Print

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

[trikester]

Yesterday I did a 50 mile dirt ride in Utah (total out and back) with an elevation difference of 2,000 feet on my 2012 DS ZF6. I had 4 bars left which would indicate 1/3 of the charge remaining. It took 4 kwh to recharge so that would also indicate 1/3 was still in there after the ride. Extrapolating that remaining 1/3 would indicate a 75mile range under the riding conditions I did.

There were a lot of steep ups and downs as the dirt road crossed numerous ravines. My top speed was slightly over 35mph and my moving average (by GPS) was 17mph for the entire ride. A good portion of the 2K feet was in a three mile multiple switchback climb. I gained one bar coming back down.

Good performance by the bike and a lot of fun for the ride.

Trikester

[dahlheim]

where'd you ride?

i'm in grand junction, awaiting delivery of a 2012 ds zf9...

[trikester]

I started at the east entrance to Valley of the Gods. Rode through VotG and up the Moki Dugway, then out to the end at Muley Point. I returned by the same route.

Another photo, taken by a tourist that stopped to look at the view. Way off in the lower distance you can see a portion of the dirt road, through Valley of the Gods, that I rode to get to this spot along the way to Muley Point.

Trikester

[kcoplan]

Cool, Trikestar.  I was wondering if you can actually gain bars back with regenerative braking, and you answered my question.  No 2000 foot drops to ride around here, though . . .
- Karl

[Marshm]

Thanks for the post because I am interested in this bike for offroad.  That is enough range for what I typically do.  I think I would use more battery capacity due to heavy throttle hand and all the twisty trails that are not a very efficient method of travel.  Plus with all the loose ground, your back tire went more miles than the bike did.  That is exciting to know the bikes do have this range though. 

[dahlheim]

if you're still near/in moab and looking for something to do, drop by Arrowhead Motorsports and tell Fred that Pete sent you.  fred's a good old friend who knows almost every trail in/near Moab.  he and i are awaiting my new bike.  he's going to head over here for the "unveiling", whenever that is.

[trikester]

Nope, I'm back home as of today.

[trikester]

Thanks for the post because I am interested in this bike for offroad.  That is enough range for what I typically do.  I think I would use more battery capacity due to heavy throttle hand and all the twisty trails that are not a very efficient method of travel.  Plus with all the loose ground, your back tire went more miles than the bike did.  That is exciting to know the bikes do have this range though.

I'm not heavy handed on the throttle - more of a dirt trail cruiser. I do get more dirt mileage range than when riding pavement. I think for two reasons: Lower speed so less air drag (a major factor) and on / off throttle means lower copper temp and less IR loss.

The 50 mi Utah ride was mostly hard pack with lots of gravel but there were some very soft powder sections. Many of my previous rides were in the area where my SoCal desert cabin is. Those rides had mostly soft sand so lots of wheel spin. However, I use a bike mounted GPS to measure speed and distance, so wheel spin doesn't cause error. Data from those desert sandy trail rides indicated the 65 mile range that I have posted here previously. This latest Utah ride would extrapolate out to a 75 mile range, probably due to the harder surface.

Trikester

[trikester]

Here is the GPS track and waypoints from the return ride that can be loaded onto a GPS or a computer map.

I parked my truck, unloaded the bike, and rode out to the highway and turned around to start at the beginning of the dirt road. this track is the return to the starting point and the truck.

Sorry, if you don't have the right software to open this gpx file. 

[protomech]

Google Earth will load GPX files.

[trikester]

I'm changing from Garmin to Delorme. I'm due for a new GPS and I like the features of the Delorme PN-60w (waiting now for delivery). One thing I like is that it records normally in gpx format so I won't have to convert the format to send the data to someone else, or to open in it Google Earth.

Trikester

[BSDThw]

I use Viking it has lots of different  and free maps.

[Marshm]

I have been meanin g to ask this.  KTM mentioned their bike is all sealed up so no dirt or water can get into the motor or battery pack.  I thought I saw in a photo where I could see the Zero motor windings.  Thus if I can see them, dirt and water can get in.  I don't think there was an inspection window.  So are the Zero's sealed up?  Trikester has been riding sandy ground and it seems to be working.  If sand gets in, I would think it would destroy a motor pretty quick.  Riding in sand makes by disk brakes wear out much faster. 

[trikester]

You are correct, the motor isn't sealed. So far I haven't had a problem. I don't know why not.

Reply to BSDThw: One thing that attracted me to the Delorme was the free maps. It comes loaded with the entire United States at 1:24,000 plus other stuff. I can also load Google Earth images into it, etc.

Garmin is out to nickel and dime us to death with extra charges for their stuff which isn't compatible with any other system and some isn't even transferable from the GPS to the computer - like the California 1:24000 topo. You have to buy two copies of the same map, one for the GPS and one for the computer. Bah, Humbug!