some sort of bike sound generator onto my Zero.

Ha! I'm going to have to borrow that line.

[Richard230]

The first time I rode a Vectrix on a test ride, I pulled in the "clutch" and stalled the scooter when I suddenly braked.   

The odd thing is that even though I own (and ride at least once a week) five IC motorcycles and have been riding motorcycles almost every day for 50 years, I am not having any issues while riding the Zero.  I am not reaching for the non-existent clutch, nor am I trying to shift with my left foot while riding. And even better, I am not forgetting to use the clutch when riding my other bikes. I can't explain it, as I am pretty much a creature of habit, but I seem to be getting along well with the Zero.     I don't even wait for the bike to "warm up" before riding off.   

[protomech]

I still park the bike in the garage.

My GS500 is a carbureted bike (!), so I really don't miss playing with the choke for a few minutes before riding away. I park nose-in into the garage, so I gear up, flip the switch, back out, hit the garage door and I'm good to go. Love it.

[ed5000]

I just bought a used 2010 DS and only had it for 4 days so I'm really having to deal with some of these old habits.  Right now I'm grabbing for the clutch lever and my left foot slides forward a little without actually shifting but the funny one I caught today was when maneuvering my bike in the garage after a ride and I was keeping my legs away from the bike so I wouldn't burned by the muffler. 

[flar]

back out, hit the garage door and I'm good to go

And I'm guessing your garage door repairman is loving it too?  (OK, I'll check my sense of humor at the door now.)

On my test ride I found myself wiggling my toes at the space where the shift lever would be coming up to every stop - even though my hand was smart enough not to reach for the non-existing clutch lever.  I wasn't tempted to try to shift on acceleration, though.  Perhaps because I had no sense that I was reaching the end of any rev band, the whine of the electric motor doesn't trigger any shifting instinct in me.  But, the reasons for downshifting when approaching a stop aren't triggered by a sense of what the engine is doing so those survived the shift...

[protomech]

Haha. Hit the garage door remote, all you jokers : P

There's a big difference in feel between my GS500 and the Zero. The GS500 engine feels like it's lugging below 4k rpm or so, surges up to around 9k, and then starts to run out of breath between 9k and 11k. The Zero motor just keeps pulling, doesn't matter what rpm it's at .. at least until an indicated 80 mph or so. It's never very fast, but it never feels like the motor is being strained.

[Richard230]

Hi Protomech, As far as your GS500E surging goes, have you placed a very small washer under the needle clip on each carburetor? That will solve most of the 500's running problems.

All you have to do to perform this fix is to pull the back of the tank up, pull off the carb top, gently lift up the diaphragm and pull out the slide, with its needle attached. Then, with a small pair of needle nose pliers, remove the needle retainer from inside the throttle slide, pull the needle out, place a small washer (such as Radio Shack sells for in 100-washer bags) under the needle clip and reassemble everything - taking care to get the rubber diaphragm seated correctly under the carb top. Performing this modification to both your carburetors will make a very noticeable improvement in the motor's performance in the lower and mid-rev range.

[manlytom]

Old habits. Noticed that on occasion I turn the throttle down before accelaration as if on an IC bike changing gears next ....

in fact - on occasions I found that turning the throttle down and then quickly up again seems to give a bit more accelaration. that is unless my motor cuts out (to high current ?) anyway, had that in another thread.

T

[protomech]

Richard230: Maybe I'm using the wrong term - it doesn't feel abnormal (maybe I'm used to it?), but the engine seems to make more torque between 5k and 9k rpm.

I've noticed that I never forget to switch off the turn signal after a turn on the Zero. I sometimes (~5%) forget to turn it off on the gas bike.. so I sort of compulsively check it every few minutes.

[Richard230]

Protomech, all IC motors will always make more power and torque as the revs rise (as you know) up to a certain point, where the mechanical efficiency drops.  The GS500E has always had a lean fueling condition around 4000-6000 rpm since the day it was introduced. Fattening up the fuel mixture by raising the jet needle will make a noticeable improvement in power within this range and I highly recommend this slight modification. It is easy to do and I think you will like the results.

Here is another tip.  Around 45K miles my daughter's GS500E started leaking oil past the ignition (right) side oil seal, located on the crankshaft, behind the ignition pick-up. I took things apart and discovered that the original oil seal had worn a groove into the end of the crankshaft and the oil in the crankcase was finding its way between this groove and the seal.  I went to my local Honda dealer looking for a cheaper oil seal and they found one of the right size made for a Honda model (I can't recall which one, it was years ago), that was a double seal that would rub to either side of the worn groove in the crankshaft end.

That solved her oil leak problem - at least until her husband borrowed the bike and went on a thousand-mile trip without checking the oil level. Knock, knock, who's there?  Not oil, apparently.  Even with bad motor bearings, the bike ran another 6000 miles, until it was sold (at 85K miles) to a Mexican fellow who planned to ride it from Seattle to Mexico City.  The knocking didn't seem to bother him too much. I guess he figured "they all do that". I hope he made it.

[manlytom]

Now picture this. Slow traffic, standing traffic. A big SUV with BIG dog on the passengers seat, window all open and DOG looking out. On my Harley in no time the DOG would have been on to me, barking, going grazy and if I rev even more. Now with the Zero -- 100pc ignorance, what a cool dog. Seems the Zero does not sound like 100 angry dogs.

T
http://www.facebook.com/ZeroElectricMoto

[oobflyer]

To start the Vectrix you have to pull in the right lever (front brake), hold it in, then pull in the left lever (rear brake), then release both levers.

I keep trying to do that on my Zero, but my left hand just gets 'air'

The other thing I do is try to reverse the throttle for the regen braking... to no avail.

Sometimes I find that my left foot is looking for a lever to down-shift.

So far none of these 'old habits' have put me into any danger.   

[CliC]

I've on occasion heard weird noises, and as with anything mechanical I'm driving or riding I have on a couple of those occasions pulled over into parking lots to see where on the bike they were coming from.

Turns out they weren't coming from the bike. They were birds in trees, signs/flags flapping in the wind, you name it. Basically, stuff I never ever heard on my Harley while it was running