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[xerxesz]

Hi Guys,

I just bought a Zero S from 2013. I am living in Germany. I know, that the bike should have like 16kW. After couple of weeks of use I got the feeling, that the bike is simply not as powerful, as it should be (my first electric bike). So I made a test with my friends Niu scooter. Well, the start was painful. Up to ~30kmh the Niu was definitely faster.
Now, I was asking one of the dealers here, but they just said: No clue, we have never seen such an old Zero.
I checked the app, and there everything is set to max. However, on the dashboard it never goes up to 16kW. Even at ~100kmh it is like 14kW. I find this must be an error.

Is there a way, I can check myself, which firmware the bike has? Are there some "hidden" settings? Or is it really that slow?

many thanks for any hints,

br,

aron

[TheRan]

From what I could find the 2013 should have 40kW (I did see another site say 30kW but it was one that I've seen errors on in the past). There are two things you should know, first off the bike will only use as much power as it needs (the reading on the dash) to reach the desired torque value, as speed increases or you go uphill that amount increase until the power limit is reached and torque starts to decrease. Thus it won't require the full power output to reach max torque at lower speeds. Secondly if it's anything like the newer models then torque will be limited at lower speeds for safety, up to something like 24km/h. So, if you're only doing a drag race to 30km/h then it wouldn't be all that surprising if the Nui could keep up even if it has less wheel torque (haven't looked it up) if it has no torque limiting and can put it all down from a dead stop.

You could try a rolling pull alongside the scooter, from say 30-100 or whatever the top speed of that is, or you could time your Zero on its own where it should be able to do 0-100 in under 6 seconds.

[Richard230]

If you wanted to see slow you should have seen the 2012 S models. They were really slow off the line. Since Zero models didn't have traction control until recently, the company seems to have set the controller so that it will not put out full power below about 30 mph. Even then you can sometimes get unexpected wheel spin on slippery pavement. And without a flywheel to slow the start of the spin down a bit, the entire bike can wiggle and shake until you throttle down and let the tire's traction catch up. Also the 2013 models do not have ABS so watch out for sliding while braking hard, too. While Zero's from 2013-on may look the same, there have been significant advances with each model year. 

[NEW2elec]

Did you flip the switch to Sport mode?
I have left a Dodge Viper way back from a stop light before on a 13 DS.  He may not have been racing but he was revving that thing like he wanted to. 

You should be able to hit 100 KPH in about 5 secs.

A dealer visit may be in order.

[Crissa]

I don't know how fast a Niu is, but a '14 S is plenty quick to smoke anything 'cept stuff really aimed at being fast.

-Crissa

[MBldc]

Check the throttle: I once had limited power on my DS '14. Finally found out that it was caused by a faulty throttle (Magura 5k Poti, which seems to fail quite often). https://zeromanual.com/wiki/Unofficial_Service_Manual#Throttle

[xerxesz]

Thanks for your replies

1. Well, it is definitely not 5secs. I will do a quick video to show. but it is far more.
2. Yesterday I visited a dealer and I have a service-appointment for next Wednesday. I hope they will find something
3. I will still check the throttle. Might be worth....

[xerxesz]

And here's the video:

https://youtu.be/N-OE4rs9-GE?t=229

0-100 kmh acceleration ~20seconds. Seems to be much more, than what you told

Let's hope the dealer will be able to fix this.

[Kappi]

From the video it also looks like your acceleration might be intermittent and not constant. Does feel like that as well?

[xerxesz]

From the video it also looks like your acceleration might be intermittent and not constant. Does feel like that as well?

No, it feels pretty smooth. It is getting slightly stronger as it gets faster, but it is just slow. Or rather weak.

[xerxesz]

Hey Guys, thanks for the hints, especially for @MbLDC. I checked the Throttle and it was dead. I do not even know how it worked until now. For now, I found another 5K potentiometer at home, 3D printed some parts, and have a working temporary solution, until the new Magura throttle arrives.

[NEW2elec]

Glad it worked out for you.  It's a bit more fun now, huh?

[xerxesz]

Glad it worked out for you.  It's a bit more fun now, huh?

It is a different bike

[MBldc]

Hey Guys, thanks for the hints, especially for @MbLDC. I checked the Throttle and it was dead. I do not even know how it worked until now. For now, I found another 5K potentiometer at home, 3D printed some parts, and have a working temporary solution, until the new Magura throttle arrives.

:-) Great to hear (super, dass es geklappt hat, bin auch aus Good old Germany).
How does your temporary solution look like?
I changed to Domino Throttle back then, which is sealed, is more of a quick throttle, and seemed to be of higher quality.

[xerxesz]

Hey Guys, thanks for the hints, especially for @MbLDC. I checked the Throttle and it was dead. I do not even know how it worked until now. For now, I found another 5K potentiometer at home, 3D printed some parts, and have a working temporary solution, until the new Magura throttle arrives.

:-) Great to hear (super, dass es geklappt hat, bin auch aus Good old Germany).
How does your temporary solution look like?
I changed to Domino Throttle back then, which is sealed, is more of a quick throttle, and seemed to be of higher quality.

I am originally from Hungary, now living in Germany (also speaking German).

I just purchased some 5k Ohm potentiometer, and 3D printed the back side of the throttle and the gear, so it is working as the stock now, with 2 small differenies:
1. I could not put the spring back. Lack of manual skills, I guess, so I am running without now, which is not very good for the long run, but for a few days it is OK.
2. The original potentiometer has a smaller degrees of rotation. This means, however it is much better, as it was before, I can only utilize the 0-3k Ohm range of the "new" one. I could find some workaround, but since I ordered a new Magura throttle, I do not plan to change it now.