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[SuburbanDad]

Judging by a couple posts in this forum, it looks like folks are offroading the FX... ?  How capable are these machines offroad in stock form and how much low hanging fruit is there for improvement? 

I just demo'd an FXS today and was pretty impressed.  I wanted to demo the FX, but the dealer only had the supermoto version.  He indicated it is the same bike with different wheels.  I know he wasn't 100% correct because it was obvious that the front brake and rotor are different at least.  Are there any other significant differences?  Ideally I'd be looking at a 'redshift', but since it is not really available and is priced near twice what an FX is, am wondering if the zero FX might fit the bill.

My impression was with both batteries it was pretty heavy, and the suspension seemed like it'd be a problem for anything much more than pot-holed fire roads.  Dealer did not know how to remove one of the packs so I could demo it in lighter form.  As it was, I struggled quite a bit to lift the rear end of the bike.  That is the heaviest 289 lbs I have ever felt.  I seriously doubt those numbers.  My old drz-s was 320lbs wet and I could drag it around with far less effort.

The rear suspension looked like only a few inches of travel before hitting the bump stop, but specs say 9" ?  How does the FX suspension stand up to single track or enduro type use?  I imagine running it with one battery as opposed to two would make a significant difference and one would want to dial in the suspension for one or both packs.

My current off-road ride is an 07 ktm 300 xc-w, and I know the FX will never handle as well, but I am wondering how close one could get without dropping a bunch of $ on modifications.  The power is certainly there.  And in sports mode, it feels a lot like a 2 stroke.

Weight and suspension aside, I had a real blast demo'ing the bike.  Despite being below freezing, I managed to use up 1/3 of the pack before the cold forced me back to the dealer.  Very fun bike.

[Cortezdtv]

With a chain kit they are quite capable! Unless you are doing huge jumps (motocross jumps 15 ft plus) the bike will perform bascially just as good as any dirtbike, you trade power for reliability


Electric has a big advantage on small narrow hill climbs IMO more useable and controllable powet once you get used to it there is a learning curve because no clutch

Ill get some more video soon ive been out with ankle surgery.... Again

[BenS]

If you want to do serious off-roading, keep your 300, but if you can afford it, get a Zero or KTM Freeride E too. That's pretty much what I've done. I would say that the Freeride E would be better to handle serious off-roading, but we can't get them here, so I bought a Zero.

Pros: The Zero is a two-in-one bike. You can choose to have a heavier, more powerful, longer range bike, or a better handling, lighter bike, similar in power and weight to the Freeride E (I don't bother changing suspension settings when going from two to one battery packs).

Cons: The Zero kickstand gets snagged easily on trail obstacles because it hangs very low like on old trail bikes. You can remove it, but you need to modify the sensor harness. Front brake disc is only 240mm, and it howls loudly when it resonates with the wheel. There's no guard to protect the rear shock(I made a temporary one for my bike). ABS is horrible and dangerous off-road, but you can pull the 25A pump fuse to disable it. You'd want to be careful doing log or rock crossings, so that you don't damage the controller(controller cooling fins to be precise) at the front of the frame. It doesn't have the same power at high speed, and won't do as high a speed as an ICE bike, it's better at lower speeds.

I don't do any serious off-roading on my FX, 'cause I'm worried about breaking something on it, but I do have a lot of fun doing adventure riding on it, because it's quiet, and I can ride it in a lot of places that I can't ride my other bikes!

One thing I really love about electric bikes is the lack of maintenance needed, just park it and plug it in! I still have the habit of checking the fuel price when I see a Petrol Servo while riding my FX, and have to remind myself that there's no point in checking it, 'cause I can't fill up there!

If you want to do a test ride with only one battery, the dealer just needs to remove the seat to get the "jumper plug", which needs to be fitted in place of the removed battery.

[grmarks]

One difference between the FX and FXs is the motor. The FXs has the new Interia Permanet Magnet motor, which means in simple terms that you can ride it harder for longer before it overheats and limits power. 

[SuburbanDad]

With a chain kit they are quite capable! Unless you are doing huge jumps (motocross jumps 15 ft plus) the bike will perform bascially just as good as any dirtbike, you trade power for reliability

Electric has a big advantage on small narrow hill climbs IMO more useable and controllable powet once you get used to it there is a learning curve because no clutch

Ill get some more video soon ive been out with ankle surgery.... Again

The FXS felt a lot like my DRZ.  Far heavier than what I'd call a dirt bike, but really fun.  Of course I never got to demo it 45lbs lighter with only one pack    I hadn't thought about the benefit of unstallability.  I'd love to see an FX doing some proper trail riding and hill climbs.

One difference between the FX and FXs is the motor. The FXs has the new Interia Permanet Magnet motor, which means in simple terms that you can ride it harder for longer before it overheats and limits power.

Good to know.  Is the motor any heavier/lighter?  Apparently the FXs has a couple less inches of travel up front - presumably for that sumo stance.

...
I don't do any serious off-roading on my FX, 'cause I'm worried about breaking something on it, but I do have a lot of fun doing adventure riding on it, because it's quiet, and I can ride it in a lot of places that I can't ride my other bikes!
...

Wow, super informative.  Yeah, we can't get the freeride-E in the states either.  But unless they are rating the motor for continuous use rather than peak output, 22hp does not sound all that impressive.  Re: quiet, for adventure riding / exploring - that has got to be the bomb.  Maybe beep the horn before coming over a hill so that other riders or wildlife get an alert

Great info about the abs.  I imagine regen braking needs to be disabled for trail riding also.

Protection: how well does the FX handle being dumped?  Plastics hold up?  Are there skidplate options to protect the controller cooling fins?  Or would that make it run too hot?

great info folks, thx

[BenS]

...
I don't do any serious off-roading on my FX, 'cause I'm worried about breaking something on it, but I do have a lot of fun doing adventure riding on it, because it's quiet, and I can ride it in a lot of places that I can't ride my other bikes!
...

Wow, super informative.  Yeah, we can't get the freeride-E in the states either.  But unless they are rating the motor for continuous use rather than peak output, 22hp does not sound all that impressive.  Re: quiet, for adventure riding / exploring - that has got to be the bomb.  Maybe beep the horn before coming over a hill so that other riders or wildlife get an alert

Great info about the abs.  I imagine regen braking needs to be disabled for trail riding also.

Protection: how well does the FX handle being dumped?  Plastics hold up?  Are there skidplate options to protect the controller cooling fins?  Or would that make it run too hot?

great info folks, thx

The KTM only has a top speed of about 80kmh, it has a transmission box to change the motor to rear wheel ratio, and give power at lower speeds, which also means the rear sprocket is smaller than on the FX, and less prone to snagging or being damaged. Going by what I've seen on Youtube vids, it has enough "go" for enduro or mx riding(probably only enough power to race against small class ICE bikes in MX). The all-electric KTM races look pretty good though!

Regarding regen and regen braking, the settings in sport mode actually feel very much like a 4 stroke, so there's no need to turn them off, unless you want it more like a 2 stroke!   That's the cool thing about the Zero bikes, you can customize the torque, regen and regen braking to make it feel more like a 4 or 2 stroke! So it's really more than two bikes in one(referring to one or two battery option), it can be like almost any type of ICE bike you want it to be. I haven't tried riding in custom mode yet, but next time I go for a ride, I want to try some 2 stroke type settings.

Yeah, the no-stall feature is great for uphills, and for when you need to clear branches out of the way by hand or whatever.

I haven't had a good crash on the FX yet, but I think it would fair reasonably well at being dumped.

It does have a small bash plate at the bottom of the controller, but yeah, I think a big bash plate would affect cooling.

That's why I adjust my riding to suit the FX, don't expect too much from it, and just enjoy it for what it is!

[odedmaz]

I ride the FX off road only. It's a great machine, although I never ridden a ICE bike before, so can not compare.

The most important upgrade, in my opinion, is changing the stock tires. I replaced them with dual sport dirt oriented pair - michlein T63. The difference is very notable.

Recommend visiting my FX facebook page for photos, videos & info regarding dirt riding the FX.

https://m.facebook.com/Zerofxebike/

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

[Cortezdtv]

They have won open classes at holister againt all gas bikes....

Preston petty wins in flattrack with a zero....



With a chain kit and (knobbies obviously) they are not far off a ktm 250 2 stroke IMO and in some areas they are better than a gas bike..... Ktm suspenstion is tip top, but the new showa dirt stuff isnt bad at all, I beat the hell out of my 13s and they hold up, im not doing big jumps (Idchange to a crf front end if i was) and mone kore than keeps up. Ive hit some pretty steep hillclimbs ive never made it up on gas bikes.....

[SuburbanDad]

Regarding regen and regen braking, the settings in sport mode actually feel very much like a 4 stroke, so there's no need to turn them off, unless you want it more like a 2 stroke!   That's the cool thing about the Zero bikes, you can customize the torque, regen and regen braking to make it feel more like a 4 or 2 stroke! So it's really more than two bikes in one(referring to one or two battery option), it can be like almost any type of ICE bike you want it to be. I haven't tried riding in custom mode yet, but next time I go for a ride, I want to try some 2 stroke type settings.

Custom mode sounds cool.  Clearly there is way more than enough power to loft the front wheel, but it seems eco and sports have power ramps that prevent it.  Are power ramps one of the params you can diddle with in custom mode?

I really need to ride an FX in single battery config and see how different it feels.  Dumb question - is the pack voltage the same running a single battery - does it have the same zip with just half the life?  or somewhat less zip?


Thanks for picking up the slack for the dealer.  The sales guy was nice but essentially clueless about the bike.

[acacia1731]

I really need to ride an FX in single battery config and see how different it feels.  Dumb question - is the pack voltage the same running a single battery - does it have the same zip with just half the life?  or somewhat less zip?

Good description of one vs two batteries here:
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=4564

Custom mode sounds cool.  Clearly there is way more than enough power to loft the front wheel, but it seems eco and sports have power ramps that prevent it.  Are power ramps one of the params you can diddle with in custom mode?

Unfortunately you can not adjust power ramps.  FYI, you can preview the available settings anytime via the app's "Demo mode" (free app, no purchase necessary).

Another good discussion on some of these topics can be found here:
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=5311.0

[BenS]

Custom mode sounds cool.  Clearly there is way more than enough power to loft the front wheel, but it seems eco and sports have power ramps that prevent it.  Are power ramps one of the params you can diddle with in custom mode?

I really need to ride an FX in single battery config and see how different it feels.  Dumb question - is the pack voltage the same running a single battery - does it have the same zip with just half the life?  or somewhat less zip?

Yeah, unfortunately, the FX doesn't have that power hit at the bottom like the KTM E has, and it's not adjustable in the app. You can definitely feel that using one battery doesn't have the same "go" as two, but the weight saving is very noticeable, too.

Power specs for one or two batteries are on the Zero website. http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-fx/specs.php Yeah, voltage is the same, the packs work in parallel, so both options have the same top speed. Zero decided to limit  voltage to 102v due to safety concerns, which I think is an admirable and good decision. If you demo a single pack, removing the front one seems to be the best option.

One thing I've thought of doing, but haven't tried yet, is to ride to the trails with two batteries, then remove and hide one of the battery packs, do some trails with one pack, taking advantage of a lighter bike, then come back and put the second pack back in, and ride home. The FX will apparently use the higher charged pack first, until they balance out.

[Killroy]

For racing level off road, you should check Alta Motors in San Fran

[Cortezdtv]

Custom mode sounds cool.  Clearly there is way more than enough power to loft the front wheel, but it seems eco and sports have power ramps that prevent it.  Are power ramps one of the params you can diddle with in custom mode?

I really need to ride an FX in single battery config and see how different it feels.  Dumb question - is the pack voltage the same running a single battery - does it have the same zip with just half the life?  or somewhat less zip?

Yeah, unfortunately, the FX doesn't have that power hit at the bottom like the KTM E has, and it's not adjustable in the app. You can definitely feel that using one battery doesn't have the same "go" as two, but the weight saving is very noticeable, too.

How do you know this?





Like I've said before in this thread and no one listened....they have won open classes against bigger dirtbikes.... It all comes down to rider.....
If it can win a open class id co sider it more than capable of keeping up....

[BenS]

Custom mode sounds cool.  Clearly there is way more than enough power to loft the front wheel, but it seems eco and sports have power ramps that prevent it.  Are power ramps one of the params you can diddle with in custom mode?

I really need to ride an FX in single battery config and see how different it feels.  Dumb question - is the pack voltage the same running a single battery - does it have the same zip with just half the life?  or somewhat less zip?

Yeah, unfortunately, the FX doesn't have that power hit at the bottom like the KTM E has, and it's not adjustable in the app. You can definitely feel that using one battery doesn't have the same "go" as two, but the weight saving is very noticeable, too.

How do you know this?





Like I've said before in this thread and no one listened....they have won open classes against bigger dirtbikes.... It all comes down to rider.....
If it can win a open class id co sider it more than capable of keeping up....

We're talking about using just one battery in the FX. Of course the FX has more go than the KTM when it has two batteries. I'm just judging by what I've seen of the KTM, comparing similar battery capacities, and considering that the KTM is geared much lower. I did discover tonight, using one battery in my FX, that it's easier to get the front wheel up from a stand still, and then gets harder to get up the faster it goes. It feels like it has a bit of a hit in power, and then drops off quickly.

The FX is winning pro classes??? I doubt it. I already knew that it's won amateur classes, before I even bought my FX, but it all depends on who you're racing against and the type of race. There's no freakin' way I could race the FX as hard as my other bikes! I know this just from trying to trail ride it.

[Cortezdtv]

I agree with everything your saying but most pro bikes are built for a purpose, i have a fx that i ride basically strictly offroad, ive done numerous things on the bike side and programming side to make it more reliable when on the trail just as done with most motorcross bikes. When given to my neigbor who races as an amateur for now (hes still young), he loves it, it only lacks power up top compared to the 450s but these 450s are high hp bikes... And on the price scale they are also very similar.... (Not on the used market)


If you had a chain kit, or a 13 military mmx or your bike set up like thoes/ im sure you wouldnt be scared to offroad it as hard as your other bikes.


Im agreeing with you about the ktm being tougher in the end, it all comes down to the frame there, the ktm is still a fair amount stronger.
To race on the top levelor be able to performance wize keep up in a pro class is still a few years away IMO, the problem is its very hard to squeeze every last hp out of a gas bike, its easy as hell to tune an electric bike (for the right people just like building a high hp motor) you can bolt on a bigger controller program and walla.... To gain 30% power on a gas bike is extrememly hard.... Easy as a controller upgrade and well punching your batteries in the face with said new controller...
At the rate the bikes are gaining spec numbers gas bikes will be a thing of the past in terms of short motorcross racing.... Right now they almost have the battery compasity to do a real mx race.... Just not the power at 50% soc, well kinda, they can...

You can drain A fx 2 bricks at wide open throttle in 30 min.....