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[Tireshred]

I bought one a month or so ago, I wanted one from the first test ride last year, but I couldn't pay $14k for it. With the end of year incentives, I drove out for $10k with a tax break next year. I'm 53 and been riding on the street since I was 15, lots of miles and lots of different bikes. Right now I have a 2008 Triumph Tiger 1050, 2008 Schwinn 150 scooter and 1981 Honda CT110, although none of the others are getting ridden now, the Zero is just too much fun. Most of the mods I've done were with the aid of this forum, a tunnel tail pack, mirror extenders, Fiam Hiway Blaster horn, GPS/Camera/Phone mount, Acerbis hand guards and cup holder (ok, that one I did on my own) for those tea/coffee runs. I have 400 miles on it with Zero problems. I did find out that riding in the HOV lane here in Houston is not a good idea, especially into the wind, it overheated and I had traffic backed up and not happy with my 50MPH and no where to pull over (its a single lane lined with concrete barriers). My work allows me to park inside and set up an area to recharge, pretty neat, even though they didn't have to do that. I've jumped curbs, cut across fields and generally used it to avoid backups, that's one of the neatest things about it IMO. I'll jump in if there's anything I can help with, but with all the expertise here I doubt you'll be hearing from me much.

[CliC]

Hi, Tireshred, I'm currently about 50 miles south of you (Lake Jackson area). Interesting you overheated in the HOV. I'm looking to move to Houston soon, after a job transfer here; too far currently to ride the Zero. I too have used its offroad capabilities creatively Let me know if you come across any other interesting aspects of riding a Zero in Houston. And welcome aboard!

[protomech]

The motor controller is the weak thermal link in the 2012 bikes. Even during the hottest part of the summer (105-110 F) in 2012 I never saw a cutback below 70 mph for at least 5 miles of interstate travel, which is as much as I've ever needed to travel here. How long were you on the interstate to see power restrictions down to 50 mph, how strong were the headwinds and were you going uphill? I don't think the controller in normal operations should cut back that far in 80 - 90 degree temperatures.

[Tireshred]

The day was maybe 80f, there are no uphill's in Houston other than overpasses. I weigh 250lbs and the headwind was around 25mph and the HOV is about 10 miles long from where I get on it.

It's happened again, this time on the main lanes of 45 into about the same headwind, after maybe 8 miles the light started flashing, within a couple of minutes it went solid and started slowing down, I went to the right lane, backed off to 55MPH and it all went away and I continued on until my exit with no more issues. Maybe mine has an issue?

[NoiseBoy]

That sounds like it could be an issue, worth asking Zero i would say.  I have tried purposely holding full throttle for long periods on steep hills and never experience any hint of overheating.

[Biff]

The day was maybe 80f, there are no uphill's in Houston other than overpasses. I weigh 250lbs and the headwind was around 25mph and the HOV is about 10 miles long from where I get on it.

It's happened again, this time on the main lanes of 45 into about the same headwind, after maybe 8 miles the light started flashing, within a couple of minutes it went solid and started slowing down, I went to the right lane, backed off to 55MPH and it all went away and I continued on until my exit with no more issues. Maybe mine has an issue?

Are you in a tuck or an up-right position?  With a 25mph headwind you should still expect to maintain more than 50mph while tucked.  It comes as a surprise to many people that tucking can make a big difference.  at those air speeds (70-75mph) a tuck can reduce your power consumption by 20%, giving you 20% more range at the same speed, or maybe 7-10mph higher continuous speed.

[protomech]

Today the Tennessee Valley EV Drivers group met at Earth Day to show off our EVs (two Volts, 1 Leaf, 1 Zero S .. group is about a dozen EV owners, but that's who we had today), answer questions, and give test rides. I rode 12 miles to get to Earth Fare, and charged for about 90 minutes (1.27 kWh) until full.



After the meetup I planned to test the interstate range. 5 years ago I took the MSF basic riders course at Rocket Harley Davidson west of town .. highly recommended for anyone new to motorcycling. I rode west to Rocket Harley and spent a bit talking with other motorcyclists there. Afterwards I left and took the interstate back in to town.

I was able to hold 70 mph for 15 miles, which used exactly 4 bars on the gauge. I went up to 75 mph on a couple of occasions for brief periods. After 15 miles traffic conditions dropped speed down to 65 mph, and two miles later my route exited the interstate. The temperature indicator never blinked.

Winds were pretty light, blowing east or south east around 5 mph. Temperature was 71 degrees F.

Total distance for the day was 57 miles (route), about half at 50-70 mph and half at 40-50 mph. I would have been fine (if barely) without charging at Earth Fare, but would have swapped some or all of the interstate travel for side streets.