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[DesignerDan]

I hate keys so I made this keyless system for my 2013 Zero S. You just have to have the proximity fob on your person and you can start up the bike or get into the storage compartment with just a press of a button.

[Shadow]

Awesome video presentation,  Dan!

[E-Luke]

Hey Dan, great presentation!

Where are you based? I'm looking for this exact system, and want to know whether you'd be willing to do the labor for a price?!

I'll run it past Hollywood Electrics too - I bet there's a bunch of people who'd love this!

[Erasmo]

Very nice produced video!

[Fred]

That proximity sensor must draw quite a lot of power if it's scanning for the tag all the time. Hour long does the battery pack last? I'd be tempted to put the button before the sensor. By which I mean press the button, then it begins scanning and starts the bike if it finds the tag. Not as slick perhaps, but more power efficient.

I've got plans for my own keyless start to work with the NFC chip implanted in my hand. The tricky bit is that I want to find a way to operate the steering lock too.

[DesignerDan]

Hey Dan, great presentation!

Where are you based? I'm looking for this exact system, and want to know whether you'd be willing to do the labor for a price?!

I'll run it past Hollywood Electrics too - I bet there's a bunch of people who'd love this!

Hi Luke, I live in Orlando Florida. I'd be more than happy to do the install on other bikes but unfortunately I don't see too many Zeros here in Florida. In fact, I have never seen a single one out in the wild.

Another option is I could make this system into a kit that could be shipped and installed by the owner or a shop. It would require the tank fairing to be removed and a few holes to be drilled into in. The only electrical connections it needs is to plug into the bikes 12volt accessory plug, and then it needs to tap into the ignition circuit and brake light circuit. But I could make adaptors so the kit is plug and plug. (no stripping wires required)

[DesignerDan]

That proximity sensor must draw quite a lot of power if it's scanning for the tag all the time. Hour long does the battery pack last? I'd be tempted to put the button before the sensor. By which I mean press the button, then it begins scanning and starts the bike if it finds the tag. Not as slick perhaps, but more power efficient.

I've got plans for my own keyless start to work with the NFC chip implanted in my hand. The tricky bit is that I want to find a way to operate the steering lock too.

The system is incredibly power efficient. It's not scanning for the fob all the time. It's just emitting a low power electromagnetic field. When the fob comes in range of the field, it sends a radio frequency signal to the receiver, telling it to unlock. It's pretty clever how they made it so power efficient. And it says in the manual the fob battery life is expected to be 3 years.

The system can run for weeks without the bike being turned on to recharge the battery bank. And if you noticed, there's a switch on the battery bank so you can even turn it off if you're going to be storing the bike for a long period of time.

The only disadvantage as you mentioned is the steering lock. But it would totally be possible to use a car door lock motor to lock the steering when you walk away. I just haven't designed and fabricated the necessary brackets for this feature and it would require the original keyed ignition/lock to be completely removed from the bike.

As of right now you can still use the original keyed ignition to lock the steering, you just have to use the regular key.

[Erasmo]

Do you have an idea on how much mA it draws?

[vinceherman]

The only disadvantage as you mentioned is the steering lock. But it would totally be possible to use a car door lock motor to lock the steering when you walk away.

I love your system but I would advise against the steering lock idea.
Your system operates well, and it if fails, the key can still be used to operate the bike, right?
But if you add a steering lock that can lock without the key, what happens if there is a failure of any kind while you are riding?  I prefer not to have the steering lock while I am moving.

edit: just to be sure, I LOVE the work you have done.  If you kit it up, I think you will have a lot of people saying "Shut up and take my money!"

[DesignerDan]

Do you have an idea on how much mA it draws?

I never measured it and it doesn't say in the manual but I know the battery bank I'm using is 11,000mAh @ 12 volts and the system can run off the battery bank for about two weeks without recharging. Two weeks is 336 hours and so the current is about 32mA.

[DesignerDan]

Your system operates well, and it if fails, the key can still be used to operate the bike, right?
But if you add a steering lock that can lock without the key, what happens if there is a failure of any kind while you are riding?  I prefer not to have the steering lock while I am moving.

Yes the original key can be used as a back up to turn the bike on. This is also part of the reason why I never added the steering autolock feature; it seemed like too much work without much benefit.

However I will say that it still is a plausible idea. The bike's original ignition could be relocated to somewhere else on the bike so that you could still use it as a back up. And as for locking while riding... I wouldn't worry about that because it's just not possible for two reasons...

First, the steering lock can only engage when the handlebars are turned hard over to the left. Second, the keyless system is very secure. Once you start up the bike and pull the brake lever, the system goes into "sleep mode" which means it's basically locked in the ON position. Nothing can turn it off other than pressing the ignition button again. Once the ignition button is pressed to turn the bike off, the system will "wake up" and will start responding to the fob again. This means it's not possible for the bike to accidentally turn off while riding or accidentally lock the steering. I wanted to mention this in my video because it's an important safety feature but I thought it would take too long to explain so I cut it out.

So the steering autolock is totally possible to do in a safe manner but like it said, it's a lot of work to implement and so I didn't feel like it was worth it for me personally.

[DPsSRnSD]

I never measured it and it doesn't say in the manual but I know the battery bank I'm using is 11,000mAh @ 12 volts and the system can run off the battery bank for about two weeks without recharging. Two weeks is 336 hours and so the current is about 32mA.

I needed this battery and never knew it existed. I'm glad I saw your video, and not just because I want keyless start on my bike. I'm going to use the battery to power a PocketFinder vehicle tracker when the bike is off. I think now you're charging the it off the DC:DC converter. Did you consider charging off the AC port using the AC adapter instead and if so what were the drawbacks? Unfortunately, I'm not sure I ride enough to keep the Talentcell fully charged.

[DesignerDan]

I needed this battery and never knew it existed. I'm glad I saw your video, and not just because I want keyless start on my bike. I'm going to use the battery to power a PocketFinder vehicle tracker when the bike is off. I think now you're charging the it off the DC:DC converter. Did you consider charging off the AC port using the AC adapter instead and if so what were the drawbacks? Unfortunately, I'm not sure I ride enough to keep the Talentcell fully charged.

I'm also glad I found this battery! It's honestly the perfect thing for those of us who want an always on 12 volt source!

To be honest, I never even thought about using the AC port to charge this battery bank! That's a great idea! The only drawback I can think of for your application is: it's going to be really difficult to tap into the bike's AC port. Those wires are heavy duty and well protected. Not to mention they are hidden behind the frame of the bike and hard to get to. Zero also recently changed their charging recommendations. It's no longer recommended to keep the bike plugged in all of the time when not in use.

I don't think I would use the AC port only to charge the battery for my keyless system though because when the bike is ON it's using more power than usual because it's powering two relays. And if I'm charging my phone, it's drawing even more power for that. So I personally think charging the battery from the bike's 12 volt DC:DC is the way to go for my application. Then you never have to worry about the additional power consumption when the bike is on.

I guess the ideal solution would be to have it charge from the AC port when the bike is off and plugged in, and have it also charge from the bike's 12 volt DC when the bike is on.