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[scorpion32]

Today the outside temperature is near 19F (-7°C). I would like to make a short ride (30km) with my Zero DSR, since the streets finally are free of snow.

However i found the following on the zero website:
"It is not recommended that the motorcycle be ridden while its battery temperature is below 23°F (-5°C). If it is, its battery needs to be put on the charger at a temperature above 32°F (0°C) as soon as the ride is concluded."

So, on the dashboard i can monitor the temperature of the engine, but not the temperature of the battery.

Are there any rules or hints how i can check the battery temperature? The bike is currently in my garage with temperatures at (37F / +3°C). So the battery should also be at this temperature or higher. I guess if i drive, the temperature of the battery will rise, but im not very familiar with battery behavior.

Any ideas or hints?

[Erasmo]

You can pull the logs. At that temp it is doable, drawing the power will heat the battery up and you have a head start coming from a warmer environment.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I ran a proof of concept neoprene insulative wrap around my battery for cold winter riding. It's not exceptionalism Malay cold in California but I didn't want this winter's heavy rain to sap my range. Anyway it did have some effect, making the battery noticeably warmer to the touch when done riding.

The mount is provisional but somewhat secure. For complicated reasons I have waited to redo the fastenings, but the existing ones are just four large grommet tabs where two hold up the top corners inside the shoulder of the tank plastics. The other two link through the central frame hole.

The neoprene thickness was â…›" but seemed to recover 5-10 miles of range on bad days.

[Erasmo]

Those are some nice result. Some neoprene and a hand full of zip-ties might be a nice winter solution.

[Lenny]

You can monitor the battery temp with the app, if you put it onto the dashboard. This can also be done when the bike is in charging mode and standing still.

I've been riding several times now with my FXS during temps in between -2 and -7 °C, no issues so far. Battery temp is usually over or around 0°C when I start due to higher garage temps. During riding, it increases, but I also try to cover the side of the packs with my legs. When I come back, I immediately connect it for charging to make use of the still high battery temperature.

[scorpion32]

Thank you all for the help and advice.

Yesterday i took a 27km trip to the city and back. It was also the first time for me that i drove my brand-new DSR on pubic streets. In test-drives, before i buyed the DSR 16´, i was driving the S and DS models only, because these were available at my dealer.

Well, i started in ECO-Mode and as i was entering the highway (german autobahn) i switched to sport mode. OMG - she really is a beast. Very good feeling with this acceleration. Although due to
weather conditions, 19F (-7°C), i was not going full throttle.

Entering the city i forget to going back to eco-mode. After the first traffic light went to green i gave her too much power and she literarily boosted away. Still surprised by the speed i noticed that the back wheel had loosen grip on the street and it was "dancing" from left to right and so on. I had to compensate these directions with the handlebar. This was a dangerous situation. Lucky me i managed to get back control (did not brake, just reduced power). This was just like the many youtube videos i have seen, were the bike crashed at the end.

Stupid me to giving so much power and being still in sport mode. And all this in cold weather conditions.

Apart from that it was a lovely trip. 

[UW4E]

After some weeks break I also could do a ride last saturday in Germany with my Zero S '15. Temp was -5°C. No problems. Just the known fact, that top speed and max. torque were not reachable. That was no loss for me. Riding under cold blue winter sky was worth it.

[Skidz]

Temperatures here were around -5 in the morning the last few days, the bike is outside under a cover, and charged every day. I filtered the packtemp l from the logs of the last month, and the lowest pack temp was 2 degrees C and the warmest 31 degrees C (After a ride of 51km highway).

Safe to say the pack is dense enough to retain warmth somewhat. Time between stopping and charging is about 4 hours.

[scorpion32]

I ran a proof of concept neoprene insulative wrap around my battery for cold winter riding. It's not exceptionalism Malay cold in California but I didn't want this winter's heavy rain to sap my range. Anyway it did have some effect, making the battery noticeably warmer to the touch when done riding.

The mount is provisional but somewhat secure. For complicated reasons I have waited to redo the fastenings, but the existing ones are just four large grommet tabs where two hold up the top corners inside the shoulder of the tank plastics. The other two link through the central frame hole.

The neoprene thickness was â…›" but seemed to recover 5-10 miles of range on bad days.

Great idea !!
I used your approach to make my tablet, which i use for navigation, a bit more resistant again the cold weather.
The iphone 5s goes off within 5 mins, so here the neoprene was no help.

But the Nexus7 tablet is working fine with the neoprene. No shutoffs of the tablet anymore.
Thx for the hint.