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[calamarichris]

Glad to see the forum's back up, I was afraid I'd been banned or something.

Also restored to life because I (irresponsibly) went out for a ride in the beautiful 70-degree temps on Pacific Coast Highway, despite having a broken femur and rib. SO wonderful! Just a quick little 60 miles to see the world again.

My bike's belt seems a little noisier than demo bike's a rode two months ago, but I'll check it with the Crikit. Such a fun bike! Was a little worried about riding with the busted hip/leg, but this bike is pretty much like a 70mph Rascal scooter and I was able to run errands, call on friends, and spend a few hours away from my workstation or in bed watching dreck on Netflix.

So glad the forum's back up (and that I'm not banned), and that soon I'll be able to ride this bitchin bike to work every day! And to the beach, and to Palomar Mountain, and Elfin Forest, and Highland Valley Road...

Hunger is better than the best French chef for lending savor to a dish, but this day was keenly beautiful. Hope you guys & gals are all having as magical a weekend as this!

[calamarichris]

Sorry if this term has already been in use, but I started referring to gas-bikes as ICE-Age bikes, which got some laughs from my friends.

[Richard230]

Happy, happy, happy about the forum being resurrected.  And congratulations, calamarichris for getting out on your new bike for a ride today. I too found that my belt made a lot more noise than I expected when new, but after about 500 miles the noise pretty much went away.  Either that or I got used to it.   

[calamarichris]

Gracias Ricardo.

What's the consensus on belt tension as set by the factory?
I might check it with the Crikit tomorrow, as well as the rear wheel alignment if my busted-up body permits.

I really enjoy a quiet bike, so much so that I applied foam padding on the interior of my BMW's fairing parts to absorb some of the mechanical noise and instake roar. I'm of the opinion that some motorcyclists get louder aftermarket pipes so the exhaust noise will drown out the mechanical noise of the engine. Then I noticed that the big-4 were lining their bikes' fairings with this inexpensive adhesive foam sheeting. I have some of this foam left over and might experiment with placing some on the Zero's fairing pieces (as always, being careful not to obstruct any cooling air.)

[MrDude_1]

What's the consensus on belt tension as set by the factory?

While its set correctly at the factory, some need to be re-adjusted after a few miles. Others are fine.
When in doubt, check it.

[calamarichris]

That makes sense, thank you. I had a similar experience with my Gates belt-drive bicycle as well. It appeared to stretch initally, or perhaps the belt teeth wore slightly, and then it settled in and has had consistent tension since.

[Shadow]

Glad to see the forum's back up, I was afraid I'd been banned or something.
...
So glad the forum's back up (and that I'm not banned), and that soon I'll be able to ride this bitchin bike to work every day! And to the beach, and to Palomar Mountain, and Elfin Forest, and Highland Valley Road...

EMF tends to spew HTTP 500 errors (or become unreachable) from time to time. I waited a day to see if it would come back without intervention and then notified the site admin when it did not. I'm not aware of any issues to do with user bans at this time (I think you are joking then?) :-)

Also, yes about the belt drive the comparably skinny 2016 model year belts are needing adjustment often when temperature and environment (also just riding many miles) are changing. When the rear axle nut goes from firm to "tight as the torque specification" the alignment will walk slightly to the outside.

[calamarichris]

Good to know, thank you! Clearly...



And THANK YOU for getting the forum back up to speed. I'm stuck in bed with broken bones on a beautiful weekend, so I appreciate the diversion!

[domingo3]

What's the consensus on belt tension as set by the factory?
I might check it with the Crikit tomorrow, as well as the rear wheel alignment if my busted-up body permits.

It would be a very good idea to check the belt tension.  Mine was off the scale tight when it was delivered. 

[Richard230]

What's the consensus on belt tension as set by the factory?
I might check it with the Crikit tomorrow, as well as the rear wheel alignment if my busted-up body permits.

It would be a very good idea to check the belt tension.  Mine was off the scale tight when it was delivered.

According to the 2018 Zero owner's manual (page 6.18), belt tension is set to a very wide range, "25 kg to 76.5 kg".  When it came from the factory, my belt was set to around 75 kg, but (frankly) the Gates Krikit 1 V-Belt Tension Gauge is not the most precision device I have ever used and getting consistent readings from it is a challenge for me.  So when I took my Zero in for its 600-mile servicing, I asked the shop to double-check the belt tension and they said it was OK and made no adjustments. (Which may or may not mean anything.    )

[calamarichris]

According to the 2018 Zero owner's manual (page 6.18), belt tension is set to a very wide range, "25 kg to 76.5 kg".  When it came from the factory, my belt was set to around 75 kg, but (frankly) the Gates Krikit 1 V-Belt Tension Gauge is not the most precision device I have ever used and getting consistent readings from it is a challenge for me.  So when I took my Zero in for its 600-mile servicing, I asked the shop to double-check the belt tension and they said it was OK and made no adjustments. (Which may or may not mean anything.    )

Thanks Richard. I tend to get neurotic about maintenance items like this, especially when a snapped belt could mean suddenly flying backward on the freeway when I'm in the middle lane.
Never a bad idea to check the belt in multiple places. I've been doing it like this with my belt-driven bicycle and after 11 years and about 4-5,000 miles there are already small variances in the belt tension. I figure when these variances (tight spots vs. loose spots on the belt) become too large, it's probably a good time to change the belt. Also I've had good results by being as consistent as possible when it comes to Crikit placement, applied tension, and steadiness.

[heroto]

Cool bicycle. Got a full bike shot?

[calamarichris]

It's a Globe Live 3. I liked it so much that I also got a Globe Live 2, which is identical except for the chain and the cable brakes instead of the hydraulic disks. (Crazy that we have bicycles with hydraulic disk brakes now.) Unfortunately Globe was acquired by Specialized, who promptly discontinued this wonderful model. I originally bought this bike for my dog, because I felt bad about going for bicycle training rides and leaving her at home.



My dog was a motorcycle veteran, so I figured she'd be okay on a bicycle too.





I only fear that Zero could possibly go the way of Globe: get bought out by a really $#itty larger company, and then discontinued like my beloved Globes were. The good things in life are fleeting, and I fear Zeros (as we currently know them) may fall victim to this trend. Another example is my dog Angel who almost made it to her 17th birthday.
Shih-tzus are admittedly not the dog to acquire when one wishes to project an aura of hairy, stinking manhood, but Angel fell into my lap.
After visiting my toddler niece and infant nephew, I was riding my '98 Honda Superhawk home. I was stopped at a red light, and just as the light turned green, I felt a faint little sensation on my ankle through my motorcycle boot. I looked down and this little dog was scratching on my boot. The cars behind me didn't see this and were honking at me for not proceeding, but I scooped the dog up on to my tank and rode her back to her owner.
Several weeks later, the owner approached me and offered her to me. I jumped at this and we had over a decade and a half riding and bicycling together. Sorry for getting sappy. Here are the pics of the bike.

[Richard230]

Cute couple.