ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2012 and older => Topic started by: oobflyer on May 01, 2012, 12:06:24 AM
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I just got my bike (2012 ZF9) back from the shop - while they were updating the software to address the throttle-glitch problem they did some diagnostics and found that the "Main Bike Board" was bad.
When I rode the 62 miles home from the shop I found that my range had improved by about 25-30%!
Clearly this board was bad the day I got the bike - the most miles/bar that I've seen in the 2,000 miles that I ridden it was just over six. Now I'm seeing eight miles/bar at 45 MPH - a vast improvement.
I'll be watching and reporting the range I'm now getting, as I ride - today I rode the 22 miles to work and only burned through 4.5 bars at 70 MPH. That extrapolates to about 54 miles! Stay tuned....
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Wow, that's a nice improvement.
I get about 7 miles/bar at 45 mph. Probably within margin of error, but 25-30% worse would be .. bad : /
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Glad you got it fixed. Makes one wonder what functions the main bike board is responsible for (beyond driving the dashboard and maybe contactor operation).
On a related topic: has anyone found out when the glitch got fixed in production models? I took delivery about 3 weeks ago and was just wondering if I might see it in the future.
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This is quite interesting...the range seems to change a bit from one to another...the max. miles I got on my ZF9 is 10 miles/bar at 50mph...
I'm gald you got it fixed oobflyer ;)
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On a related topic: has anyone found out when the glitch got fixed in production models? I took delivery about 3 weeks ago and was just wondering if I might see it in the future.
Well, I took delivery a little over 2 weeks ago and had the glitch occur to me. I'd assume your bike is vulnerable so get it back to the dealer for an upgrade.
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the max. miles I got on my ZF9 is 10 miles/bar at 50mph...
That's simply amazing Lipo - then you could potentially ride 110 miles at 50 MPH. Are you always riding downhill? ;)
CliC - I asked the folks at the local dealership if the board had to do with the motor controller or the BMS... they had no idea.
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I seem to be getting about 7.5 miles every bar at an average speed of about 40 mph. But then I go up and down hills a lot.
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You are right, a lot of times I do ride downhill ;)
Today for example while riding the first bar dissapeared after 5 miles (uphill), but took me almost 19 to get rid of the 2nd one!! (downhill)...
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Using a KilloWat meter and Accufuel iPhone app it seems I'm getting rough 'fuel economy' of 7KWh/100km... based on the first 280km since new... That's a mix of city and highway, but mostly in sport mode and relatively spirited riding.
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blake, nice way of looking at it !
using the "fuel" app to get kW consumption readings.
I just ride and charge :) mind you with a timer to charge at lowest off peak rates.
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I'm at 8.1 kWh / 100 km, based on 2600 km.
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I was at Sear's Point this last weekend and I got some inside "scoop" about the "main bike board". What I learned was that some of the ZF9's were accidentally shipped with a "main bike board" that was intended for a ZF6. So, when my gauge showed empty - I really had another 30% of energy available, but didn't know it.
If you are getting less than 5 or 6 miles per bar you might have the same problem. Now I'm getting over 5 miles per bar at 60 MPH, which extrapolates to at least 66 miles per charge, on the freeway. Not bad at all.
I even quit charging at work, since I still have 7 bars on the gauge, after riding 22 miles one way.
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That should also show up on the charging energy used. Eg recharge 5 bars, on a ZF9 you should expect to see energy around (7.9 kWh * 5 / 11) / 0.93 = 3.86 kWh. 5 bars for a ZF6 should show energy around (5.3 kWh * 5 / 11) / 0.93 = 2.59 kWh.
Did that match your observations before the mainboard repair oobflyer?
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I just returned from a 71 mile ride through the Santa Cruz mountains and back up along the coast. I used 8 bars during the ride. :)
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I just returned from a 71 mile ride through the Santa Cruz mountains and back up along the coast. I used 8 bars during the ride. :)
Very cool! I've been wondering if I'd be able to do the same (SSF based) if I went with the Zero. What was the route? I'd love to be able to do:
280 -> 92 -> skyline -> 9 -> SCruz -> 1 -> [84 or Tunitas Creek or 92] -> skyline -> 92 -> 280 back to SSF
but that would require at least 1 significant recharge along the way (as in probably SCruz) with the mileage you just quoted, plus maybe a top off at Alice's coming and/or going just to be safe. This route, when done the other way around (counter-clockwise) as a big circle from Alice's back to Alice's using the Tunitas Creek option used to be known among my circle of recreational riders as "the 100 mile classic". Now, if there was a quick charging possibility at Alice's, I'd probably be confident that I could achieve this sometime in the next year or two. I know you've found a single outlet there for topping off, but I'm guessing that one dual outlet can't be used to run a double charger (built-in plus one accessory quick charger)?
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Protomech - I haven't been using the Kill-O-Watt meter recently - I only used it initially to see how much current I was drawing with each charger. So, I don't have before and after data to compare.
Richard - Sounds like a sweet ride - what would you say was your average speed?
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I would say that my average speed was about 40 mph, although I was riding at 60 mph most of the way up the coast and against a bit of a headwind.
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Here are a few more comments about my 71-mile ride. Last night my bike required 7.5 hours to recharge the battery pack and used 6.70 kWh of power to do so. To conserve power on my ride yesterday I rode slowly up a relatively steep 16 foot-wide road to get to the top of the mountain ridge and then rode down an even narrower and steeper 12-foot wide road in "eco" mode to return to the coast highway, passing a lot of bicycles along the way. Where possible, I paralleled the highway along farm back roads, just taking my time and enjoying the nice weather and ranch views. Plus, the weather was a pleasant 75 degrees and that probably helped the battery performance.
The secret to extending your riding range is to just take your time and enjoy the ride. :)
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Yeah. Back roads are basically a free range extender.. plus they're more fun to ride along.
My longest day looks something like this, roughly 70 miles total:
0530 - 0630 20 mile round trip, early run with a friend
0630 - 0830 prep for work, etc
0830 - 1830 12 miles to work, sometimes go out for lunch or errands. No charging at work unfortunately.
1830 - 1900 18 miles to friend's house
1900 - 2230 TV with friends (Game of Thrones and Dr. Who presently :)
2230 - 2300 20 miles to home
I have three options if I have unexpected errands or can't charge in the morning, in order of descending preference:
1. Take a slower route. My normal route is 45+ mph roads .. and sometimes I ride a bit faster. There's only maybe 10 miles of that 70 where I have to stay on 50+ mph roadways.
2. Recharge at my friend's place. I typically see 8 miles per bar on the ride home, and I charge at 1.1 bars/hour. 3.5 hours of charging gets me 31 miles of charge, so getting home should never be a problem.
3. Go back home between work and TV with friends and pick up a gas vehicle. Doubt I'll need to do this very often, maybe once a year.
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I rode 54 miles on 9 bars today, at speeds between 35 and 50 MPH. This comes out to exactly 6 miles per bar, for a potential of 66 miles/charge. Not bad.
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