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[pwillikers]

I'm in TX where the speed limit is 80~85 MPH on my 65 mi. (round trip) commute.  I travel almost the entire route at that high speed.  My current ride is an SV650 which averages about 40 MPG under these circumstances.

I'm considering a 2016 Zero SR.

Does anyone have experience with a similar situation?  What would the expected range be at a continuous 80 MPH?

Zero's website estimates the SR's range at a constant 70 MPH to be 81 mi. for ZF13 and 98 mi. for the ZF13+PT.  I'm certain the additional 10~15 MPH would make a significant dent in those estimates.

What's the probability that it'd overheat in this situation?  It is Texas and it not uncommon to see 100+ F in the summer.

I'm hoping the new SR would be a viable choice but I'm not confident.

Thanks, Paul.

 

[Cortezdtv]

You would have to switch to high speed gearing and loose massive amounts of acceleration to sustain that high of speed...

Im not sure if they still offer the high speed gearing I would assume yes but I havnt look in a long time.

[MichaelJohn]

I once rode my '15 SR for 40 miles at a constant 80mph with one burst up to 100. I did it just to see how much battery it would use and got home with 40% left which I thought was not bad. I probably could have gotten 65 miles out of it but I don't like going below 20% battery and losing full power. It did not overheat but it wasn't a really hot day. It gets to 100 degrees where I live and my bike has never overheated though I'm pretty sure that a constant 80 on a hot day would do it. I doubt that any of the 16's have seen enough hot weather yet to know if the new motor is capable of sustained high speeds.

[MostlyBonkers]

I'd be willing to bet you'd be alright on a 2016 SR with a powertank, just as long as you can fit a decent screen. If possible, do an extended test ride. Also, can you charge at work?

[LeftieBiker]

   There is another topic here about a Zero rider building a cooling airscoop. It appears you would be an excellent candidate for one of those.

[ultrarnr]

I have a 2014 Zero SR with Power Tank. From my experience riding at 80-85 MPH for 65 miles is not going to happen on a Zero with Power Tank. I realize the 2016 model is a bit better than the 2014 model but I think it is highly unlikely you will pull it off with the stock bike.

[grmarks]

If you can charge at work then you are only talking about 32.5 mi, with a commuter screen it would be easily done. As far as heat goes the IPM 2016 motor is designed to run at a constant 90 mph. (presumably at 21 degrees C) Sitting at 85mph you would generate less heat but have really good air flow around the motor, so it's hard to say, you might have to slow down to 80mph (or 75) on the hot days.
Its a funny thing but once you know your commute is costing very little, slowing down a bit on extreme occasions doesn't seem that hard to do.
If you can charge at work you wouldn't need to have the power tank, but if you can't then you would definitely need one.
A commuter screen makes about a 5% difference at 60mph.  I don't know if the difference will go up or down at 85mph. 

[Lipo423]

I'm in TX where the speed limit is 80~85 MPH on my 65 mi. (round trip) commute.  I travel almost the entire route at that high speed.  My current ride is an SV650 which averages about 40 MPG under these circumstances.

Is it "mandatory" to ride at 85mph?

I'm considering a 2016 Zero SR.

Does anyone have experience with a similar situation?  What would the expected range be at a continuous 80 MPH?

At 80-85 mph you will not get sufficient range on a 2016 + PT...

Zero's website estimates the SR's range at a constant 70 MPH to be 81 mi. for ZF13 and 98 mi. for the ZF13+PT.  I'm certain the additional 10~15 MPH would make a significant dent in those estimates.

Agreed there is a huge different from 70 to 85…in battery drain (unless you get yourself behind a truck, which I would not recommend)

What's the probability that it'd overheat in this situation?  It is Texas and it not uncommon to see 100+ F in the summer.

No overheating as stated by Zero on 2016 models

I'm hoping the new SR would be a viable choice but I'm not confident.

You are right, at the 80-85 MPH requested speed you would not make it (this is even without considering to get strong headwind one day -which could happen- it would be even worst…

For such a demanding use I would not go electric -today- is either not viable or too risky…however if you drop your speed requirements, the 2016 + PT model would be a good option

Thanks, Paul.

[MostlyBonkers]

I'd be willing to bet you'd be alright on a 2016 SR with a powertank, just as long as you can fit a decent screen. If possible, do an extended test ride. Also, can you charge at work?

It's a good thing I didn't put any money on it. I was thinking a decent screen would help range, but you'd need a decent fairing to have the desired effect. Also, it's not very pleasant travelling above 80mph on a Zero because you're sat bolt upright and there's too much wind.

As others have said though, it's actually rather nice to slow down a bit on a Zero. There isn't an aggressive engine note subconsciously telling you to nail it. I find myself enjoying the ride more. Rather therapeutic!

[protomech]

I'm in TX where the speed limit is 80~85 MPH on my 65 mi. (round trip) commute.  I travel almost the entire route at that high speed.  My current ride is an SV650 which averages about 40 MPG under these circumstances.

One question - is that a GPS-corrected 80-85 mph? Bike speedometers are notoriously optimistic (I rode a GS500 for a while, it was about 10% high).

Does anyone have experience with a similar situation?  What would the expected range be at a continuous 80 MPH?

You lose about 18% of your range increasing speed from 55 to 70 mph. 80 mph would probably lose another 18%, leaving you with 66 miles on the ZF13 and 80 miles on the Power Tank bike.

The Power Tank bike should be able to do your commute, with a little extra left to increase your speed or for headwinds, hills, lunch / errands etc. The ZF13 would need either a slightly slower pace (75 mph would be okay most days) or charging at work.

One other thing to consider is that the pre-2016 bikes will reduce power at low charge, perhaps around 20%. I'm not sure if this is true for the 2016 bikes, which use a tweaked battery cell.

What's the probability that it'd overheat in this situation?  It is Texas and it not uncommon to see 100+ F in the summer.

Zero claims 85 mph constant for the pre-2016 SR, 95 mph constant for the 2016.

Zero's range claims and sustained top speeds are likely under ideal conditions: flat, light rider in crouched position, no headwinds, moderate temperatures. With that said, they seem to be accurate under those conditions and sustained 85 mph should use much less power than sustained 95 mph (by about 30%). So I think you are probably okay on the overheating condition, but as others have said it will require warmer days to have real world experience.

Ultimately the best way to find out will be to try the ride yourself. A dealer that is motivated to sell the bikes might let you take one out for a 65 mile test ride so that you can see for yourself how the bike behaves. I would also want to see if the bike reduces power at low SOC.

If you can charge at work you wouldn't need to have the power tank, but if you can't then you would definitely need one.
A commuter screen makes about a 5% difference at 60mph.  I don't know if the difference will go up or down at 85mph.

Agree with comments about the power tank. If you can charge at work it wouldn't be necessary.

The commuter screen should make a larger difference at higher speeds - maybe a 5-7% reduction, and corresponding improvement in top speed.

[Electric Terry]

Hey Paul, A 2016 SR with a powertank will make it 65 miles at those speeds no problem. 

The sustained top speed is 95 mph with the IPM motor so overheating at 80-85 won't happen.

I would still bring an extension cord, and park close to an outlet at work if you can.  If you work in a building that has lights that turn on, there is electricity somewhere, you just have to find it.

I've ridden almost 100,000 miles on electric motorcycles, and will never ride another gas bike.  But I'll tell you, there's never a good reason not to be charging if you aren't riding.

If you live near Dallas, San Antonio, Austin or Houston, those areas are just slammed full of fast (J1772) charging stations everywhere.  Check out the plugshare.com map.  Meaning you could easily travel between those cities on the bike with one of the fast charging kits from Hollywood Electrics and charge most, if not all the way to back full while stopping for lunch.

Good luck! If you get the 2016 SR i'll bet you don't ever want to ride the SV650 again!

[Erasmo]

If you live near Dallas, San Antonio, Austin or Houston, those areas are just slammed full of fast (J1772) charging stations everywhere.

Funny, around here that is considered normal/destination charging, unless it's about 43kW AC.

[Electric Terry]

If you live near Dallas, San Antonio, Austin or Houston, those areas are just slammed full of fast (J1772) charging stations everywhere.

Funny, around here that is considered normal/destination charging, unless it's about 43kW AC.

Right J1772 is typically not referred to as fast because of cars using 3-4 times the energy to cover the same distance.
It can take 15 hours to Charge a Tesla P90D.  Definitely not fast.

But for a Zero, you can charge the FXS in a hour (found out you can use 2 Elcons on it!) and the S, SR, DS and DSR in under 2 hours.  But since most of the time you aren't empty, it takes even less time.  If you can charge by the time it takes to take your gear off, go to the bathroom, order food, eat, wash your hands, and put your gear back on, I would call that fast charging for us. 

[Lipo423]

Get a demo bike from a dealer as suggested by other member and test it…This is a good time of the year to do so (cold) so you get the worst possible scenario…and if windy, much better...
I own an SR 11,4 2014 no PT, and although the new 2016 has a 13Kw battery (+ the optional 2.8KW) such speeds are very power demanding, and you are actually getting very close to the power train limits (85 vs 95 is not that much) if there is just a very soft but steady long hill in your way it is very luckily you will get the overheating warming light on…(I have suffered it myself with the SR), at just 60mph

We are all giving you indications based in our riding experience, but mostly of us do not ride at those sustained speeds on regular bases in such a long distance, so -unless anyone makes a different practical statement- we are all guessing…

Good luck with your testing…Please report back!!

I'm in TX where the speed limit is 80~85 MPH on my 65 mi. (round trip) commute.  I travel almost the entire route at that high speed.  My current ride is an SV650 which averages about 40 MPG under these circumstances.

I'm considering a 2016 Zero SR.

Does anyone have experience with a similar situation?  What would the expected range be at a continuous 80 MPH?

Zero's website estimates the SR's range at a constant 70 MPH to be 81 mi. for ZF13 and 98 mi. for the ZF13+PT.  I'm certain the additional 10~15 MPH would make a significant dent in those estimates.

What's the probability that it'd overheat in this situation?  It is Texas and it not uncommon to see 100+ F in the summer.

I'm hoping the new SR would be a viable choice but I'm not confident.

Thanks, Paul.

[Killroy]

If you had a Vetter fairing, it would be easy and comfy to cruise at 80 MPH without as much range drop.