All,
I’d like to share my first impressions after the first thousand kilometers of riding.
I had already described my first impressions after a test ride of the Ribelle. On that day in May this year I placed the order for my EsseEsse 9+ which I could pick up mid August from Lennart Otten, a well-known dealer in northern Germany close to the Netherlands. Lennart and his team are simply fully supporting e-mobility and do not sell the motorcycles as their main source of income (I think their core business is cooling systems and household air conditioning). In this respect they are not typical mc dealers. They had already installed the FW 037 that was released just the other day; due to the forecasted thunderstorm I drove some 250kms from Hannover to Meppen by rental van.
Then on the very first ride I got caught in a thunderstorm - again but this one wasn't forecasted. In fact, I hit the only clouds in Europe that day
. I noticed kinda shortage issue with the left switch unit on the handlebars (due to water ingress, obviously): The mode button on the left switch unit developed its own crazy life. Long press, short press - you name it. From the displayed driving screen (speed display) the bike automatically went to the mapping screen (power setting and recuperation setting) or changed to the traction control screen. Only pressing Enter lets me get back to the drive screen. After the water evaporated, the issue was gone. Anyway that is a no-go. Already agreed with the dealer: The switching unit will be replaced under warranty - without further analysis only based on my description. That's great service from the dealer and Energica! Wouldn't have been surprised if they wanted to review the switch unit first before replacing it.
But let's proceed systematically:
1. Build Quality
I was very enthusiastic about the Ribelle. The SS9 is undoubtedly just as good, but a few small things cloud the otherwise impeccable picture. My frame is poorly coated in the area of the steering head where two lateral tubes are welded onto the vertical part (probably the Ego's fairing is attached there?!?). Already after that first ride in rain I saw light red rust water coming out of the tubes and corrosion at the welding spots of those tubes! Also the brake disks, further inside near the connection to the rim at the punching burr were corroded after that first ride; but due to the casted iron it is probably to be expected. I only had a Zero DS as a new bike for comparison - it had survived quite a few rain rides without visible corrosion.
Of course, there are also the very positive features that are widely known - many parts are CNC'ed with love for the detail: Lamp holder with the EsseEsse letters as cut outs, rear extension with the same Energica logo that you can find on the controller cover (aka fuel tank
), footpegs , upper middle part - all CNC'ed from solid metal. Apart from the paint quality in my case, the frame is cleanly welded - even my BMW showed less cleaner welds and was partly covered with welding pearls. The fenders and chain guard, which were in the previous model years laminated from carbon fiber, are now unpainted plastic injection molded parts. The side panels of the battery are also injection molded. I don't know if those were also made of carbon fiber before!? Well, at least the plastic parts should be less sensitive to scratches than the shiny Lamiant-surface. Injection moulded parts are probably a sign that Energica sells more bikes now that the sheer volume justifies the amortization of moulding tools. The component price on plastic parts for sure is much lower than carbon fibre laminated parts. Well, at the end Energica has a prototype background with lots of experience in CF-fing covers.
The saddle is really good. On the one hand it is comfortable for me even on longer rides, on the other hand it is optically manufactured with highes standards! Straight seams, everything symmetrical - perfect! Unfortunately, the surface keeps a little moisture after a rain shower or hand washing. I noticed wet trousers despite the surface already dried completely.
2. Engine & Drive Train
Everything I had written about the Ribelle is also valid here - despite formally "only" 200Nm instead of 215Nm: The torque is legendary. In the beginning I didn't dare to accelerate fully. But the respect for the brutal torque slowly went away over the kilometers to come. Anyway, the SS9 remains a fully loaded beast! What I find particularly exciting: The drive train is absolutely free of any noticeable play and the throttle reaction is instant. No noticeable delay at all, the controller really converts the watts into instant torque! And it all feels perfectly controllable at any time.
I haven't tried higher motorway speeds yet (you know the German Autobahns
), the maximum when overtaking was acceleration from 60 to 100km/h (or was it a bit more?!). It accelerates so fast... just incredible!
The drivetrain simply provides perfect controllable power. I like that a lot!!
3. Ergonomics
The seating position is rather neutral with the upper body slightly bent forward and the hands supporting just slight weight. The knee angle is comfortable and reminded me of a BMW R1200R or Yamaha TDM850. The handlebars are nicely yet standard rubber grips. I might even prefer them 20 or 30mm closer to me. By that, you would probably sit on the bike completely neutral and straight without the wrists supporting any weight at all. Well due to the wind pressure this is anyway valid only for riding well within city limits.
The beautiful aluminum footpegs have no rubber surface and are therefore smooth and a bit slippery, especially in wet conditions. Not yet sure if I like that or not. So far I could onlynotice that the feet simply slide out of position faster. You have to take a concentrated sportive riding position - a relaxed riding position suits the bike's "interface" a bit less. Nevertheless, I'd prefer a bit more grip on the pegs. The pegs are also shorter compared with other bikes I rode, they reach about 2/3 of the sole width. If you keep the pegs under the forefoot, then this is not an issue as you can apply pressure easily. But with a more relaxed and touristic riding position, I have the feeling as if my feet are resting on a 1" ball. I have to get used to the fact that the riding position generally calls for a touch more ride-active position than I was used to with my GS. But all-in-all it is all very balanced and coherent!
Wearing blue jeans, when I clamp the bike with my upper thighs, I can fell the top frame rod - the thighs do not rest too comfortably in a cavity as the tank cover shape suggests. Well to >95% of the time I got decent motorcycle trousers that are thicker - no concern there at all!
Brake lever and grip rubbers are okay. Solid and simply good. My right hand has got numb on every bike I rode so far (even on the Zero DS) and I had to stretch my fingers. Not so on the SS9 - I guess this is because of the slightly forward oriented seat position...
The switching units are very functional. Better than those on my Zero DS, however they're simply meeting industry standards. Unfortunately, the cruise control button is not well positioned on the right handlebar. The throttle grip has a wide housing – you have to bridge this width with your the thumb until you can engange cruise control. I guess this is the outcome when the designers requirements ask for a CC but the buyers standard supplier choice of switch units only offer the “usual suspects”.
From my point of view, the mirrors are great. Italian stylish design, functional, they really give a high-quality impression and I can adjust them perfectly. However, I do see ¼ of my shoulders but there are worse stock mirrors out there for other brands. Anyway, I am very satisfied with them! There are other goodies available like a double USB socket just underneath the dash are great. I used a short piece of cable junction to get 12V for my Garmin without tampering with the original harness.
What else to mention? I ordered the machine with heating grips, side bags and the windshield. The coldest temperature so far was 13° in the Harz Mountains - at level 3 (max) the heating grips needed a while to warm up the fingers. I will have to observe that at cooler temperatures - maybe the control depends on the ambient temp?
The side bags are okay so far – Givi standards. The connection to the bike is less robust and you have to fiddle a bit with the push lock and the top snap connection until you get the hang… Well the bags are practical because you can easily store a type2 cable. I have a 3-phase Mennekes from Tesla in the 4m version. The plugs are rather straight, yet the cable winds tight enough to fit the bags.
The windscreen is good for country road speeds. There is no real weather protection, but the rider’s head does not see any turbulences. It rather hits the upper chest area. An Autobahn test is still pending, let's see how the bike behaves.
4. Riding and riding dynamics
On the first 100km I was really cautious because of the new tires and I had to get to know the bike. The next few 100kms did bring up a few peculiarities. At first I adjusted the spring preload of the fork to my weight - I had to completely preload the front end, which surprised me a bit. The fork has high stick/slip forces. When riding it responds quite sensitively (let's say "inconspicuously"), but when standing and you pump the fork (I did that to level the bike for adjusting the springs) it always jumps in 2cm steps. In the beginning I thought it was a running-in issue, but even after my 1000km this is still unchanged. I will see if rebound and compression damping helps resolving that, maybe I have to reduce both a few clicks. Could help, let’s see.
The rear shock's factory set pretension level was meeting my weight, I just think the damping far too low. Here too I have to check how far I can improve it. Otherwise I will try aftermarket shocks from Hyperpro.
Even though the SS9 is far more rooted with the tarmac, especially in turns - compared with the Zero DS It is however not completely neutral, especially in turns. Even though my bike sits now about 10mm higher at the front after the correction of the preload and the geometry has changed towards more stability, it is still quite nervous in fast driven turns and often has to be corrected sensitively. Since this is also faintly noticeable when driving straight on perfectly paved roads, my diagnosis is: Steering bearings a touch too tight! Unfortunately I cannot lift it in a way that the front may spin freely, there is no way for me to confirm that theory.
It also has a tendency to fall into corners at speeds of up to 50 km/h and must be kept on track with gentle pressure on the inner end of the handlebars. I altered the tire pressure between 2.6 and 3.1bar. At anything below 2.9bar this characteristic increases dramatically, but even at 3.1bar it does not disappear completely. In faster turns it becomes increasingly neutral. At about 80km/h I have the feeling that I could take my hands off the handlebars & it follows the curve according to the chosen course and lean angle. My BMW R1200GS was completely neutral at any given speed. I just wish the SS9 would be like that. Last but not least I have to emphasize: This is whining on a damn high level! Some riders may not even notice it. And I'm aware that the tires also have a great impact on that behavior - maybe worth to try a different tire when there's time to change.
Last week I took part in an ADAC curve training (German automobile club offering car and bike trainings of all sorts) - in rain and absolutely wet surface. Not humid but completely wet! However, the SS made it extremely well. I managed to develop some confidence with the tires even inclined in long turns. The training helped me lots to get acquainted with the bike!
One more thing about riding in the wet: The SS9 does get much less dirty in the front half and sides, but the swing arm, suspension strut and rear boom get messy. I had the factory mud guard installed at the rear, without that I’m sure the dirt would be spread all over my back through the open boom.
5. Brakes
I was able to put the brakes to the test during that training and used the ABS front and rear countless times. There are LEDs in the dashboard that light up when the traction control is active and also when the ABS is active. Also, you can feel the slight vibration in the foot and hand lever. I have to keep watching the behavior of those LEDs for the ABS, at the front they seem to be a few 1/10 of a sec delayed. They light up immediately on the back.
In addition, the Esse has an eABS. This regulates the hydraulic part but also the drivetrain's regen circuit, i.e. in case of a sudden throttle release on slippery grounds, the recuperation is reduced by the eABS so the wheel still turns safely. Energica should advertise this feature more - its not even mentioned in the manual. We have a perfect straight old slippery cobblestone street only 300m away from the house, the carvings between the cobblestones are mossy. A wonderful test ground for these kind of features!
Apart from that I tested the brakes in the Harz mountains with the regen temporarily switched off. The brakes are real strong but not too aggressive. The rear brakes are rather inconspicuous, but after a normal push on the lever the engaged ABS demonstrated that the tire limits are met quite soon – just as I like it. However in the city and country roads I almost exclusively use the regen for deceleration - the equivalent of one-pedal-driving in BEVs. I was wondering if besides that ADAC training and the Harz Tour the brakes are already run-in sufficiently?
6. Parking
The SS9 only got a side stand. Although the 21.5kWh battery block would provide an assembly position and ample space for a main stand, it is not available from the manufacturer. Well, it probably is an optical insult to the Italian beauty
. The side stand is very easy to reach, you don't have to master any “foot yoga”. In the back I assembled bobbins for a mounting stand (8mm threads are in the swingarm), for the front I bought a “Kern-Stabi” X4 front stand. This one is great! It engages from below into the steering head by a cone and is cranked up or down by 13mm nut drive. The position of the stand on the ground remains unchanged - this gives an unbelievable high stability!
What does the bike weigh? The manual claims 275kg. Could be true, but when taking off already after you lift your feet this is no longer an issue. However the weight is an issue when you push it in parking position manually! Better keep sitting on the bike and use the parking mode - forward and reverse "gear" with max 4km/h. Comes in very handy with the 275kgs!!
7. Range & Charging (21.5kWh gross and 18.9kWh net capacity)
After 160km of sportive driving over land and through the Harz mountains I was down at 15%.
I also got to 220km with a more economic driving style through country roads, however I stayed most time below 80km/h. And 300km are also possible in city traffic; accelerating gently in traffic, anticipatory driving. The 300km range in the Sauerland Mountains which another user did manage several times - with my riding style next to impossible
.
I always record the recharged energy per iPhone App. Since usually there's no read out for the amount of energy charged, I enter the charging stroke in % x the net battery size of 18.9kWh. With this method I calculated an average of 10,5kWh/100km. I had some sections with about 6,5kWh/100km (city) but also 13kWh/100km.
I managed to observe 23kW maximum power delivery at CCS stations, yet I couldn’t determine the average over a complete charge stroke at DC stations. However, it’s fast! During my last longer ride, I've used a 20kW CCS charger starting at 18%, after 40 minutes I unplugged it at 91%. That's just enough time for a decent burger – and it did not even include an Espresso
. Apart from that I’ve mainly used type-2 charging stations at my employer and my 22kW AC wallbox at home. Also tested the granny cable that came along with the bike which delivers 13A or 3kW - just as any other type-2 charging station. I'd love to see up to 11kW AC as there are so many AC chargers out there. Over here, DC chargers can be found mainly near highways, only very few are located in the countryside. Well this changed over the last couple of years and it improves progressively! Can't wait for next year!!
To sum it all up: The SS9 is a great bike! And even electric!! Welcome in 2020
Sorry for the excessive review
…
Finally let me add a link of the conversion - I'm no Sam Baker, so please don't expect anything great:
However I took up the idea to get an Insta360 One X from you - tnx pal!
And one more from that ADAC training...
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Topic: EsseEsse9+: Impressions after the first 1000kms (Read 3101 times)