Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[kensiko]

I post just to share my experience, I had great fun riding my new Zero S this week-end, maybe the last before next summer. I was worried that I would not get enough battery for 2 hours ride in the town, but I had plenty left (50%). I clearly saw a big difference when in Sport mode, the battery capacity drops pretty fast. I also saw the limit in eco mode, I went and tried to pass a car in this mode but I could not, I was blocked at 110 km/h. Fortunately you can change the mode while driving. Yes, I did a few accelerations to 140 But I will try not to do it that much, I know a motorcycle is so dangerous for us. But I feel a lot more confident on this bike than my previous DRZ400, of course this bike was not made for plain asphalt, but I didn't think it was so different. I'm at 140 km/h and it feels the same as 90km/h on my DRZ.

Anyway, not much people recognized that it was not a normal bike. It clearly doesn't interest the girls as much as boys from what I saw. I also went to a University campus so that students saw that those bike exist, but it was not a sunny day so very few students were outdoor. I'll try next summer. I also spoke to my neighbor, he saw the bike last week but thought I was trying to start the bike without the starter  I spent a few minutes to show him the bike, he was pretty amazed.

As you can see, I had a ride just to show people that those bike exist. I also had fun, but I have as much pleasure to show the bike than to ride it. It's a shame that so few people know that this exist, I want the market to expand in Quebec for this, it's good for the environment and cost less than an electric car and you can have a lot of fun. I'm thinking of contacting local TV or newspaper or anything that can tell people here that they exist.

[Doctorbass]

I see you had a grat weekend!

I think the same as you for the Zero products to be better known in Quebec province as well.

Riding my bike just to let people know they exist is common for me too

I would love to make some free publicity for the Zero by contacting local TV stations and get an interview with them.

since i have added the indigo- OLED Electric logo on my ZF9, i get alot more questions and interest.

What i like is that people appreciate alot the look and i get great comment  about that. Even, often the apprecaitions i get for it is more related to the look than the fact it's electric. It happen that people dont know it's electric at first. they are just amazed when i explain it's electric to them!

it's like:

Wow, it look very good man !...
me: Thanks you sir,
me: and, it's electric too!
Oh yeah! really?  ...that's fantastic!...

and the resat of common questions happen:

how much range... how much does it cost...can you go on the highway with?..

I see often people think that since it,s electric, they think it's in a scooter class !

but when they see the spedo going to 160kmh they understand...

Doc

[dkw12002]

I think the best part of riding the Zero S is its effortless acceleration and smooth ride plus the uniqueness of having an electric motor and chargeable batteries like you pointed out.  Once you go faster than about 80 mph though, that smoothness begins to be lost. The Zero S just does not track well above that speed. It begins to get a little shaky and by 90 mph, you know you should slow down. I am contrasting that to faster bikes I have owned or own like the Ninja 300 which is smooth all the way to 100+ mph and the Gixxer 1000 that was smooth to over 150 mph. I don't really ride the Zero past about 80 mph indicated anyway since it triggers the over-heat indicator. It is actually very good in stop and go traffic since there is no shifting, no overheating, extremely smooth throttle response to changes in traffic flow. It just isn't a great high-speed bike. Looks like that is beginning to change with the new Zero R though.

I still get a lot of comments and double takes when people realize there is no sound. Not too many people roll windows down though and inside a car or truck with the AC on, radio volume up, and yaking on a cell phone, you're lucky if they even see you let alone notice the lack of sound from the bike.

[trikester]

I'm surprised at how few people recognize my DS or now my FX as being electric. So many ICE bikes now are very quiet, so the silence doesn't even tip them off.

On the other hand, I've noticed that more people realize that my e-trike conversion is electric. That surprised me at first, considering my experiences with the two wheelers, but I think it is because the unusual trike itself attracts their attention and then while looking at it they realize it's electric powered. A lot of people just don't pay any attention to the numerous motorcycles on the streets. I agreed with some forum postings a while back where people were suggesting that Zero should have a graphic on their bikes that clearly showed they were electric powered. Some of those posting had put such graphics on their Zeros.

Trikester

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I think the best part of riding the Zero S is its effortless acceleration and smooth ride plus the uniqueness of having an electric motor and chargeable batteries like you pointed out.  Once you go faster than about 80 mph though, that smoothness begins to be lost. The Zero S just does not track well above that speed. It begins to get a little shaky and by 90 mph, you know you should slow down. I am contrasting that to faster bikes I have owned or own like the Ninja 300 which is smooth all the way to 100+ mph and the Gixxer 1000 that was smooth to over 150 mph. I don't really ride the Zero past about 80 mph indicated anyway since it triggers the over-heat indicator. It is actually very good in stop and go traffic since there is no shifting, no overheating, extremely smooth throttle response to changes in traffic flow. It just isn't a great high-speed bike. Looks like that is beginning to change with the new Zero R though.

I'm not sure about a lack of smoothness in the Zero above 80mph, unless you mean lateral stability, which I imagine is just about geometry and tire suitability. Could you elaborate? I feel pretty stable on the DS, and no less safe than on my ICE bike at the same speeds (which, granted, is not a high speed bike even if it can easily top out at 130mph).

What I can say is that the overheat indicator doesn't come on as soon if the ambient temperature is pretty cool, so in the Northwest I haven't really triggered a warning.

[LiveandLetDrive]

I've hit the 89mph (143kph) limiter on the FX numerous times since I've owned it and ride it over 80mph daily (though only for bursts as motor thermal limits (212ºF) only take a few miles to hit at those speeds, even at 50ºF ambient).  I've never noticed anything but a smooth ride at those speeds.  Perhaps if you were cornering hard at 90mph with bumps you would start to lose confidence but that would definitely be pushing the bike's envelope.  I really want to add an air scoop to cool the motor so it can sustain its limit-speed for the capacity of the battery, or at least maintain 75mph on hot days next summer (haven't ridden hotter than ~70ºF yet).

I've had a fair number of people stop me in parking lots to ask me "Hey, is that electric?" but as I don't stop at gas stations and only occasionally do errands on the commute I'm mostly either at home or at work with limited opportunities to show it off.  I've given many of my motorcycling buddies the opportunity to ride it (many in the dirt) and I figure they're the best candidates for future purchases anyway.  I need to find more bike nights to go to or something.  If you think you're going to pick up girls with a car or motorcycle....  well, the unfortunate gender disparity in our ranks extends to the enthusiasts as well I'm afraid!  EVs may well be a better bet though.  I suggest learning to play an instrument... (;

[kensiko]

If you think you're going to pick up girls with a car or motorcycle....  well, the unfortunate gender disparity in our ranks extends to the enthusiasts as well I'm afraid!  EVs may well be a better bet though.  I suggest learning to play an instrument... (;

Hehe no I'm not, I'm married and just had my first baby, a boy that will probably want a ride in a few years.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

If you think you're going to pick up girls with a car or motorcycle....  well, the unfortunate gender disparity in our ranks extends to the enthusiasts as well I'm afraid!  EVs may well be a better bet though.  I suggest learning to play an instrument... (;

Although I won't post the photos, I've had a punk-oriented girl drape herself across my DS for a quickie photo shoot outside of a nightclub while she smoked a cigarette.   (It was her idea, too! Pretty much insisted on it.) Maybe Seattle is different from most cities, though...

[G-Man]

In response to your bike being limited by speed in the economy mode I have to ask, do you know about the iPhone/droid application to download and control the performance levels of your motorcycle?

Glenn Wakefield
Regional Manager
Zero Motorcycles

[kensiko]

Sorry my phone is too cheap (Galaxy 551), the version of the OS is not supported. I didn't complain about the limited speed. It's all right. I'll test next summer, maybe the low temperature is a factor here (was 8 degrees C).

Edit: Are you the Canadian manager? Quebec manager?