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[MrDude_1]

@brian: I see you are using a tank bag. How do you attach it to the bike? Magnetic flaps aren't working since it is all plastic and aluminum. And a tank cap mount isn't perfect either.
So.. How do you do it??

if you look at the tank bags they market for sportbikes, alot of them use straps instead of magnets (most modern sportbikes have a plastic airbox where the "tank" is)
They're about the right size for the zero bikes. I use a very old one I bought in 1999... Its so old, I dont even know what brand it is. lol.

[togo]

99% of the time it's

"Cool bike, what is it?"
A Zero all electric.
"Who makes it?"
Zero in California.
"I didn't know such a thing existed."
Cost, specs, range,etc.
"Who made it?"
Zero Motorcycles.

I love telling people about it cause I'm into it, but it's not for everyone. Some people just will never get it, their loss!

I tell people the factory is nearby, in Scott's Valley, and that they can sign up for Demo Days, first Friday of every month, at zeromotorcycles.com, if they have a motorcycle license.  Hope that's still true.

I also tell people it's fast like a tesla, at one fifth the price, and it can split lanes too.

[stevenh]

Silly question, I got these in the mail today (lightning decals).  How do I apply these buggers?

Steve

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Silly question, I got these in the mail today (lightning decals).  How do I apply these buggers?

Like any vinyl decal:
- Clean the area with an alcohol wipe or something and wait for it to be fully dry.
- Carefully peel off the backing so that the vinyl can be pressed onto the surface.
- Press the vinyl smoothly on so that it doesn't wrinkle. Use your fingers or a squeegee to roll out any air bubbles.
- Wait for a while so it adheres, then carefully peel off the fronting.

These instructions look legit: https://www.carstickers.com/instructions.php

I will say that this sticker still works to save me from people asking super-basic questions (before, I could often see people wondering what was appropriate to ask, and sometimes they go right for "hybrid" and this just makes them grasp it quickly), and gets to the slightly better questions.

[stevenh]

Worked great.  Thanks!

Nice contrast on the all black DSR.

Steve

[clay.leihy]

.

[clay.leihy]

Drafted my own with Inkscape and printed on water resistant sticker sheet. Trickiest part was cutting them.

Clay
DoD #2160,6
2015 FX ZF6.5  😁

[clockfort]

My own answer to the constant "what on earth is that?" onlookers was to make my own license plate holder. ( http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1764732 )

Strongly considering the text "Yes, these exist now... Yes, it goes far enough" to cover maybe 90% of questions.

[WoadRaider]

@brian: I see you are using a tank bag. How do you attach it to the bike? Magnetic flaps aren't working since it is all plastic and aluminum. And a tank cap mount isn't perfect either.
So.. How do you do it??

Just find a tank bag with a long strap and run it under the front of the frame (where the yolk is attached) and through the plastic cover. I've also removed the bag lock (pointless if you have another bag on top of it) and pinned another strap under the plastic there. If the bag has flaps (where the magnets would go) you can probably shove them into the sides of the false tank bag opening; the pressure from the false tank bag pressing against them will help hold the tank bag in place. I've also cut some flexible foam and shoved it down into the false tank bag slot and into the magnet flap. All of that friction will hold the bag, and you can just pull it out when the time comes.

I can probably upload some pictures of what I have if someone wants.

[mrwilsn]

@brian: I see you are using a tank bag. How do you attach it to the bike? Magnetic flaps aren't working since it is all plastic and aluminum. And a tank cap mount isn't perfect either.
So.. How do you do it??

I just bought some neodymium magnets from Amazon and mounted them opposite the tank bag magnets using double sided tape.  Works great and I left a gap at the edges to allow me to pry the magnets off with the help of a heat gun in the event that I want to mount them in a different location for a new tank bag.

I love not having straps to mess with when I take the bag off and having the magnets exactly opposite the tank bag magnets means the bag naturally wants to align itself (although the magnets in the tank bag do move a little so I adjust them as I am putting the bag in place to make sure its perfect because I am OCD).  I have put a decent amount of weight in the bag and it never seemed like it would fly off....the magnets from Amazon are pretty strong.

After I installed the DigiNow Super Charger I thought I was really going to miss the storage tank but it turns out, not at all.  I find the tank bag much more useful although I am just slightly more paranoid someone will steal the whole bag if I leave it on when I go inside a store or something (I never worried about the storage tank because I assumed people wouldn't actually realize it was a storage bag and would leave it alone).  However, that is easily solved by just taking it in with you if it has valuables inside.  The Dowco Fast Trax is a pretty good size tank bag so it has to be moved if I am charging anyway to get to the J-port.

To install the magnets I just put the tank bag on the ground upside down and then put the tank upside down on top of it aligned where I wanted it.  Then I just placed the magnets one by one without any double sided tape first.  Then with all magnets in place and the tank bag aligned where I wanted it, I started to put double sided tape on the magnets one by one leaving all others in place until they were all secured.

I really like the Fast Trax tank bag from Revzilla too...it's a good size (expandable) but doesn't block the display or get in my way when riding, when it's full but not expanded it's nice to lay on, it has a shoulder strap so you can throw it over a shoulder when you go inside, it has a spot for a bladder and the interior is fluorescent (same color as the small section on top) which makes it really easy to find stuff when you open it...especially at night!  Revzilla has a great break down video at the link below.

Here is a link to the magnets I used but they are no longer available.  You can find others like it but I can't vouch for their quality.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E49M0O6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

And here is a link for the Dowco Fast Trax tank bag
http://www.revzilla.com/product/dowco-fastrax-backroads-tank-bag

Here are a couple pics of the underside with the magnets installed and the tank bag underneath




And here are some pics of the tank bag installed...also...back to the original thread topic....I draw attention to the battery brick with a green vinyl wrap that is reflective when it's hit with light.  Since I installed it I have noticed that instead of asking "how many cc's is that?" more people ask me "that's all electric?"...plus I just think it looks awesome the way it makes the battery look like it's glowing when head lights or a flash hit it    I didn't wrap any other part of the bike because I wanted to draw attention specifically to the battery.


Notice that it's a much darker green in this pic without the flash on.


I really like how the line between materials on the flaps aligns perfectly with the shape of the Zero tank....its like it was made for it!



Notice that in this picture the tank bag piping isn't reflecting but the battery is still turquoise...that's just by getting the right angle for the garage light to reflect back to the camera.  When you walk past it in sun light it will transition from dark green to turquoise.  I like it a lot 

[WoadRaider]

I thought I was really going to miss the storage tank but it turns out, not at all

That is because the false tank bag is absurdly small, there is over twice as much room under the false tank that is just unused.

I am just slightly more paranoid someone will steal the whole bag

If your tank bag lock is still on the bike you can sew a strap onto the back side of the tank bag (or attach a tiny cable lock) and put it through the lock. But yeah, there's no way to keep someone from opening the zippers anyway so just carry anything valuable with you and hope for the best.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

That tank bag is much bigger than I'm comfortable mounting on the Zero! I have one, tried it, and went with a smaller one.

I also used straps instead of magnets because I don't want to compromise the supercharger in any way. I'll hopefully figure out a way to mechanically lock it instead.

[mrwilsn]

That tank bag is much bigger than I'm confortable mounting on the Zero! I have one, tried it, and went with a smaller one.

I also used straps instead of magnets because I don't want to compromise the supercharger in any way. I'll hopefully figure out a way to mechanically lock it instead.

What makes you uncomfortable about the size? Worried it will fall off? Or just looks too big? Something else?

I have had a good amount of weight inside...with it expanded to full capacity... and it's not going anywhere...when I was trying to park on a gravel driveway that was on an incline my kick stand folded up while I was getting off and the bike fell to the ground with the tank bag fully loaded. It stayed in place even when the bike was on its side and while I picked the bike back up.  Granted, it wasn't a hard fall because I half caught it but the bike was sideways and the tank bag stayed put even though I hadn't even mounted mates for the 4 magnets in the middle of the tank bag.

The way it's mounted now, all 9 magnets in the tank bag (4 in the middle, 2 on each side flap and one on the flap by the seat) have a magnet to mate with directly under the tank plastic.  After I put it in place and ride around for a couple hours it hasn't budged a mm when I get off the bike to charge.

As far as affecting the super charger...maybe...but it seems unlikely. The magnets are stationary relative to the charger and phones do fine with magnets in cases so I think the SC will be fine...then again...maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[mrwilsn]

I thought I was really going to miss the storage tank but it turns out, not at all

That is because the false tank bag is absurdly small, there is over twice as much room under the false tank that is just unused.

I am just slightly more paranoid someone will steal the whole bag

If your tank bag lock is still on the bike you can sew a strap onto the back side of the tank bag (or attach a tiny cable lock) and put it through the lock. But yeah, there's no way to keep someone from opening the zippers anyway so just carry anything valuable with you and hope for the best.

Not a bad idea....the tank bag can be mounted using magnets or straps so it has some plastic hoops in a perfect spot to secure it.... however...I removed the storage tank lock to install the super charger...plus putting straps/lock on the tank bag would defeat the purpose of going the magnet route in the first place.

Also, as you pointed out, that wouldn't stop anyone from just unzipping and stealing stuff inside. The easiest solution is to just take it off and throw it over a shoulder using the built-in shoulder strap

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

That tank bag is much bigger than I'm confortable mounting on the Zero! I have one, tried it, and went with a smaller one.

I also used straps instead of magnets because I don't want to compromise the supercharger in any way. I'll hopefully figure out a way to mechanically lock it instead.

What makes you uncomfortable about the size? Worried it will fall off? Or just looks too big? Something else?

It hangs over the edge and interferes with any crouch position I've tried. It's totally distracting at that size on a Zero. Oh, and if I sit upright, a large tank bag obscures the instrument cluster!

It's worth noting that I have a J1772 inlet protruding at the front of my tank, which means I can't push it forward just behind the handlebars. Even so, the bag is just too big for the size of the Zero cockpit space for me.

As far as affecting the super charger...maybe...but it seems unlikely. The magnets are stationary relative to the charger and phones do fine with magnets in cases so I think the SC will be fine...then again...maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

I'm being cautious. I want my most expensive upgrade to last as long as possible so I get its value.