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[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

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

Of course!!

[HoodRichOG]

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.

That's awesome and congratulations. Bike looks great.

What kind of range do you get?

[Apollo]

[quote
That's awesome and congratulations. Bike looks great.

What kind of range do you get?

  The bike is working well and is lots of fun.
I have been having some issues with range when using heavy-throttle applications. (My Favorite).  We ran the logs up to Lightning and they found that one of the cells is not performing properly under heavy loads.
  Lightning has said, "We will make it right".  Today a giant truck showed up at my door and it's being shipped back to Lighting for them to review the cell pack and repair the battery structure.  Then they will test it and ship it back.
  Although the bike has an issue, Lightning has been very eager and interested in ensuring the bike is working properly.  Every phone call and every email has been answered right away.

[SwampNut]

Wait so you got a new battery?  Or you're bike-less while they figure out this problem??

[JaimeC]

[quote
That's awesome and congratulations. Bike looks great.

What kind of range do you get?

  The bike is working well and is lots of fun.
I have been having some issues with range when using heavy-throttle applications. (My Favorite).  We ran the logs up to Lightning and they found that one of the cells is not performing properly under heavy loads.
  Lightning has said, "We will make it right".  Today a giant truck showed up at my door and it's being shipped back to Lighting for them to review the cell pack and repair the battery structure.  Then they will test it and ship it back.
  Although the bike has an issue, Lightning has been very eager and interested in ensuring the bike is working properly.  Every phone call and every email has been answered right away.

VERY cool!

[Specter]

Wait so you got a new battery?  Or you're bike-less while they figure out this problem??

Sounds like he is bikeless while they figure it out.

The things that typically could cause this to happen are.
A. A balancing leg got disconnected somehow and that arm is not balancing properly. 
B. The cell(s) had a manufacturers defect in it, and stuff needs to be replaced
C. The battery was old to begin with, and this would be normal wear showing.  Much like the zero's have chronic battery problems as they age.

The proper fix, would be to just replace the entire battery with a new one, since this supposedly new bike, supposedly had a new battery in it to begin with, and is only a month or two old.  This is so they can get his bike back to him in a timely manner.  Then they can disassemble the old battery and do a thorough failure root cause analysis at a later time at their leisure, when it is not disrupting their customer, while his warranty runs out with the bike in the shop!

I have seen Energica do this a few times, just swap it out, or actually send a tech and battery, or whatever, out to the customer to fix it on site if possible.  When a company goes to that extent to take care of their customer, it shows they are a Top Tier Corporation.

The short version:

He has a battery problem on a brand new bike.
Fine.. swap it out
Get him back on the road NOW, rather than weeks or months later.
Keep the customer happy.
Figure out WTF happened to the battery so it don't happen again.

It'll be interesting to watch the process.  Hopefully they get him taken care of in a timely manner, especially since the weather is heading towards nicer times to be riding !!

Aaron

[Apollo]

Sounds like he is bikeless while they figure it out.

    Yes, I am Lightning-less while the issue is resolved.  Fortunately for me, I have other toys to keep me busy.  My Karts and my Ohvale GP-2.  Both are track toys.  It's been a river of water coming from the sky this last week so missing the bike won't be a big issue.  I didn't bring up the thought of a loaner bike as it would be a liability challenge for everyone.  I can easily live without the bike while it's getting repaired.  I asked them to not worry about downtime for me, it would be better to keep it an extra week and work the bike hard.  I am not in a hurry.
  Lightning has stated on the phone they plan on swapping out the battery pack and doing diagnostics to find out why the original pack had a bad cell.  They also mentioned they are going to do a filmed dyno run to ensure the bike is putting out good power and mileage under heavy load.
  Realistically I think they are doing pretty much everything I can expect.  Remote diagnostics, eager to service, shipping back and forth, repair, and proof the repair has fixed my issues before returning the bike to me.

[SwampNut]

Just a random factoid because so many people don't know this.  Loaner and rental bikes are not a liability problem at all, at least with Progressive and Allstate.  I've talked to both and they fully cover any rental, even P2P rentals, and any loaners.

[JaimeC]

This is all well and good when you live near the factory where they're made... but without any kind of dealership presence, it doesn't do the rest of the world much good.  Electric bikes may not require as much maintenance as their ICE brethren, but when they DO need service, they need trained specialists and those are a rare breed at the moment.

[Specter]

Sounds like an occupation begging for people to come to it, good money maker, get in early.  People may be kicking and screaming now but it appears that the world IS eventually going to transfer to electric, just like it went from Horse and Buggy to ICE, against their kicking and screaming.

It's not that exotic of a field.  Know how to use a 457, 2020, multimeter, maybe a hart communicator or brand specific, a bit of basic IP protocol. Something they would teach in a week or so long class I'd assume.  First year electronics student should pick this up easily.  Then there's just basic electricity and mechanics.

Aaron

[JaimeC]

"Kicking and screaming" is right.  Last year, I needed to get two new tires mounted on my Zero. A friend recommended a local mechanic but he turned out to be a real asshole.  As soon as he heard it was a Zero, he said "I don't want no electric bike in my shop!" I told him the tires have NOTHING to do with the power plant but he was adamant. What an IDIOT. Finally did find a local mechanic who was more than happy to do the job for me.  Needless to say, he got a GLOWING review on both Google and Yelp from me. The other clown?  Not so much...

[Specter]

Jaime you find those assholes everywhere.  Just have to smile at them and go elsewhere, it's not worth the high blood pressure and sour stomach to deal with them. 
There are plenty of regular / real shops that are more than happy to work on your bike.  I had to shop around for tires, well, the first time was an emergency and was basically told, as long as it's not something that is manufacturer specific to your bike, we are more than happy to fix it, BUT they also cautioned me, on my end to make sure it would not void a warranty, which of course, tires would not. 
They also were zero dealers, but were getting out of it because Zero was not supporting them very well and they got tired of the warranty work and waiting forever to get paid for it.  I tried my hardest to talk them into becoming an Energica dealer, because I really would LOVE having one here in Jax, but they were under a non compete clause with zero still, they could not sell another brand of E bike, and the contract was still going so they couldn't, at least that is what the manager told me when I was talking to him about my bike.

Was he pissy because it was electric or because it was not made in his country?  Ive seen both types of tards.

Aaron

[JaimeC]

That doesn't make sense.  My Zero dealership in Manhattan also carries Energica.

[SwampNut]

Same with Fulgora in Southern CA.  Maybe they have to ask ahead of time?

I just realized I didn't re-check the belt after having my rear tire replaced.  (550 miles, got a large screw in it, sigh.)

[Specter]

That doesn't make sense.  My Zero dealership in Manhattan also carries Energica.

Oh I agree with you on that, even at high incompetence corporate VP levels, why would you want to limit your income possibilities like that?  I think it may have been zero who said that, or they had some sort of exclusive rights with the company to be the only bike or something.  I was not interested in trying to call the guy out or really worry about it at the time.  Wasn't looking to buy a new bike, just a new tire.

Aaron