ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ => Topic started by: krash7172 on May 25, 2014, 06:01:16 AM
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Just finished a 148 mile round trip ride to my nearest dealer to pickup my SR. It rained for the majority of the ride but I couldn't wait to get it. My wife and I rode 74 miles on my 1991 Honda VFR and then we swapped a couple times on the way back. It was amusing that the only stop we had to make was at a gas station for the Honda. The majority of the miles were 50-75 mph and I got off the highway about 5 miles short to make sure I made it (11.4, no power tank). Roads were dry near home like a little gift from the gods to let me feel some torque and arrive home with 2% battery and a smile :)
I got the seat cowl and DS windscreen. Windscreen was VERY welcome in the rain. I'm not sure if they have changed the design, but this one is adjustable on the fly. At least that's how the dealer installed it. There are set screws to lock it in position but the dealer only tightened them enough to stay in place. I pushed it down low for a nice look. When we got in the rain, I pushed it up and tucked in behind. Worked great. I have the high torque sprocket but haven't installed it yet. I also have a rear fender kit on order. I'll post pics when installed.
As far as my initial feelings about the SR in general, I really like it. No regrets. I'm not a pro and there are many online so I'm not going to try to do a review. I figure 74 (mostly highway) miles in the rain pushes the envelope for what this bike can do and it did just fine. 'Nough said. Now for the pics. Yes, my new bike is very dirty. This is real life, not glamor shots. I did wipe off the seat cowl :)
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Congrats! Nice work making it home... when I picked up my new '12 DS ZF6 2 1/2 years ago, it made it about 32 of the 35 miles from the dealer, and I got to experience pushing it [in the rain] the last three miles.
That's much of why I ordered the power tank for my new SR yesterday! :P [Even though my "new 'local'" dealer is "only" 50 miles away].
Enjoy it!!!
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Mine was way dirtier on my first spring ride, it was all covered with mud and me too :)
Have fun on your next ride without worrying about range! What is great about those electric bikes is that you can always run with maximum throttle and nobody will be bothered and the bike has no problem doing it all the time hehe
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Congrats on the new bike!
I too, rode my new bike (2012 ZF9) home in the rain. I couldn't quite make it the 65 miles home from the dealership, but luckily my friend lives halfway between the dealership and my house - I stopped and charged for an hour or so before finishing the ride home.
My dealership no longer sells Zeros, so next time I'll be riding home from Mission Motors in Daly City - a 100 mile ride. Guess I'll have to order mine with the 'Power Tank' ;-)
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Congratulations, and I also rode my 2012 ZF9 home in the rain the first day. Strange that so many of us just couldn't wait for better weather to pick up our new obsession/toy/electric motorcycle! :-)
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Congratulations! Enjoy your new vehicle. I bought my "S" 3 weeks ago and rode home in rain as well.
Not sure if you have already done so, but do register your location on this web-site http://www.evfr.net (http://www.evfr.net). You never know, you might find out that a neighbor down the street has one of these and you just did not know about it because you never heard it!
Congratulations again!
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This thread should have been titled "Who rides in the rain"
I got the windscreen properly mounted today. Looks good and fits within the profile of the mirrors. Rode about 20 miles and had some fun.
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What is great about those electric bikes is that you can always run with maximum throttle and nobody will be bothered and the bike has no problem doing it all the time hehe
Oh so true :)
In fact, I'd go so far as to say the following:
1) Full throttle on a gas bike and everyone around is annoyed at you
2) Full throttle on a Zero and everyone around is immediately curious about what just happened and why there was no sound.
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This is hilarious. I rode mine home from the dealer in the rain as well. I only had about 14 miles from Downtown Austin to my home, but it was still plenty wet.
Thanks, Krash, for the DS screen pics. I'm sold on it, will be ordering one for my S shortly.
Nice Viffer, BTW. I had an '87 that I rode the hell out of including a tour from Denver to Lake Powell and back - the long way, of course. I now have a '97 Magna that for some reason hasn't been ridden much the last few weeks. Started right around that rainy day I picked up my Zero... :D
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Update! I've done some work on my Zero. I hope you guys like it. I'm waiting on a couple items but I am excited.
*** These mods may not be street legal where you live ***
Work so far:
DS Windscreen
Seat Cowl
Removed all decals
Removed all reflectors
Removed passenger pegs
Waiting on:
Rear fender kit
Custom decals
The guy who custom designed my decals mocked up my SR with the new decals and fender kit. It will be a few weeks before I get it done so here is his mockup. Comments welcome, good or bad! I think it really looks like a bike that can to 0-60 in 3.3 seconds. Rear view of passenger pegs removed too.
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I don't like the font. I'd go for something more modern. This reminds me of an Indian Hero 100cc scooter.
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I am not sure about the decals myself. I was initially happy just to see something black and different than the badges it came with. Something I have found to be very amusing is the difference in reaction from people with the lack of badges when they ask what I am riding. My response "It's a new Zero electric bike" was fine when the word Zero was on it. Now, I get a look of total confusion. It's really funny.
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My first real "get to know ya" ride today. 75 miles alone, just me and the bike with a couple of hours to kill. I stopped in a town where there are many motorcyclists to get a bottle of water. I got some strange looks from a few guys on Harleys. I walked over to talk to a guy who was gassing up a Harley just like mine and we chatted for a bit. He asked if I was riding and I said I'm on an electric bike and pointed to it. That was pretty much the end of the conversation as he really didn't know what to say. Hah.
An idiot in front of me was in the right hand turn lane and decided that they needed to turn left. It was a 45 mph 3 lane road + 2 turn lanes. If I was in a car, there probably would have been an accident. Be safe everyone...
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I settled on a decal design. Kept the standard Zero font and went stylized with the SR. Black vinyl. Still waiting on fender kit...
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After you took off the passenger pegs how did you reattach the brake fluid reservoir? A clamp around the bottle then attached to the top passenger peg hole or use the existing clamp arrangement in some way?
Thanks,
Dave
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Is the rear seat cowl / cover standard or an accessory?
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+ Seat cowl is an accessory.
+ I cut the right side foot peg with a saw and painted the cut piece black.
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Charging at a LEED Platinum station in the Midwest...
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Have you noticed significant range increase with the windscreen?
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It was installed by the dealer before I took delivery so I can't make a comparison. I can say that the wind does not hit my chest like my bikes without a screen. It's very comfortable. I do believe that with a full helmet and tucked in behind the screen, I get better highway efficiency than a vertical position.
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R&G fender kit installed
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That is a nice modification, Krash. The bike looks a lot better without the weird license plate holder projection over the wheel that doesn't even act as much of a fender. ???
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Richard is 100% right, your bike looks great with the mods, let us know how it does in the rain with the new tail. thanks
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Yeah, I put the R&G tail tidy / fender kit on my 2013 Zero-S the other month and I'm really happy with the result (as is my wife, who thought the rear of the bike was ugly before)
The Tail tidy is a good mod for the Zero-S(R) models.
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Man, you guys are ALMOST making me regret San Diego weather. (Almost!) It was bright and shiny the day I got my SR.
Personally I like the font you chose, and the look of the graphics overall. I really don't care for the color of my bike (I think because I got an early one, the color may not be the same as the later ones), so I may wait until I repaint it to do any graphics, but I'll look seriously at yours when/if I decide to do some graphics.
I really don't like the design of the tail end of the bike either, but my issue is that it's too sparse -- it looks like a dirt bike with such a big gap between the wheel and the fender. I think it would look better with the saddlebags, but I prefer the trunk for aerodynamics, so that's how I went. Honestly, the rack and trunk themselves look fine, but they may have even made the rear end look worse, kinda emphasizing the empty space under the fender. And if I lost the passenger pegs, I couldn't give my g/f rides any more. I'd never hear the end of that!
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Richard is 100% right, your bike looks great with the mods, let us know how it does in the rain with the new tail. thanks
Got into some rain on Saturday and it was pretty messy but really not much worse than factory. It would be very easy to make a piece that extended down a bit from the license plate. I'll give it a go just out of curiosity. I personally wouldn't sacrifice looks for the few times I ride in the rain but it might be something you could use only when needed.
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Flat piece of cardboard as a mockup.
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Image in the last post was a bit excessive. I trimmed the rain flap smaller to what I think would be appropriate and painted it black. I think the R&G kit has a good angle for mounting a simple flat plastic piece that would work.
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Hey krash, what do you think of a splash guard wrapped to the tire?
(http://p1.bikepics.com/2013%5C11%5C01%5Cbikepics-2611936-800.jpg)
I personally just wish the tire hugger was extended further because my heat sink and shock are always covered in road grime.
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That's interesting. I am a fan of huggers also.
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My 1997 BMW Funduro had one of those splash guards. Most owners didn't care for their looks and removed them. They were given the nickname "possum scrapers" on the Chain Gang forum. ;D
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My 1997 BMW Funduro had one of those splash guards. Most owners didn't care for their looks and removed them. They were given the nickname "possum scrapers" on the Chain Gang forum. ;D
Since I drive my motorcycles in the rain (And on semi muddy streets), I've noticed how effective the "possum scrapers" are, so I definately leave them on, when I buy a bike with them.
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No doubt possum scrapers (:))) and huggers work. I was thinking of a simple flap that would cost pennies and work with the R&G kit to install in less than a minute if I knew I was going to encounter rain. I don't ride much in the rain.
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Not to bump an old thread but I finally completed my planned mods.
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3755.0 (http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3755.0)
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Looks great Krash but you know you have to have more pics, Side, rear, full front. But it looks awesome :-)
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Thanks. I posted pics along the way but you are right. I'll make a summary post with final pics.
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Finally got an opportunity to get the SR out and took some pics from several angles.
Mods:
DS Windscreen
Seat Cowl
Removed all decals
Removed all reflectors
Removed passenger pegs
Rear fender kit
Custom decals
Custom tank lid
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more pics
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last ones
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Tank lid looks great. Is it hinged? It doesn't look lockable but neither is the original and yours looks 100x better. I am already looking to change mine into something nicer looking and easier to open. This is one detail that Zero could have done better. Did you make yours yourself? Also I have found that short windshields help in the chest area but direct more air towards the helmet. Do you get much buffeting with yours?
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Great job Krash, it looks awesome. 8)
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It isn't hinged but it is secured with the factory lock. I made it out of sheet metal and had it wrapped in carbon fiber.
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3755.0 (http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3755.0)
I haven't noticed any negative effects from the windscreen but most of my riding has been on bikes with a screen. I mounted mine pretty low for appearance. I'm fairly short so I can still get down behind it on the highway.
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Someone from the Zero factory rode an SR up to Alice's Restaurant today, all decked out in Christmas cheer. :)
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Someone from the Zero factory rode an SR up to Alice's Restaurant today, all decked out in Christmas cheer. :)
That was probably John Logan, an incredibly friendly and knowledgeable tech at Zero. He told me that he tells people that the SR stands for "Santa's ride". I think he's in charge of the West Coast. He helped me with a minor glitch in my dashboard lights and he could not have been nicer or more accomodating. There are some very good people at Zero.