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[mrwilsn]

Thinking about the 32ah cells, here is a bit of a problem. If you had a power tank as well then the charge time would be about 12 hours, a bit to long to be practical, so Zero needs a new onboard charger of at least 2.5 kw/h to move to the new cells.
OR
Drop the power tank option for either storage or charge tank. But that would be cutting max. range which some ppl want.

I think next year we will see a more powerful onboard charger and a 14.3 kw/h pack (or more).

The problem is a bigger charger will require a J1772 plug.  A 120V outlet can typically only handle 15amps. Some can go up to 20amps but the outlet is dumb and can't tell the charger what's available. Therefore 1.3kW is pretty close to the max you can safely pull.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Fred]

Don't forget that a lot of the world has 220V (at about 13A max I think), so a much higher limit.

[Doug S]

Therefore 1.3kW is pretty close to the max you can safely pull.

It's a problem with multiple solutions, and it depends on the individual circumstance which is the best solution. I think Zero got it right; mount an overnight charger onboard, and let the customer decide if he wants another solution and purchase it separately.

[Shadow]

The factory onboard charger is a "maintenance charger".

The charge tank accessory is a slow charger

[MostlyBonkers]

Don't forget that a lot of the world has 220V (at about 13A max I think), so a much higher limit.

The granny cable I got with my Kia Soul EV is rated at a maximum of 2.2kW. However, I've never seen it pull more than 2kW. The trouble is that it can up to 13-14 hours to get a full charge. Pulling that on a 240V socket is enough to melt it. I don't have any melting problems with my Zero.

[Hansi]

Therefore 1.3kW is pretty close to the max you can safely pull.

It's a problem with multiple solutions, and it depends on the individual circumstance which is the best solution. I think Zero got it right; mount an overnight charger onboard, and let the customer decide if he wants another solution and purchase it separately.

I tend to agree, but then they should make the "fast" charger a lot faster ala the DigiNow, then it would be possible to go on longer trips without having to stop many hours to charge. A Charge Tank that could charge with the same speed as the DigiNow SuperCharger would be perfect.

[Keith]

I notice that the 2017 specs no longer include acceleration. The higher torques should give a faster 0-60mph time, but none are given, I wonder why.

[Erasmo]

Don't forget that a lot of the world has 220V (at about 13A max I think), so a much higher limit.

More or less the whole world except parts of America and Japan:

[Skidz]

How about a charger that maxes out at, let's say, 3.3kW but that starts at default 1.3kW and can be tuned via the app? That way you can choose how fast it charges based on the available power...
And then, ofcourse, a 11kW J1772 charger would be nice, or a CCS

[protomech]

I notice that the 2017 specs no longer include acceleration. The higher torques should give a faster 0-60mph time, but none are given, I wonder why.

The FX and FXS should have a small acceleration regression due to the taller gearing. Though really this is just shifting the peak powerband closer to highway speeds .. and SHOULD significantly raise the top speed and sustained top speed. Will be very curious to see if this is the case or if not, if it is an artificial limit?

The Zero S, DS, SR should be quicker than their 2016 counterparts.

Acceleration is hugely dependent upon rider weight. 3.3 seconds was a great marketing claim in 2014. No independent instrumented review was able to back those numbers up, possibly because they were using 200 pound riders instead of 100 pound riders. Also - most manufacturers don't claim 0-60 times. Zero may have decided that ship has sailed.

It also gives them an opportunity to "reset"; if they choose to report an acceleration claim in the future, they don't risk an immediate comparison against the previous year.

Or it may have just been left off their press releases. Who knows.

[grmarks]

Therefore 1.3kW is pretty close to the max you can safely pull.

It's a problem with multiple solutions, and it depends on the individual circumstance which is the best solution. I think Zero got it right; mount an overnight charger onboard, and let the customer decide if he wants another solution and purchase it separately.

I tend to agree, but then they should make the "fast" charger a lot faster ala the DigiNow, then it would be possible to go on longer trips without having to stop many hours to charge. A Charge Tank that could charge with the same speed as the DigiNow SuperCharger would be perfect.

$$$$$! Most ppl want the bike cheaper not more expensive.

[grmarks]

I notice that the 2017 specs no longer include acceleration. The higher torques should give a faster 0-60mph time, but none are given, I wonder why.

Acceleration times depend on the weight of the rider and thats different for everyone. The acceleration times were recorded with a 70kg (I think) rider, most of us weigh more than that so is there much point?

[grmarks]

The FX and FXS should have a small acceleration regression due to the taller gearing

But it has more torque so expect faster than 2016.

[grmarks]

See the problem with a bigger battery! The charging solution needs careful thought.
Why not have a charger that on 110V it charges at 1.3kw/h and on 240V charges at 2kw/h so our american friends can choose to install a dedicated 240V charging outlet if they need to.
Or you could have a 2 into 1 plug (it would plug into 2 outlets on different circuits) as another solution for the USA.
But maybe the simplest way is to have a 3kw/h and J1772 (but fitting into the same place as the current onboard charger) but this would raise the price of the bike and we would all need to install a J1772 at home.

[mrwilsn]

In a perfect world the bike wouldn't have a charger on it at all.  The charger adds cost, weight and volume to the bike.  If the charger is bolted to the wall instead of the bike then you can get a new bike and keep using the same charger or even have multiple bikes that use the same charger.  So you buy a charger one time and then you can use it for all bikes....and cars.  In this perfect world there would be enough DC public charging stations to be able to travel anywhere you would want to go without the need to carry a charger on the bike.

Until then....

With an unlimited R&D budget a charger could be designed to take the most advantage of the charging infrastructure that exists in 2016/2017.  This would mean supporting DC fast charging up to 50kW and supporting AC fast charging up to 12kW.  The charger would fit in the same volume as the current 1.3kW charger used by Zero.  When plugged into a 120V outlet the charger would default to not exceed 15 amp draw but could be dialed up manually via an app to 30 amps.  When plugged into a 240V the charger would default to 10 amps if it's a dumb outlet.  On 240V dumb outlet the charger could be dialed up to 50 amps using the app.  When plugged into a J1772 the charger would use all available power up to the max 12kW.

Of course, Zero doesn't have an unlimted R&D budget but that doesn't mean it couldn't be done.  It seems like the charger should be next in line for an upgrade in 2018.  Although....there really isn't anything stopping Zero from introducing something like an upgraded charger (minus the 50kW DC fast charging) mid season.  The interface between the bike and the charger is pretty simple so a solution for a current model year bike should work with any 2013+ bike.