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[Alan. Yes THAT Alan]

Adam,
  I've had similar problems with my 2011 S. My stock throttle had the entire range, but when I had trouble with the throttle shutting off and refusing to go beyond 35 MPH, I bought a new throttle. My new one has about 50% usable range, like yours, where the final 50% does nothing. I hate it, but can't figure out how to fix that glitch.

  As for the speedometer, I had to recalibrate mine after I put on a new sprocket. There are two ways to do it:
1) At the speedometer. My stock gear ratio of 98-tooth rear / 28-tooth front = 3.5:1
 My tire circumference is 1910mm.
 1910 divided by 3.5 = 0545, which is what my speedometer was set to before I changed the sprocket.

2) At the motherboard. You need to buy the cable that connects from your computer's USB port to the motorcycle's parallel port located under the plastic "gas tank". Download the free program call Putty, which lets your computer communicate through the USB cable. (Settings are COM4, 9600 baud, serial, password="1.21gigawatts")
 In there, you can change front and rear sprocket sizes and wheel diameter. Note that the wheel size is in inches. Mine was set to 73.51 inches.

  I don't know if changing the motherboard setting affects the performance or if it just changes the information that gets sent to the speedometer. Might need to play around with it and see.

[AdamG]

Alan,

It is disappointing that such a simple device like a throttle potentiometer would cause so much trouble. I'm aware of the method of accessing the Main Bike Board to tinker with some settings (as per the unofficial manual page), and I've ordered the parts to build that cable, but I'm still awaiting delivery. I have a tiny bit of experience with putty, so I hope everything is relatively easy to navigate and edit once I'm in there.

I did come across this posting that points to a throttle setting in the MBB that controls how fast the bike accelerates. I think I'll try adjusting this setting first and see if it has any effect on the top speed. Probably won't, but worth experimenting with:
https://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=2925.msg14635#msg14635

If I can't make any headway in the MBB, I'll try replacing the twist throttle with this one. I've heard good things about it:
https://www.electricmotorsport.com/ev-parts/throttles/twist-action/domino-twist-grip-throttle-with-microswitch.html

Or I might make my own throttle, using this generic throttle pot/cable set-up and use a normal cable operated twist grip off any motorcycle:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=100859
The benefit of this, is that the extra friction added by the cable and pulley will make it feel more like a traditional motorcycle throttle. This should smooth out any little blips of acceleration that occur when hitting bumps and potholes that causes your hand to twist a tiny bit. I never did like how effortless it is to turn the existing throttle. Too easy to get into trouble.
The downside is you need to find room somewhere to mount this big pot box and run the extra cable.

I had stumbled across another post here on the forum that determined the state of charge in your battery also affects your top speed. I mean, that's a logical assessment for electric motors and batteries, but when my gauge shows that I still have half a charge (or more) left in the battery, you'd think I'd still be able to go full speed. I'd imagine that the closer your battery got to being 'empty' is when it starts reducing your top speed.

As for the speedometer; I think you're onto something there. Your 0545 is very close to my guess-and-test 0515, so I'll give your calculation method a try and see if that sorts out my speedometer issue.

[Crissa]

Why is it disappointing, that the main thing that you use to tell the bike to go, would cause problems when it wasn't telling the bike to go?

-Crissa

[Alan. Yes THAT Alan]

Adam,

  Try plugging in the correct numbers in the speedometer formula. I believe that your DS has the same ratios that my S had before I changed a sprocket.

  As for the batteries, I noticed that my Zero does perform better (faster!) during the first 80% of battery charge. It  runs consistently during that whole 80% range, with no drop in speed. But then, at around 20% charge, power drops off fast and I have trouble going more than 40 MPH.

  Also, the air temperature really takes a toll on something (battery? motor? controller? I don't know.) When the temperature is more than 80 degrees (Fahrenheit), my Zero runs good, accelerates smoothly, and I've had it up to 62 MPH. But when the weather is cooler than 80 degrees, it accelerates slowly and has a top speed of about 50 MPH. If I twist the throttle, I can hear/feel a faint electrical 'Hmmmmm' but the motorcycle will barely accelerate. It doesn't do that in hot weather.
  Fortunately, I live in south Texas, where the temperature is over 80 degrees for 9 months.

[AdamG]

I'll give the new speedometer formula a go in the spring. Too cold (and too much snow) to do anything with it now.

The main problem I was having is that I can never go faster than 80km/h regardless of my battery charge level, ambient temperature, motor temperature, or throttle position. I could hop on the bike with a full charge and rip the throttle wide open and it would still only go 80km/h.

It's a perplexing problem, but similar to the speedometer issue in the way that I can't really do anything about it right now until the snow melts.

Thanks for the suggestions though! I'll eventually get the chance to experiment and then I'll report back.

[Richard230]

I'll give the new speedometer formula a go in the spring. Too cold (and too much snow) to do anything with it now.

The main problem I was having is that I can never go faster than 80km/h regardless of my battery charge level, ambient temperature, motor temperature, or throttle position. I could hop on the bike with a full charge and rip the throttle wide open and it would still only go 80km/h.

It's a perplexing problem, but similar to the speedometer issue in the way that I can't really do anything about it right now until the snow melts.

Thanks for the suggestions though! I'll eventually get the chance to experiment and then I'll report back.

It occurs to me that is the same response you would get from having your bike in "eco" mode, except that the top speed would be limited to 70 mph. In eco mode you can twist the throttle all you want and the bike will not exceed 70 mph.

[AdamG]

I've heard about this 'eco mode', but the 2011 DS didn't have any options in the gauges to adjust Modes. All I can really do with my gauges is switch from metric to imperial measurements, and fiddle with the speed reading calibration.

I wonder if there's an eco mode setting in the MBB that somehow got activated?

[Richard230]

Or maybe the drive train just doesn't have the power to go any faster.  I seem to recall that one of the motorcycle magazines tested the 2011 Zero S when it first came out and its top speed was only 65 mph, with a 20 mile range.

[Alan. Yes THAT Alan]

I wonder if there's an eco mode setting in the MBB that somehow got activated?

 No, there isn't. But one of the options in your MBB is the status/voltage of your battery cells. My battery is about 57 volts at a full charge. At 80% charge, it's about 54 volts.

  The range on mine is about 25 miles, top speed about 65 MPH, but since most of my trips are within 5 miles and the speed limit in town is no more than 35 MPH, that's acceptable.

[ESokoloff]

“2..... Twisting all the way open doesn’t make the bike go any faster than twisting a tiny bit. Almost seems like my top speed is being limited. If I go up a slight incline the bike starts to struggle and slow down, but I can't give it any more juice because further twisting of the throttle doesn't give me more power or speed.....“

I’m experiencing a similar thing with my 2016 DSR with 54k (miles).
It seems to me that the battery is getting weak and limiting the amperage it will release.
With a full (or near full) charge you don’t use as much amperage as the voltage is at its max.
But as the charge level decreases so does the voltage so amperage must increase in order to maintain a given wattage. 

It was suggested that the batteries internal resistance has increased.

See here.... https://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=10704.0

[Richard230]

It could certainly be that the battery pack is on its way out and just can't produce enough amps to keep up with your throttle demands. The other possible explanation that I can think of is a defective throttle, as it is my understanding that some of the 2011 Zeros had defective throttle assemblies. But my money is on a tired battery pack. After 10 years of usage, I can imagine that it is starting to give up and should be replaced if you want your original performance to return.  But replacing (and disposing) of the batteries is not going to be an easy task as I bet those batteries are no longer being made. You would have to replace them with some off-the-shelf items and that is not going to be easy or simple. You won't get any support from Zero or their dealers, unfortunately.

If it was me, I would just get used to the lower performance as I always tend to take the easy way out of a problem.  Either that or just give up and buy a new bike. 

[DonTom]

And my throttle is still out of wack. Twisting it from 0 to halfway does the whole speed range, and anything over halfway does nothing. Again, this might be something I can fix in the MBB settings, or maybe I just need to try another twist throttle.

I would start by checking the resistance  range of the throttle potentiometer.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[AdamG]

Whoa, looks like there's been some responses I didn't see until now. Time to reply to those!

Don:
See previous page. I already tested the throttle pot and took it apart. It's working better but could still likely be the issue.

ESokoloff & Richard:
I'm sure the battery is a little worn out, but it would mostly be due to age and infrequent use rather than being used and worn out. The bike had 1700kms on it, and over 10 years that means the previous owner put 170kms on it a year, which equals about 5 charge cycles a year. When I got the bike I put about 300 or 400 kms on it in the 1 month I was able to use it before it snowed. The only thing that really changed in that month is that my range increased! However the power felt the same the entire time and the speed still felt limited to around 80km/h the entire time.
There's a massive hill I must climb every morning, and it is less than 1km away from my house. On a full charge, I can't go faster than 80km/h up this hill. Heck, I can't go faster than 80 on the flat road leading up to that hill either. And after cresting that hill, I can pull a u-turn and go back down it and still only go 80 with the throttle wide open. This hill is pretty big, and I'm pretty sure that if I shut the bike off completely and just gave it a push that I would go in excess of 80 using only gravity. But it doesn't do this; it limits my speed to 80 while I'm going down a huge hill. That makes no sense to me! Surely that's a sign of something limiting my speed when I can't even free-wheel.

I'll start by replacing the Magura throttle, since this one was a little buggy when I first got it. If that doesn't fix it, then maybe it really is the battery pack. I know that replacements won't be available, but I would pull the pack out and rebuild it using the nissan leaf cells. I've seen some posts about that working out pretty well. I definitely won't get any help from Zero, as there are no dealers around here anyways, and when I email them directly for simple questions like "what's the torque spec for this?", I get no response.

I tolerated this low speed for that one month of using it, but I can't get to work without using a highway, so I need this bike to go faster. It should go faster.

[ESokoloff]

............
There's a massive hill I must climb every morning, and it is less than 1km away from my house. On a full charge, I can't go faster than 80km/h up this hill. Heck, I can't go faster than 80 on the flat road leading up to that hill either. And after cresting that hill, I can pull a u-turn and go back down it and still only go 80 with the throttle wide open.
.............

80kph is about 50mph so I’m wondering how much aerodynamic drag is at play here.

Suggest you try climbing that hill at various battery state of charge levels to rule out internal battery resistance. 

[zap mc]

Hi Adam
The throttles on these early bikes are rubbish
I regularly change them
Try getting a quality Domino 0-5K
Hope that helps
I also have a 2010 Zero S and mine also seems to have a fast speedo and have not sorted this yet
Can I ask what lead you bought for the alltrax?