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[Pard]

New 2023 Zero FXE Owner.  Picked up the bike yesterday.

Expected more range...

Charged the FXE to 100% and took it for the first ride this AM.

Temp 50F

Route 50 miles of twisty roads.  Not highway, rural roads.

Battery used up 95% capacity and I kept it under 50 mph in eco mode just to get the loop done. 

That is unusable for my needs.  Had to baby it just to get 50 miles.

Is it the cold?  Is it the New battery?

Thoughts?

[sharagan]

For that speed and that weather I think it is normal.
With normal summer weather you can expect 45 miles at 55 mph according to my experience.
You would have to stay at 35-40mph to get app 60 miles or little less, but it is dependent also on how you accelerate.
Don't forget to factor in the wind, that is also a big factor.

You will have fun with the bike if you stay within a radius of 20 miles  of your charge location (40 miles there and back).
Hypermiling these small bikes makes no sense, their strong point is the agility.

[Pard]

Good information, thanks!

Next time I try that loop I will stay slower on the boring parts and save the juice for where it can be most fun.

As I have read countless times, the process of  understanding how to utilize the available power best, takes some time to learn.

[Bodo]

Have my FXE since March, now driven ~4k mls. My commute is 20mls one way, which I can either use b-roads or Autobahn. The latter uses 48% of the battery at 60mph/100km/h; return via b-road leaves 20...30% charge in the battery.

Or in other currency: the bike is good for a tour with mates over b-roads for two hours - with eating an ice in between

[Pard]

Update on this.

I sent my logs to the dealer who contacted Zero, and they did see a balance issue with the cells. 

I need to bring in the bike so Zero can pull some more data and possibly replace the battery.

I am told that zero thinks I should have no issues at all having better power and range for the mileage and power use I put down.

[Floki]

I’d also say it’s normal performance, considering ambient temperature and speed. These batteries don’t like cold and the colder it gets, the less range it will have. What is the app showing for the cell balance reading?

[Pard]

6mv balance on the app

[Floki]

That’s a healthy balance. I have to wonder what issue they are seeing. If it had a balance problem, you should be seeing a much higher number than 6. I don’t think there is anything that would increase the range you are getting much, except for warmer temperatures. If it was 75 or 80 out you might get 10 or 15 miles more at the most. Zero claims 100 miles range in urban riding, but I think you’d have to really baby it in eco mode to get that far. Their range claims seem to be based on perfect conditions and very gentle use, so if you’re having much fun, you’re unlikely to get close to the advertised range. This has been my experience too and most reviews have said the same thing.

[Pard]

Really appreciate the information.  Very helpful. 

I will update you guys after the dealer does it's thing.

In the meantime, today is going to be closer to 70 around here so I will run the same route and see if the results are the same.

I also noticed a discrepancy between the bikes odometer and the app odometer.  The bike reads 25% higher than the app data, and actual mile measured data that I have from gps, map, and a calibrated odometer.

Does the battery charge status in any way interact with the odometer data, or is that data purely separate?  Does it adjust charge state displayed on the dash lower, in mileage ridden suggests it should be lowered?

I need to compare the bikes speedometer reading against GPS readout to see if the Spedo is off as well.  I assume odometer and speedometer data interact.

[Bodo]

The bike's speedometer should intentionally read higher to comply with regulations (if that applies in your area, and Zero actually adjusts the mapping to the sales area). The odometer however should be close to reality.

UN ECE 39:
5.3. The speed indicated shall not be less than the true speed of the vehicle. At the test speeds specified
in paragraph 5.2.5 above, there shall be the following relationship between the speed displayed (V 1 )
and the true speed (V 2 ).
0 ? (V 1 – V2 ) ? 0,1 V2 + 4 km/h
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:120:0040:0048:EN:PDF

[Pard]

Good info.  This is a very well informed forum!

Did another ride this AM. 

70F

49 miles on the odometer, 48 on the app

10% battery remaining 15mv balance at the end

This time I took it easier on the boring parts and rode harder on the twisty sections.  This formula works.  Just need to learn the bike and battery  limits, conserve energy, when able, to have energy for when I need it.

Interesting indeed.  Like flying a glider compared to a powered aircraft.  Much more cerebral when it comes to energy management.

[Pard]

Really enjoying this bike.  Comfortable with available range, now that I know what to expect.

Added handguards, and axle sliders.

Replaced stock mirrors with folding units mounted on the handguards.

Removed passenger pegs to save 3 pounds, balanced by the handguards and axle sliders that were added.

The stock tires are too much of a touring tire for my taste.  Looking for more grip, I ordered a set of Michelin Power Cup Evo tires which are genuinely sticky rubber.  They are also lighter tires which should improve range a bit.  Noticed a lack of wheel weights on the wheels.  I assume they did not even bother to balance the wheels/tires when mounted.  Feel that imbalance at higher speeds.  I mount my own tires and will make sure they are balanced.  I generally avoid wheel weights by rotating the rubber on the rim before inflating to seat the bead.  There is almost always a spot that balances perfectly without weights.

Will be replacing the stock front master with a Magura 12mm.  Stock is 13mm and feels a bit too wooden for my taste.  Smaller bore requires more lever travel but offers increased graded modulation.

Have a new rear master coming from Qnium so the left hand rear brake setup I have in place can be more refined.

Front brake has a strange jerkiness to it when doing hard braking.  Not sure what the cause may be. 

Ordered an EBC rotor that fits the bike:

https://ebcbrakesdirect.com/motorcycle/zero-electric-motorcycles/zero-fxs/20172020/111617

[Floki]

Nice job making it your own with some good mods. It really is a very fun bike, so agile and effortless. I just got mine back yesterday after 3 weeks at the dealer waiting on a new ignition switch and I missed it. I love my big heavy Guzzi too, but the FXE has quickly become my favorite for most of the riding I do. My dealer is 30 miles of LA freeway from my home. Traffic was heavy and slow, but the FXE is the perfect lane splitter, like a sharp hot knife through butter.

[DonTom]

New 2023 Zero FXE Owner.  Picked up the bike yesterday.

Expected more range...

Charged the FXE to 100% and took it for the first ride this AM.

Temp 50F

Route 50 miles of twisty roads.  Not highway, rural roads.

Battery used up 95% capacity and I kept it under 50 mph in eco mode just to get the loop done. 

That is unusable for my needs.  Had to baby it just to get 50 miles.

Is it the cold?  Is it the New battery?

Thoughts?

You will get your best range when you're warm or just a little hot yourself. Too hot has a different set of issues, bike won't charge if too hot (above ~100F/38C)


You could get 20% more range when warm. Also, you still have some range left at 0 SOC. Perhaps 6% or so.


The new battery could have even better range. What size battery is it?  Expect around 7 miles per KWH the way you were riding. Each time you double the speed, expect around half the range.  Eco mode only limits you. You can ride the same way in Sport mode and there will be no difference to your battery drain.


Same with regen, You can set it at the very max, 100% and have none at all by using the throttle. You can use the lines on the screen to see where you have exactly zero regen. So all the settings do is limit you and make the throttle less touchy. You may as well put it all on max and then ride as if in eco mode.


Your range will vary a lot. Many things effect the range such as hills, wind, temperature. weight.




-Don-  Auburn, CA

[Pard]

Don,

Excellent info!  Thank you. 

Battery is 7.2 KwH