Print

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

[peter]

Hi folks

So I had a new twist on the excitement of owning our Zero XU this afternoon. (For those who came in late*, the sorry tale of this XU - http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3504.0)

When I'd shut off the throttle, the motor didn't actually slow down. I had to brake to get the bike to slow. Rolling on the throttle would make the motor increase but shutting off the throttle didn't seem to do anything. A warning was flashing - (I wasn't paying all that much attention to it, as I was trying to keep well back from the car in front of me) - seemed to be the "problem with the throttle assembly" from checking the manual - 1 then 3 short blinks. Then the speedo switched to showing 0 for my speed, for a bit of added interest. I braked to turn into the street near home, the motor dropped revs, the speedo started working, and for all of ~45 seconds everything was right again. Maybe it'll be all right next it gets ridden, maybe not.

The thrill of owning a Zero! It's controllable with the XU, as it doesn't have the hp to pull the skin off rice pudding, but on a more powerful bike this could be rather a problem.

So I'm guessing a dud throttle assembly (again, for this bike)? But then why the speedo playing up as well? Anyone had this experience?
Advice from the Forum Gurus accepted with gratitude.

Bike's worked since late November last year (amazing record of reliability for this bike!). It didn't get ridden for about 3 months post New Years Eve (I rode it to work that day) thanks to the wonderful winter we had here in New England this year. So it's had December, then April-late July working fine. Quite the reliability record for this one. Only now it's giving trouble again.

Peter
*Yes, it's a reference to the Ghost Who Walks.

[peter]

Well, I"ll reply to myself then.

I presume, from this thread - http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=4481.msg29391#msg29391 - that either a(nother) Magura or a Domino throttle will fit the XU? Has anyone fitted an aftermarket one to a 2012XU & if so, any hints? I'm guessing it's fairly straightforward.

Presumably this:
http://www.electricmotorsport.com/ev-parts/throttles/domino-twist-grip-throttle-with-microswitch.html
or this:
http://www.electricmotorsport.com/ev-parts/throttles/magura-twist-grip-throttle-w-matching-grips.html
will do.

advice appreciated
Peter

[cornishkiln]

Looks like us 2012 XU owners do not generate a lot of  interest now that the newer and vastly different models are out. Sorry I can not advise on which throttle might work although it seems it has a micro switch to turn on the regenerative braking. At least that is what it feels like to me when I close the throttle. My XU has 1300 miles on it. Every few hundred miles the speedometer unit seems to loose contact with the motorcycle and will not show battery charge or speed. It runs fine and the problem goes away shortly after appearing. It does not seem to be any connector problem I can find. Maybe that is what happen to yours. I just drove up Mt Washington a 2nd time last weekend. When I reached the top it seemed like it continued to run slowly when I closed the throttle. It was a little awkward stopping but that has not happened again so far.

[peter]

Thanks Cornish

I've notified the dealer of this problem - haven't heard back yet. I've also just contacted Zero to let them know.-If this happens with multiple bikes (and isn't just another example of our bad luck) then it's potentially serious.

XU has 1900 miles on it.
Peter

[peter]

A bit more detail -

So I rang Zero's tech support last Thursday, spoke to a very pleasant and helpful guy. He suggested I check the twistgrip's continuity. I'd decided that this was serious enough that I shouldn't just futz about  with it myself & should get some feedback from Zero.

Before checking on Saturday I took the bike for a quick ride - thinking being that if the problem is intermittent there's not much sense checking anything if the problem isn't showing up. So - of course - the bike ran fine.

So - my take on this. We've got ourselves a bike that isn't really safe to ride - having the engine not slow down when the twistgrip's shut off, and doing so intermittently, isn't safe. And while the XU's brakes are just acceptable for normal, light use they're not exactly the most wonderful stoppers ever put on a bike. Not what I want to trust my life to as the only way to slow the bike down. (Here's an advantage to the Brammo / Victory approach of having a gearbox - at least you could pull the clutch in).

So - my wife won't ride it at all, and I'll only ride it to check if it's working. We have a bike that can't be used. And I could never sell on a bike with this problem to anyone else.

I've emailed back to the Zero tech suggesting that this needs to go to someone else in Zero, and that this is a potentially serious problem. I've also chatted with our dealer, who was very supportive and made sure we've let Zero know about this. cornishkiln's comment suggests that his bike might be developing the same problem - ours first manifested itself as that "this seems to not be quite shutting down" sensation after shutting off the twistgrip.

Anyone else with an XU had something similar?
Peter

[flexydude]

I don't have an xu, but i have  a 2010 ds and a 2012 ds, both of which i bought new and both of which i wish i had never bought. the 2010 is dead with only 12oo miles, the 2012 had the motor replaced but i have no confidence in riding it. the early bikes are crap and zero cs sucks, so good luck.