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[Jarrett]

I just bought a 2019 FX 7.2 three months ago.  I'm over 6 foot and around 265 lbs.  I'm a total data nerd, so I started tracking rides and performance immediately with the bike to find out what reality was.

Here are the ride stats from my last 15 rides to give you an idea of the range of the FX:



If you are substantially lighter, you might go a little farther than this.  There is a guy that weighs 155 lbs on the Facebook Zero Motorcycles Owners Group that says his FX gets better mileage than what I get on mine.  Most everyone else I talk to says my numbers match theirs and some even say they don't get as much as I'm showing above.

Basically, if you want to make 60 miles, you keep your average speed under 30 mph.  If you want to go 80 miles, keep it under 25 mph.  If you want to go 100 miles, keep it under 20 mph average.  Going over 30 mph average will make it drop fast.  Also, keep in mind cold temps reduce these numbers and higher temps increase them a bit.


I did another ride this week where I knew it was going to be a short ride, so I hammered it all the way:

Total Distance: 42.10 mi
Moving Time: 1:06:16
Average Speed: 38.1 mph
Elevation Gain: 1,798 ft
Max speed: 88.1 mph
Avg Air Temp: 81.5F
100% of the charge used. 

This is what the speeds of this ride looked like to average out to 38 mph:



You can see at the end of the graph where I was holding it wide open throttle and the bike was just continually slowing down as the charge faded away.

On this last ride, I just went out to have fun and run off the full charge of the battery.  At one point you can see on the graph, I ran the bike wide open throttle for a couple of miles (@88 mph) and ran it into thermal protection mode doing so and had to slow down for a while.  That ran the charge down a fair bit. 

After that, I went into town to run some errands and that's the slower mid section of the ride.  But even, after getting the charge in the 30% range, it still had enough to hit ~70 mph on the way home.  Once I got sub 10%, I could no longer hit 70 mph.  It was 65 mph, then it keeps dropping fast from there.  At say 6%, it won't hit 50 mph anymore.  By the time I got to my street, I was at 0% and it wouldn't go over 30 mph.

That's a weird thing to get used to with electric bikes.  Unlike gas bikes where the performance is consistent to the last drop of gas, the performance of an electric bike deteriorates as the charge goes down.  At 100% charge, the front wheel flies up on its own almost as it races up to 80mph.  Around 30%, 70 mph becomes the max speed.  At 7% charge, I can barely hit 40 mph and limp home.  All stuff I wish I would have known prior to buying a Zero and things to factor in on a ride. 

[Jarrett]

If you can recharge at work, 29 miles might be doable on the FX, otherwise its probably not the bike for the job.

It takes 10-11 hours to recharge from 0%.  If you could ride to work, plug it in and let it charge for 8+ hours, then ride it home, I think it could do this as long as you don't need to fly on the highway for very long.

Also, something else to consider, the bike goes into thermal protection mode if you hold it at or above 70 mph for over 2 miles or so.  Going into thermal protection mode is NOT fun on the highway as it cuts power drastically.  If you can get by holding 65 mph for your longest highway stretch, the FX should be fine.  It's got plenty of power to be on the highway, passing power and such, but it just doesn't like holding those higher speeds for very long.

The FX was not designed for and really doesn't like going highway speeds for any length of time.  It's a great stop sign to stop sign bike, but its not cut out for long highway miles.  The DS/DSR fits that function better, I hear.

I personally just put in an order for a DSR after three months owning the FX.  I really like the FX and just the feel of an electric ride, but don't like being limited to 40-60 miles for every single ride.  I ordered the DSR with Power Tank which will have 18.0 battery versus the 7.2 on the FX.  Granted, that much battery also makes the DSR weight 174 lbs. more than the FX, so its not going to be the light, flickable fun machine that the FX is.

My plan initially is to keep both, but if I can do everything I like to do on the FX on the DSR, then the FX might be up for sale in the fall.

[alko]

Nice to know you can still go a ways after it hits 0%. I'm not brave enough, don't feel like pushing the bike home. 😁

[Jarrett]

I've found the range estimator to be pretty accurate towards the end of the charge.

Multiple times now, I've gotten to 0% on a ride and then I start watching the range meter like a hawk.

I've rolled into the driveway after 2-3 miles on 0% and the range meter was at .4 miles remaining. 

I watch it much more closely than state of charge for estimating miles.  So far, it has not led me astray.   

Granted I better be on a 30 mph road once it gets under 9% as that's about as fast as its going to go the rest of the way home.

I'm really hoping the DSR+PT extends my riding range a noticeable amount.

[flattetyre]

the bike goes into thermal protection mode if you hold it at or above 70 mph for over 2 miles or so.

That may be the case on your old motor in hot weather but it is definitely NOT true for the newer FX with the IPM motor in general. You can sustain 70 on a newer FX until the battery gets too weak.

[Jarrett]

I have a 2019 and you are half right. 

I went and tested it. I got on the highway and put it in eco mode and held it wide open at 70 miles an hour for several miles. And it didn't overheat. Then I turned around to go back and realize that I had a 20 mile-an-hour Tailwind. As soon as I turned around and did the same thing going the other direction, it overheated in about two to three miles.

  I dropped it down to 60 miles an hour and let it cool off. The whole trip was 17 miles and I burned 47% of the charge in that time. I wonder if it could actually make 30 miles at 70 miles an hour or not.

[valnar]

All good info guys. thanks.  Makes me wonder if I should get a ICE motorcycle or scooter.  I'm not overly fond of clutches and manual transmissions.

[Jarrett]

I think I may have killed my FX in the name of science. 

I made that last post at a dinner stop.  On the way home, I thought I'd test it going 70 mph again but across the wind so it wouldn't be a head wind or tail wind.  I found a road and took off.  It took longer this time, but it over heated again.  But instead of slowing down, I just held it knowing that if it moved from the first stage of thermal protection to the second stage, it would slow me down anyway, but it never did. 

So, I just kept running 70 mph until I hit 28% and then it started slowing me down.  69, 68, 67 mph.  At that point, I turned off to go home.  Then it got really fun.  The charge started dropping really fast.  I got down to 0% really quickly, then the bike died while the range meter still showed 1.6 miles left.  And the check engine light came on. 

I turned it off and let it sit for a couple of minutes, then started it back up again.  To my surprise, it moved.  So I limped it home at 20 something mph as that is all it would go.  Engine light was on all the way home.  Rolled into the driveway with 0.3 miles left on range meter and turned it off.  Temp on the dash had cooled down to 172F. 

I went to plug it in and it would not charge.  Here is what it showed on the dash:



Here are the ride stats:

Distance: 34.31 mi
Time: 47:48
Avg Speed: 43.1 mph
Avg Air Temp: 87.8 °F
Max Speed: 71.0 mph
Battery Used: 97% (started with 97%)

This is what the speed profile looked like:



34 miles and it was done, really it died the first time at 33mph then limped the last mile, averaging 43 mph. 

Hoping it cools down and charges up, I've got a ride in the morning.

[Jarrett]

All good info guys. thanks.  Makes me wonder if I should get a ICE motorcycle or scooter.  I'm not overly fond of clutches and manual transmissions.

Check out the Honda DCT bikes if you haven't already.  NC700X, NC750X, Africa Twin, VFR1200X, Gold Wing, etc.

ICE bikes that are automatic, no clutch lever, no shifting, unless you want to.  I have three of them. 

My Africa Twin is for sale (to partially fund a DSR purchase) if you want it

[Jarrett]

It finally cooled down enough to start charging.  Hoping all is well in the morning.

Moral of the story, don't try to make an FX into a highway bike.  It don't like it.

[valnar]

Check out the Honda DCT bikes if you haven't already.  NC700X, NC750X, Africa Twin, VFR1200X, Gold Wing, etc.

Yep, I've been watching the NC700X for a while.  So many choices.  I like light and nimble, so it's not first on the list, but it's there.

[Jarrett]

Yeah, I know what you mean.  I was content with my DCT bikes until I made a mistake and went and test rode a Zero...  Now I've got the electric affliction.  Already bought an FX and selling my once previously beloved DCT Africa Twin to fund the purchase of a second Zero, a DSR + Power Tank.

There are definitely pluses and minuses to both DCT and Zero bikes.  The DCT's are heavier, less nimble, more sluggish, less smooth, much louder and hotter when riding them, but they can go for miles and miles as long as there is a gas station and they don't lose power as the fuel drops and they never go into thermal protection mode nor refuse to be refueled because the gas tank got too hot.  They both have their compromises.

I personally like long rides in rural areas and the Zeros are not equipped for that.  Last weekend, I went and did a 261 mile ride out in the boonies on my DCT VFR1200X.  I filled up before I started, stopped once along the way and refilled in 5 minutes, otherwise didn't even look at my gas gauge.  With my FX, I'm constantly looking at how much battery I have left and if I need to turn around.  Sometimes, that is fun from a challenge perspective, but most of the time its a bother.

I'm looking forward to the day that a Zero can go 300 miles on a charge.  Or that recharging stations are everywhere and can be done in 5 minutes.  Once that happens, I'll be happy to dump the DCT bikes.  Until then, there will always be one (probably the VFR1200X) in the garage.

[Jarrett]

Update on the FX, all seems well.  It was at 87% charge when I went out and checked it a bit ago.

I'm glad it cooled down and charged up.  I need it at 100% this morning as I have a ride with friends in a couple hours.

I'm hoping the DSR+PT will allow me to ride more in the fashion of how I like to ride without going into thermal protection mode so frequently.

[valnar]

Well this thread has morphed, but it's my thread so I'm allowed.. 

I started a new one over here which prompted this calculator thread in the first place.  C'mon over!
https://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=9030.0