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[mistasam]

How did the pickup go, Apollo?? What's the bike like to ride long distances? We're dying to know how your trip home went!

[Apollo]

How did the pickup go, Apollo?? What's the bike like to ride long distances? We're dying to know how your trip home went!

Picked up the bike! Richard from Lightning went with me to the DMV for the California new vehicle inspection and registration.  No issues.  Received my Plate and Tags.  Richard mounted them on the bike for me and I was off to San Diego.  It was about a 400 mile (644km) ride, so I decided to break it in half.  The nice folks at Lightning asked me to check in with them at each charging stop to ensure charging and batteries were behaving properly.
Everything went well except it started getting colder than I expected.  At my last charging stop, it was 37F (3C) outside. I only brought my summer riding gloves so my fingers started complaining loudly.
  The next morning I hopped on the bike and continued south. Immediately hit a big hill named the Grapevine just north of LA. The bike has so much power it was easy to look around and wonder why everyone was going so slow.
The next stop was in Pasadena for a charge.  Grabbed some Starbucks and a muffin and headed back on the road. A fair bit of traffic for a Saturday afternoon, but I used the carpool lanes and managed an average of 60mph (96kph) most of the time.  Once I got out of LA and started the trip down to San Diego, the speeds picked up to a 75mph (120kph) average.
   Made it home just in time for Burgendy Carne Asada marinade tacos with avocados from our trees.  A nice warm shower and time to relax.  Made sure the bike was pugged in should I decide for a quick ride in our local hills come morning time.

[stevenh]

Glad you got it, the bike looks great.  How was the charging speed?

Steve

[oobflyer]

Congrats on the new bike! Looking forward to hearing more about your riding/charging experiences 

[Apollo]

Glad you got it, the bike looks great.  How was the charging speed?

Steve

  Typical of bikes with these batteries.   20kw charging at 75amps.
The hardest part was people kept telling me I couldn't park in an EV charging spot.
Then they started wondering why I had the power cable connected.
One lady insisted to her family that I had a Kawasaki and had just removed the labels.
Fun stuff...

[oobflyer]

So you didn’t opt for the LFCS? How much more would that add to the cost?

[mistasam]

Hey awesome!!  Glad you made it.  A few car drivers have asked me to move when I'm charging, too.  I tell them it'll only be another 10min and they get really confused.  It's like nobody knows electric motorcycles have been around for 10+ years!

[MVetter]

5 years of riding electric and I've never encountered anyone who told me I *couldn't* park in an EV spot. Yes, I get the, "is that electric?" question a lot but not once has anyone told me I couldn't park there. Anyone else experienced that?

In regards to the LFCS option it looks like, according to the site, that is an additional $8,000 because it also adds another 4kWh to the pack capacity.

[Specter]

I only had someone ask me if I could move once, and that was because the way the chargers were situated, she could not get the cord to reach her car, and if I parked up on the edge she could get in there.  she was polite about it so I absolutely was happy to move for her.   Otherwise Ive had plenty of people stop and ask me the obvious questions,  who makes it, how much range, do you like it etc.

Curious, those asking you to move, were they other electrics wanting to charge themselves, or Karens wanting to play world police?

Aaron

[CagivaRider]

I had a nastygram note on my Zero while it charged and I stepped in for an espresso. The woman was furious I took an electric CAR spot for a motorcycle. She apologized profusely when I showed her it was electric.

[Apollo]

I had a nastygram note on my Zero while it charged and I stepped in for an espresso. The woman was furious I took an electric CAR spot for a motorcycle. She apologized profusely when I showed her it was electric.

   That is pretty much the effect I received. People see the bike and get unhappy I have taken a charging spot. Then they realize I am charging and they understand.
   I think I only had an issue at one location.  As I arrived there were three charging stations with one available.  I pulled in and hooked up the charging cable.  Soon after there was a line of four cars waiting in line to charge.  Others arrived, noted the line and my motorcycle took a spot.  At first glance they were not happy, but after a closer inspection saw the cable connected.  But there is always one lady who wants to be first, asks me to move my motorcycle while it's charging so she can park her car in the charging spot, etc.  I just whipped out my phone and took a picture.  She immediately left. 
  Fun all around..

[SwampNut]

I came out of a store to find that someone had parked NEXT to my bike in the same space, removed the cable, and plugged in.  I left him a note on his window, fortunately I had been on a hardware run and had some adhesives in my shopping bag.  On top of that, it was a dead charger anyway.  I had left it connected so I wouldn't get angry people thinking I just abused the space.

In my area I don't recall ever seeing a totally full charger station at all.  Plenty of dead ones though.

[JaimeC]

I've discovered the PERFECT response to clowns who do what this one did to you:

Carry a bunch of these... you'll never know when you need 'em...

https://www.amazon.com/stick-wheel-weights/s?k=stick+on+wheel+weights

[Apollo]

I've discovered the PERFECT response to clowns who do what this one did to you:
Carry a bunch of these... you'll never know when you need 'em...
https://www.amazon.com/stick-wheel-weights/s?k=stick+on+wheel+weights

   I am upset that I hadn't thought of that before.  Make sure to put them on the front wheel.

[SwampNut]

For non-destructive fun, a BB placed underneath a valve stem cap will cause a perpetual slow leak.  If you glue it in, when the tire place checks the tire and finds nothing, they will put the problem right back on!