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[BigPoppa]

My local dealer received a 2021 SS9+ (21kw battery) to use as a demo bike. While I wait for my Ribelle to arrive, I took them up on the offer to come out and test ride it to see what the differences were between it and my 2020 SS9 (13kw battery).

I didn't do a video of the ride unfortunately, but in a nutshell: The SS9+ is a noticeably better bike overall than my SS9. Similar to my original time of purchase test ride between the Eva107 and the SS9, it's not a night and day difference, but the difference is noticeable if you've spent time riding the current 2020 bike.

Areas I felt the bike was better in:

• More pull. Not sure if it's just the increased torque in the SS9+ motor, the reduced weight, a combination of the two, or some other secret Energica magic. The SS9+ pulled noticeably harder from a dead stop and at any speed. I can't say if it's necessarily a quicker bike but I wouldn't be surprised if it is a bit quicker in all the usual measurements.
• More compliant/composed over rough roads. It's hard for me to put a finger on it exactly but I'm wondering if again, it's related to the reduced weight. As I rode my SS9 home from the dealer, I realized I'm running sport touring tires vs the softer compound on the demo bike. I'm also wondering if the reduced weight meant lower tire pressures are now recommended. I'll have to check once I take delivery of my Ribelle to see if there's any difference in the recommended tire pressures.
• Fit and finish. Now that I've had a chance to see the production casing around the 21kwh battery, it's far less industrial looking than the casing around the 13kw battery. Personally, I think it's a much improved look to the battery casing. Also, the gloss black on the demo SS9+ was very nice...almost has me considering picking up a spare set of "tank" panels in the gloss black.
• The demo SS9+ had the keyless ignition and it works as expected. It'll be nice to have a bike with a keyless ignition again. My Ducati Diavel and Victory Cross Country Tour both had it and it was something I missed when I switched to the Triumph Trophy and later my SS9.

Other than the above, I didn't take it for a long enough freeway jaunt to see if there was any real improvement in range with the larger battery. I used up about 20% of the battery riding the dealer's demo loop. I think it's about 12+ miles but I didn't think to clock it. Also, I was riding really aggressively with a lot of wide open throttle bursts and high speed blasts (100+) so it doesn't surprise me too much that I chewed up that much battery on a relatively short loop. Again, once I get my Ribelle I'll be able to tell if there's any significant improvement in freeway range at my average speeds (~75mph).

[DonTom]

Again, once I get my Ribelle I'll be able to tell if there's any significant improvement in freeway range at my average speeds (~75mph).

That's what I am waiting on to see as well. However, I discovered the range is fine on my SS9-, as long as there is a charge station somewhere around that less than 30% SOC left.  It's about as often as I want to take a break anyway. And they sure have been adding a lot of CCS chargers lately in CA. Some are NOT even yet listed on Plugshare , not even as a "coming soon". An example are the new CharePoint CCS chargers at Cisco Grove on I-80. But they were not activated yet, when I was there last week. I did take photos of the new Charepoints  and I put them on Plugshare.

It seems the SS9- has better charge times than the SS9+ (or Rebelle), when  the bikes are being used at higher speeds (going by Energica's own specs). The SS9+ takes double the  charge time to go 40% farther than the SS9-, which doesn't seem all that great to me. But that 40% extra range is nice  when really you do need it. Besides, you can always slow down enough to get perhaps triple  the range on the SS9+, which is probably about double the range on the SS9- at the same large change in speeds.

By Energica's own specs,  slowing down will have a MUCH larger effect on the SS9+  than it did on the SS9-.

BTW, when do you expect to get your Rebelle?


-Don-  Reno, NV

[Crissa]

Does anyone have actual charge times to confirm the difference?

The larger battery might have better charge rate due to the longer time before ramping.  Real world is always different.

-Crissa

[BigPoppa]

I was told my Ribelle arrived in the US last week. I think it's clearing customs and the crates should get to Energica US next week. After that, it depends on exactly where in the crate(s) my Ribelle is and how long it takes the staff to work through the bikes. I think they only have one or two folks that can do the final prep so it may take a bit before I see it. Still hoping for sometime within the next couple of weeks.

Once I get my Ribelle, I'll definitely try to do a time to charge comparison of some kind on both 240v and CCS. For CCS charging, probably the best I can do is ride both bikes out to my office which has a CCS charger across the street. I'm open to suggestions as to the best way to do the charging comparison. I can just ride both the same distance and see how quickly each one charges back up to 80% or I can try to make sure I get to the CCS charge with the same charge level on both bikes...like 20% or something like that and see how long they take to charge from 20 to 80 percent.

[DonTom]

Does anyone have actual charge times to confirm the difference?

SS9+ =80% charge in 40 min.

SS9-  =80% charge in 20 min.


But that only works for "city" where the range is double on the SS9+.

So the charge time is exactly the same per mile for city riding.

But . . . .

The SS9+ only has 40% more range on the freeway.

Therefore, charge the SS9+ twice as long for 40% more range for  freeway riding.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[Crissa]

Yes, Don, we know your theories.

-Crissa

[DonTom]

Yes, Don, we know your theories.

-Crissa

What theory?

What I posted there wasn't my theories, but are Energica's own specs. I am only the messenger.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[heroto]

Thanks for the OP. Hoping Energica can expand their dealer network, and specifically I'm hoping Energica might find a way into my medium sized, affluent midatlantic east coast city. Energica needs to expand increasing their dealer network, and if they make us early adopters satisfied owners we can become influential ambassadors. A local moto outlet dropped Zero for what they found to be inadequate support. (And they carry KTM, speaking of weak dealer support!) This might be the sort of expansion
opportunity E could pursue.

[DonTom]

Thanks for the OP. Hoping Energica can expand their dealer network, and specifically I'm hoping Energica might find a way into my medium sized, affluent midatlantic east coast city. Energica needs to expand increasing their dealer network, and if they make us early adopters satisfied owners we can become influential ambassadors. A local moto outlet dropped Zero for what they found to be inadequate support. (And they carry KTM, speaking of weak dealer support!) This might be the sort of expansion
opportunity E could pursue.

The problem with Energica is they do not make enough bikes to supply more than their current dealers and they have to be first before they start new dealers. So the answer is for them to become a larger company. And now with their new 21.5 KWH models, perhaps that will happen, as I expect they will be selling like hotcakes, it they are not already.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[PWM]

Could Energica simply have raised the threshold which defines Empty on the new pack?

The improved performance is likely due to less voltage sag that results from having higher capacity. 

They increased capacity for racing so the bikes can apply full motor power for every lap and at the end of the race the pack retains 40% SOC.

How this translates to consumer bikes is improved reliability because the pack is less susceptible to damage due to neglect or being pushed too hard.

This is not about drag - this is about BMS algorithms and averting warranty issues, IMO.

[Multivitamin]

Does anyone have actual charge times to confirm the difference?

The larger battery might have better charge rate due to the longer time before ramping.  Real world is always different.

-Crissa

It really depends on the Temperature of the Battery, if its hot then charging speed gets reduced to 18kw when around at 51% (most of the time this happens on the 2nd time I come into a charging station, first time charging seems to be mostly okay) (also added an attachment which displays the graph when battery is cold enough to do charging)

most times i charge from ~40% to 80-85% which just takes about maximum of 30 minutes which is actually just fine for me

[most]

I'm also wondering if the reduced weight meant lower tire pressures are now recommended. I'll have to check once I take delivery of my Ribelle to see if there's any difference in the recommended tire pressures.

BP, I just looked it up in the 2020 manual*. For the SS9, there is one issue that covers both standard and long range versions. Many tables specify different properties, but the tire pressure is identical with 2.9bar/42.1psi. I cross checked both English and German issues, as expected they‘re the same.
Maybe someone with access to the Ribelle manual can check & post the tire pressure??

*the lastest most current version dated July 2020

@Multivitamin - how did you record the charge graph?

[BigPoppa]

Thanks most. I was just trying to think of reasons as to why the SS9+ felt more composed over rough pavement than my regular SS9. With 42psi mine has always had a "hard" feel that noticeably softened if my tire pressures dropped to around 38 psi. Maybe the dealer themselves had lower pressure in the tires? Again, I'm just trying to put my finger on why the noticeable difference in composure between the two models. It would be interesting now to compare a US 2021 SS9 to my US 2020 SS9 to see if maybe there were some tweaks across the board or if the differences are exclusively between the 21kw bikes and the 13kw bikes.

[heroto]

No direct experience but pretty much every thoughtful review on line has found the SS9- stock rear shock to be a weak point. Sounded to me perhaps simply overwhelmed by the weight. So lighter bike would improve that.

[Multivitamin]

@Multivitamin - how did you record the charge graph?

Everytime it changed one percent i have noted the current amount of kW it was charging