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[kashography]

i know, kind of older post, but not a problem, right?

Did you check your motor? because mine sounds the same an i think that is normal.

But i also am a bit disappointed of the 0-100 times. when they write 3.3s and its 4s, thats not kind :/ i hoped to bust more liter bikes to 100km/h :-P My KTM 990SD destroyes the Zero and is also rated arround 3.3s to 100km/h.
Dont get me wrong. The bike is fast and makes fun, but they lie with those numbers and i don't like that. Maybe they did that with a light guy, hill down, with strong backwind

[KrazyEd]

   We see great numbers from manufacturers all the time. Then, we try to match them to no avail.
I used to drag race and was able to beat posted numbers after some fine tuning.
The manufacturers don't take a bike off of the showroom floor and go to the track, they
use specially prepared units. While the units are individually prepared, they are still considered
stock. Tricks that used to be used were just enough fuel to make the pass, mirrors removed.
ULTRA light rider etc.  Not exactly sure what you could do to an electric bike other than to make
sure that it is at the maximum limit of performance specifications.  In the early 1980s, Kawasaki
was pushing their GPz 750 as the first STOCK 750 to go into the 11 second bracket. One of the
magazines tore a test bike down to find out that the head was ported. Kawasaki's answer was
that they were all going to come with ported heads, so, a lucky few first adopters got bikes
with ported heads. We know that the Zeros are capable of this level of performance with
some massaging, just how much was done to the bikes to make the numbers would be the question.
Weight is probably the biggest factor. We used to figure 10 lbs. would equal 1 hp. If they used a 125 lb.
rider, and you are 225 lb. you would be at a 10 hp. handicap to the lighter rider.

[Richard230]

Never having seen a Zero video showing that level of acceleration, it is my personal opinion that Zero calculates their advertised performance numbers based upon a computer program that takes into account the bike's claimed weight, power, torque and probably other things - other than wind resistance.   

[mistasam]

Yep, I think we've all agreed that those figures are just calculations, as well as a possible motor dyno run, but not from real life.  Still insane acceleration though 

[quixotic]

How much do you folks weigh?  Perhaps Zero tests them with well trained children.  I'm only partly kidding, since I'm probably closer to 120 lbs than 125, and I'm amazed at the acceleration that I get with my 2013 S.  There's a reason that thoroughbred jockeys tend to be small, and a Zero weighs about half as much as a horse.  Just do the math and you'll see the tremendous advantage that a small person has. 

Edit: I see that Sam did mention his weight further back in the thread.  Would it be mathematically possible to figure out the required weight of a rider to achieve the 3.3 seconds?

[kashography]

I am about 170ibs, that would be 4.5hp more that with 125ibs. No way 4.5hp can make a huge difference. this is 6.6% Power difference. I know u cant calculate like that, but this 6,6% in time would resolute to 3.75s when i take 4s as base.

I once draged hill down (not very steep) and could not feel some sort of noticeble difference. Hill down my wheigt gets less relevant.

Whats interesting though, on their website they say that the SR with powertank (additional 20kg/44ib) makes 3.9s. So thats a huge difference, and i cant believe that about 1/20 of the wheight can make such a big difference with all that torque. I think they calculated the time fully without a driver

[Richard230]

Motorcycle Consumer News recently stated that they could no longer perform top speed performance and acceleration testing on public highways (which is what they had been doing for years as they couldn't afford to rent a track or private airfield).  After getting caught during a top speed run by the county sheriff at their secret low-traffic desert highway, they gave up on real-world testing and are now using a specialized computer program to determine top speed and acceleration numbers for the bikes that they test.  They say that the computer program gives very accurate and comparable results (between vehicles being tested from one month to the next) and of course likely uses a standardized environmental (air pressure, temperature, no wind, etc.) criteria to achieve the calculated performance results. (My guess is that you have to input your rider's weight and perhaps height.) 

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Zero, as well as other small vehicle manufacturers, use a similar computer programs, with input from a dyno, to determine performance so that they don't have to perform this testing on public roads.

[Alan Stewart]

AutoBlog's take on 0-60 times and why they don't mean much. They don't even mention the stoplight drag race, which matters to me.

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/09/02/zero-0-60-mph-performance-is-overrated/

[kashography]

I did some measurements yesterday. With 52% battery:
0-60mhp: 4.4s
0-100km/h: 4.5s
4 runs, all arround there.

Today with 88% Battery:
0-60mph: 4.25s
0-100km/h: 4.35s

What i have seen is, that with 52% the torque decreases alredy after 80km/h. With 90-88% the tourque began decrease after about 95km/h. So this is why i got a little better time.
For 3.3s we would need a good 20-30% more power, so i dont understand how they can rate the bike at 3.3s. maybe they think that it's measured without person on top

nevertheless, bikes makes a lot of fun and alredy drove almost as much in 2 weeks than with my ICE-Bike last year

[ctrlburn]

With an ICE you could run it low on oil, or with a near empty fuel tank to yield better acceleration times.

[kashography]

2 Guys on the facebook Zero Motorcycles Owners Group measured their times with the new 17 DSR. 0-60 in 2.9-3.1s. Thats really impressive if this is true! But i told myself, the ealriest i would upgrade would be 2018 

[rider7]

Hey guys,

Soon to be a DSR owner.
I remember that the acceleration times where posted on Zero's website, (or maybe I am imagining it) not anymore though, huh?
But I think I remember that the 3.3s to 60 was posted for the FX bikes only and not the SR.
The SR was always a bit slower due to higher weight.
I want to say 3.9s as far as my old brain remembers.
The 2017 R models now with the 775Amp controller and 70hp output, might be getting closer to the high 3 second range now though.

Where do you find the acceleration specs posted anyway?

By the way, I shiver to even think about "abusing" my brand new bike for tests like this, but I know myself better, I'll probably will do max accelation fairly soon out of the box...... hahahahah...

Rider7

[kashography]

What is abusing about accelerating full power with an electric bike!?!? Its natural!

Did you get the 17 model?

You still can check out the 2016 models on zeromotorcycles.com. The SR was ratet as the fastest bike at 3.3. Fx was slower and fxs 3.9 when i remember correctly

[Shadow]

@Rider7 it's a wise idea to keep your bike in Eco mode while you adjust to the bike's quirks (or lack thereof) in the first month you ride it. Also this is a good time to break in the new tires, and especially check belt tension with a gauge every few rides (it has a tendancy to swell and become over-tight the first 3k miles). Eco or Sport modes are identical in regards to initial and ongoing maintenance.

[rider7]

What is abusing about accelerating full power with an electric bike!?!? Its natural!

Did you get the 17 model?

You still can check out the 2016 models on zeromotorcycles.com. The SR was ratet as the fastest bike at 3.3. Fx was slower and fxs 3.9 when i remember correctly

Kashography,

Hahah..... I am sure I'll be doing the same thing I have been doing for 32 years, treat it like the red lights go out.
You cannot speed without paying the consequences here in the states, but there is no law against holeshot starts, and especially when it's silent

Yes, I am getting the 2017 model.

I'll go back and check the '16 models and compare.

Oliver