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[togo]

+1 Terry.  Options are good.  A decent looking marketable motorcycle as a base, and the options for more storage or an aero shell.

Also: this has some interesting stuff

http://electrek.co/2013/12/12/tesla-chief-designer-franz-von-holzhausen-on-bmws-i3-strange-ikea-like-the-2015-detroit-auto-show-mass-market-unveiling-and-more/

I especially like this:

    The Model S should be aerodynamic, without looking for it. And we succeeded.

    The Model X is almost ready, now it comes to the last aerodynamic subtleties. Therefore, millimeter by millimeter to change without anyone noticing that we have ever changed anything. ...

Tesla has proven that you can have outstanding aerodynamics *and* high style.  Zero needs to do that.

[MostlyBonkers]

Just in case you haven't been following it, Brian has done a lovely job with his new Parrabellum windshield:


http://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=5525.msg40155#msg40155

It looks like Parrabellum would be up for creating a new screen specifically for Zeros. Any thoughts on how we could provide them with a bike to work on and use for testing? It would have to be a long term loan, I imagine.

[ultrarnr]

Maybe this is something for aftermarket companies who focus on windscreens to build. It would be a lot cheaper for an aftermarket company to build something since they already have some of the expertise needed. If you think about the R&D needed if Zero did make something it would be insanely expensive. Yes there are a few people on this forum who would buy them but hard to say what the size of the market really is.

[Doug S]

...but hard to say what the size of the market really is.

I'd say that applies even moreso to the aftermarket. For Zero it would be supporting their brand, for the aftermarket mfrs it's only about market size, which probably isn't big enough to justify the expense.

I'm not holding my breath for either Zero or the "mainstream" aftermarket to do it. I think if it gets done, it'll get done by someone like Craig Vetter, who did it because he believed in it, rather than to make a bunch of money from it.

[Electric Terry]

I would agree with you Doug.  And it was supposed to happen.  But I'm not so sure now it will.   If you don't know yet, read this article and he will explain.  A deer hit him (not even the motorcycle, the 250 pound deer ran right into Craigs body while on the motorcycle) and I'm not sure if design plans are in his future.  We will have to wait and see. Such a tragedy.

http://blog.motorcycle.com/2016/02/15/motorcycle-news/craig-vetter/

February 15, 2016

"The American Motorcyclist Association announced today that Craig Vetter is the recipient of the AMA Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016. Vetter is most famous for the Windjammer line of fairings he created for Honda Gold Wings, and the like, in a time before motorcycle fairings were factory equipment – the 1970s. More recently, Vetter’s focused his attention on fuel mileage, and how to get the most of it. The proving grounds for his ideas and aerodynamic designs can be seen wherever a Vetter Fuel Mileage Challenge is hosted.

The annual award acknowledges the highest level of service to the AMA in any area of activity, and its recipients are individuals whose contributions are nationally recognized. Vetter, well-known for his many contributions to motorcycle design, has also distinguished himself for a lifetime of service to the AMA and the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation."

[Doug S]

A deer hit him...Such a tragedy.

I was aware of that, and it's a great loss to our community. It was just shortly after I met Craig (and Mike Corbin) for the first and only time last 4th of July weekend; same weekend we met, Terry.

But I meant somebody LIKE Craig, who's in it because he's passionate and feels strongly that somebody needs to push the state of the art forward. There's just not enough money in it to attract commercial interest.

[protomech]

Option #1: Here is a full fairing option and short tail for $2500 that will increase your range at 75 mph by double

Option #2: If they don't like how the fairing looks they can spend the $2500 on a power tank and get about 15 more miles range at 75 mph.

I'd like to see official numbers from Zero on the windscreen even. It should be pretty easy to test: give an engineer a bike for a day and a bit of equipment and he should be able to come back with numbers.

Option #1: here's a windscreen/fairing. It improves top speed by x, sustained top speed by y, range by z. Costs $m and adds n pounds. Oh, and it doesn't affect charge time, meaning your effective charge rate is higher.

Option #2: here's a power tank. It improves range by x. Costs $M, adds n pounds, increases charge times by o.

I think it'd be pretty clear what people's preferences were.

I'm really curious to see how many charge tanks Zero sells. Back in 2013 I created a poll asking about range vs charge speed - basically did people want more battery or higher-powered charging?

The results were pretty split - some people wanted battery, some people wanted faster charging - until you got to the Vetter special. The preference for a fairing bike was strongly in favor of improved charging, once you had "enough" range.

I didn't make this explicit at the time, but the options were based on the shipping Zero S, assuming that a battery brick could be swapped for a ~3 kW charging brick for the same cost. Thus you had:
- standard option, based on $16k 4 brick Zero S (or 3 brick + 1 charger brick)
- touring option, based on $20k 6 brick Zero S+ (or 5 brick + 1 charger, 4 brick + 2 charger)
- vetter fairing, as w/ touring but with a LVF (40% reduction in highway power requirements)

Ironically, the 2016 Zero S equipped with either a Power Tank or a Charge Tank is basically equivalent to the first two touring options today (131 miles with Power Tank, 108 miles with Charge Tank and 35 mph charging) .. but at $16-17k, not $20k!

Back in 2013, only 5 out of 19 posters preferred the largest battery but slowest-charging unfaired touring bike. Zero - and DigiNow - may have their hands full meeting demand.

Perhaps it's time to revisit the range vs charge vs aero survey again .. in a more structured way.

[Cortezdtv]

New windsheild got posted by mr drake on instagram

[MostlyBonkers]

+1 promotech, definitely a good idea to do that survey again.

What I don't get is why people keep saying it's expensive to do aerodynamics. Sure, if you're starting from scratch, but why do that? Just base it on other fairings out there and even if it isn't optimal for a Zero it'll probably be 80% there and give at least 30% better economy at speed.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

New windsheild got posted by mr drake on instagram

Could you share that?

[protomech]

[Erasmo]

With a spoiler, that should make a difference to keep your head out of the wind.

[Kocho]

They call this "larger"... It looks tiny! Good for warm weather, but for commute and cold I'd want something that would cover a 6'4" rider properly without ducking ridiculously low.

[MrDude_1]

They call this "larger"... It looks tiny! Good for warm weather, but for commute and cold I'd want something that would cover a 6'4" rider properly without ducking ridiculously low.

you know that air gets thrown upward right? it has momentum.
If your windscreen is so huge that you see through it when sitting upright.. its too big.

[Doug S]

If your windscreen is so huge that you see through it when sitting upright.. its too big.

I don't know of any that are that big. Better rule: If your helmet is being buffeted by the wind, the screen is too small. In fact, if you can feel wind on any part of your body, you're causing drag.