ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: benswing on June 09, 2015, 11:09:29 PM
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Iiiiiiiit's that time again! Time for a summer road trip!!! Here are my plans, and if you can provide a place to sleep I'm still looking for a place to stay in Roanoke, Natchez & Tupelo. Or if you live between two of these places and want to meet up for an hour while I charge, that would be amazing!
I plan to post updates to the site www.InsideEVs.com (http://www.InsideEVs.com), so you can follow my progress and updates there. If you have any questions that you find interesting, feel free to post and I'll try to address them in a video or a post.
June 12-13 - Centreville, VA
June 14 - Roanoke, VA
June 15-16 - Ashevilla ,NC
June 17 - Charleston, SC
June 18-19 - Titusville, FL
June 20 - Tallahassee, FL
June 21-22 - Zachary, LA
June 23 - Houston, TX
June 24-25 - San Antonio, TX
June 26 - Houston, TX
June 27 - Natchez, MS
June 28 - Tupelo, MS
June 29-30 - Nashville, TN
July 1-2 - Columbus, OH
July 3-4 - Cleveland, OH
July 5 - Home, sweet home!
July 6-10 - Watertown, CT
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Let me know when you're coming through Nashville, will be fun to see you again : )
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Where is there a place to charge in Centreville VA? Or is this your stopping point for the day?
What is your charging array looking like ;)
From my estimates you will spend a little over 8 hours between charging and riding if your goal is 250 miles a day and your charging array is at least 5500 watts. (see attached)
Hours for range is hours of riding. For reference the streamlined ratio is set to 1.5 and from what I have been told this is about what you would get with just the front cowl of Vetters system on.
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Centreville is where my friend lives, but it happens to be where a Trader Joe's has a J-plug and a CHAdeMO. It is off of route 29 just north of 66. Can you get up here at some point on June 13?
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this is about what you would get with just the front cowl of Vetters system on.
Are you running a vetter fairing, benswing?
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Yup I can be there the 13th, I live about an hour from ther and know where you are talking about. Didn't realize they had chargers there >_<
Most likely because I filter out networks I don't belong to or stations which have a fee.
Are you running a vetter fairing, benswing?
I stated the ratio as there are two tables on my image, one is for a stock bike, the other for a streamlined bike. But the latter is pointless less you know the ratio and scenario I set it up for.
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IT'S GETTING REAL!!!
Bike is prepped and ready to go! Packing now and getting pumped for my electric motorcycle road trip 2015!!!
Follo me on InsideEVs for (almost) daily updates and there will be an article on www.GreenCarReports.com (http://www.GreenCarReports.com) on Friday, June 12th about this journey.
Looking forward to seeing some of you along the way!
Protomech, I don't have a Vetter Fairing (yet) this summer. That will probably happen next year. I'm still traveling without much aftermarket stuff. Just a couple of Elcons and a Nema 14-50 to J1772 adapter. All things anyone can buy and plug in.
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It's ON!!!
InsideEVs will follow the trip with daily updates: http://insideevs.com/5000-mile-road-trip-zero-sr-electric-motorcycle-begins/
Green Car Reports coverage: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098657_electric-motorcycle-ride-from-mexico-to-canada-my-summer-road-trip
See you on the road!
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Day 2: Charging
http://insideevs.com/three-country-tour-electric-motorcycle-charging/ (http://insideevs.com/three-country-tour-electric-motorcycle-charging/)
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Hey Ben, great trip reports, this just goes to show that onboard charging is very important to get the electric motorcycle more mainstream, j1772 with 6kWh is a great way to travel, if this was standard (no disrespect intended) you're trips would be less of a feat ! Keep up the great work!
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Thanks, Ndm!
In today's update our friend Burton makes an appearance with his awesome bike!
http://insideevs.com/three-country-tour-electric-motorcycle-frankenbike/
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Ndm,
Having L2 charging on your Zero is only part of what it takes to do trips like Ben is doing. There is a lot of planning that goes into trips like this. Plugshare is really good at showing you where charging stations are at. But if there is one you need to charge at and no one has signed into that one in two years you are taking the risk that it may not work. If there are no other charging stations around that leaves you looking for a 110 outlet to plug into and your charging time just went from 2 hours to 10. Or maybe the Nissan dealer you needed to charge at suddenly decides that if you aren't one of their customers you can't charge there. And in some areas like eastern NC Nissan dealers are your only option. Or maybe someone is using it while they are at work and you are going to wait they are out of work before you can charge.
Until infrastructure improves trips like what Ben is doing are only for the adventurous types. In and around population centers there are often many charging options. But once you get out on the open road they become far fewer.
At least Ben's trip is far more interesting than reading about another Tesla owner who is hopping from one supercharger to another. (Yawn)
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I never meant to imply that it was an easy task, I've done trips in my imiev(always carrying my Honda generator as a backup!) Until qcdc is as common as gas stations it will always be an adventure!ride on Ben
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I just caught up on the videos, and appreciate the planning and contingency discussions. Keep it up!
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Made it to Mexico!!! Soon it will be time to ride the Matchez Trace then up to Canada!
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Fun roadtrip. :)
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Well done! I like that RV parks are helping out pretty consistently.
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It's too bad about per connection charges for ChargePoint. I'm speculating that with an 11.4 battery, one ought to make frequent charge stops to keep the forced breaks short, and a $2 overhead would be annoying.
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The per connection charges are very rare, and I think they are more designed to deter people from opportunity charging without going into the business (here, a movie theater).
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I went to Mexico!!!
http://insideevs.com/three-country-tour-electric-motorcycle-mexico/
You're up, Terry. Thomas Tomczyk and I have officially crossed the border, come on down. (Just don't do it at the border of Texas...)
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Just watched your latest video Ben, great as usual. Where do you get your information on RV parks in the area where you are traveling?
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I use the RV Parky app. It's great! The best part about it is that you can sort by 50Amp connection, so I just use that setting and it speeds up my search. You can search for a variety of other factors too, but 50Amp is what I need.
I kinda wish plugshare would be better about identifying the type of charger since that matters to me. I can't use GE Wattstations and prefer not to use Eatons or Blink. They have a way to sort those, but it isn't effective yet.
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Thanks for the suggestion, I just downloaded it on my Android, looks good. I can't seem to get it to stop showing me Walmart locations on the map though, must be an advertising tie-in :/
Your experiences with campground charging got me thinking about all our publicly owned and operated Provincial Parks (http://www.ontarioparks.com/) here in Ontario, many of which have 30 or 50 amp RV sites. I looked around their website for an official policy on EV charging, only to find out they don't have one. I contacted them via Twitter and was at first told charging would only be possible if renting the site for the full night ($40+), then they said contact the individual park. My experience has been the park staff are mostly summer students who don't want to risk getting in trouble. In absence of an official policy, the answer will likely be a big fat no.
This seems a bit out of line with our Province's support for EVs (http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/vehicles/electric/index.shtml) via rebate and HOV lane access (sadly neither are available for electric motorcycles). Clearly there is a need for consistent and fair policy.
Just wondering Ben have you tried charging at any State or Federal campgrounds or do you mainly stick to private ones? What about chains like KOA?
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I kinda wish plugshare would be better about identifying the type of charger since that matters to me. I can't use GE Wattstations and prefer not to use Eatons or Blink. They have a way to sort those, but it isn't effective yet.
I agree. Plugshare is in dire need of a major update. If they'd just list the current available I'd be a much happier camper.
But tell us about your experience, Ben. Why not GE, and why do you prefer not to use Eaton or Blink stations? Inadequate current? I'm working on a 6kW J1772 homebrew solution and I'm probably going to require about 35A service...it concerns me a bit that that might be a problem with a large number of stations.
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Doug S,
GE Wattstations require communications with the BMS before they will deliver power. Obviously there is no capability to do that with Elcons and the internal charger. I tried charging at a PEP station one day and couldn't and I think it may be the same reason. There are some Eatons that are not going to allow you to charge at 6300 watts, meaning two Elcons and the internal charger. You may have to drop down to 5000 watts. The Blink network is by far the worst. Have had Blink systems that I could only charge at 3800 watts.
If you go with a single 6KW charger you will not be able to charge at any Blink system. Blink has to upgrade their power cords before they can return their chargers back to full power. There are some Eatons that will work fine with your charger and others will not work. Basically you will just keep tripping the circuit breaker. Trial and error is the only way you will find out which ones will work. I realize there are benefits to going to the kind of system you are putting together but I would personally not go with that kind of system unless you could dial down the power level you are going to charge at. Better to charge at 3800 or 5000 watts than to not be able to charge at all.
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Nice to see the US charging situation is as good as the one here in the UK (though our problem is stations that simply refuse to work)
Is'nt being an early adopter fun? *wheee* ;)
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pluto - talk with the individual camp sites. I talk about this around the 3:30 mark in my 2015 Road trip - Tupelo video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATpu7YeX4Vg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATpu7YeX4Vg)
Doug S - ultrarnr has the correct info, too. GE Wattstations need to communicate and my chargers are dummy chargers. Although they work with other GE charging stations, just not the WattStations. Also, Blink and some Eaton chargers can not handle the full current so they stop charging due to fault.
It's very rare that a charger doesn't work. It's only GE Wattstations and PEP stations. Everywhere else has been fine.
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Here is the story of my ride up the Natchez trace parkway to Nashville. Had a great ride, met an incredible old timer who rebuilt two electric vehicles, and went riding with Protomech. There is also video of my adventures.
http://insideevs.com/three-country-tour-electric-motorcycle-nashville/
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That is a great story, Benswing. I am looking forward to more episodes. That was a good deal at the state park. In CA the parks typically charge $10 for day use and very few parks that I have visited have any electricity available to the public, much less 220V. On the other hand, that does seem to keep the RV AC noise down during the evening.
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Hope you made out of tn before the weather got to bad, my cousin said it is tough there now,
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TN has been alternating pretty fast between drizzly, stormy, and pretty and clear for the past two days.
Great to see you, Ben.. come back to Nashville anytime!
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Got caught in the rain which caused some issues. You'll see it in tomorrow's story...
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Skipped one on this forum... Oops.
Getting to Cleveland was fun and easy but there was a big SNAFU waiting for me, check out the story here.
http://insideevs.com/three-country-tour-electric-motorcycle-cleveland/
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"They said the owner charges people $10 to charge there if they didn’t get their vehicle from that dealership"
Nice. So what was the name of the dealership that was such a bag of dicks?
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"They said the owner charges people $10 to charge there if they didn’t get their vehicle from that dealership"
Nice. So what was the name of the dealership that was such a bag of dicks?
Nissan of Mansfield in Mansfield Ohio between Columbus and Cleveland. I'm planning on posting thank you notes on dealers Facebook pages with links to articles/videos. These guys will get a modified thank you.
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The three country tour on an electric motorcycle continues! I rode 475 miles across PA to get back to NJ for the night, and here is the story of that leg of the journey. I still have to get to Canada this weekend, but that won't be as challenging as this day was!
http://insideevs.com/three-country-tour-electric-motorcycle-new-jersey/ (http://insideevs.com/three-country-tour-electric-motorcycle-new-jersey/)
Here is a direct link to the video on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SeBdni9W6g (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SeBdni9W6g)
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Too bad you are sticking to the interstate, you skipped past some pretty amazing riding through Central PA there.
PS the link doesn't work but I found the article by going to the InsideEVs home page.
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I'm planning to ride some of the PA roads later this summer, but that day I just had to get to my destination. I have a schedule to keep and so far have been able to keep up with it!
Thanks for the tip about the link to the article not working, fixed it.
Cheers!
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Did you manage to fix the inlet on your bike?
Any idea what caused it?
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Did you manage to fix the inlet on your bike?
Any idea what caused it?
The connection to my onboard charger is still broken, but it works. One of the connection pins comes out with the cord. I just need it to work until next week when the part comes in from Zero. It will make the trip to Canada a little more exciting than I would like, but won't stop me.
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I plan to be at the Montreal Science Centre from 5-7pm on Saturday.
I'll be finishing up my Three Country Tour there and hope to see some electric vehicle riders to hang out with at the end of my journey.
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On the topic of how to handle charging sessions, maybe a little foldable transportation like a Razor scooter or folding bike would help getting a medium distance away from your charger and back. Just a thought.
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Made it to Montreal!!! Thank you RickXB for having dinner with me, the poutine was very good! It was a short, btu very fun visit. I went swing dancing in the park, had dinner with Rick and his wife, then got to spend quality time with a friend.
Full story to follow, right now I'm charging in Plattsburgh ahead of an103 mile stretch to Lake George.
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On my way home today. What an incredible month it has been!
Will write up the Canada journey soon and then it's back to real life again... until the Alt Energy Summit on July 25th in NH!
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It puts my 240 mile round trip to shame for certain... :)
Congrats Ben, both yourself and Terry have been a massive inspiration for myself.
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I always love seeing ride reports from people other than Terry or me. Great to see people pushing the technology to its limits and beyond!
I'm looking forward to the day when your 240 mile ride, or the 300 mile ride I did yesterday, becomes normal. That's why I do what I do!
Ride on!
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It puts my 240 mile round trip to shame for certain... :)
Congrats Ben, both yourself and Terry have been a massive inspiration for myself.
A hearty second to that! As a matter of fact it inspired me to take the journey from Orlando to Tampa to the first place I did an e-bike test ride.
Murphy was riding along. Everything that could go wrong, did. I destroyed an Elcon charger, a helmet, and almost one of those phone external batteries. I got lost on the way home (dead GPS) and made it in with 0% charge and 4.4 miles range left. Ah well. No more long trips for me.
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The final update!!!
The long journey home was quite a ride. Starting in Montreal, continuing through the Adirondacks and past the Catskills I had a great ride all the way home. Had a little adventure getting to Lake George, met a fascinating character south of Albany, and visited Nauna's Bella Casa just before arriving home for my final stop in my 3 country tour.
Thanks to everyone who gave me a place to stay, a place to charge, met up with me along the way, who followed my journey, and commented on the articles or videos. It's great being part of such a dynamic community! Also big Thanks to Chris Neff for formatting and posting all these stories on InsideEvs.com.
http://insideevs.com/three-country-tour-electric-motorcycle-returning-home/ (http://insideevs.com/three-country-tour-electric-motorcycle-returning-home/)
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You've committed alcohol crime...! The horror of it.
I'd set you a penance Ben, but losing that bottle appears to already be punishment.
Glad you made the run safely though. Interesting seeing the US style of charge stations on your trip.
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I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your stories and watching your videos. If you ever try a East-West trip, come and visit in Vancouver, BC!
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I would love to go to Vancouver. Almost went to Colorado and Utah this year, but settled on Mexico->Canada instead. More time with friends was the clincher.
By the way, if anyone in Canada sends me a bottle of Sortilege 7-year Prestige Maple Whiskey I will pay you back with interest! If multiple people do it, I will invite you all to the party! I can't find it in the USA and am legitimately sad that it didn't make it to my tumbler.
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Welcome home Benswing! It was real fun to follow you while you where on the road, you are truly pulling the cart for EV bikes.
Too bad you lost your bottle but it gives you a good excuse to hop over the border again soon.
Now let's see what Zero has to say about your charging port.
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On it Ben! send me your addresse , I will take care of it today! Any other special request? Glad you make it home.
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Welcome home Benswing! It was real fun to follow you while you where on the road, you are truly pulling the cart for EV bikes.
Too bad you lost your bottle but it gives you a good excuse to hop over the border again soon.
Now let's see what Zero has to say about your charging port.
Thanks, Erasmo! I has been both an exhilarating and exhausting journey.
I actually called my dealer while on the road and they ordered the part from zero. Instead of only replacing the receptacle, they are going to replace the entire unit under warranty, which apparently is an involved process.
Hopefully they can do it in one day, but I may need to leave my bike at the shop overnight. We'll see.
It seems the outlet can't take the higher power of the 1.3kW charger, so it arcs sometimes if you plug the cord into the wall first, then plug it into the bike. Now I always plug into the bike first, then into the wall.
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Ah, yes, I've often heard the unmistakable sound of arcing when plugging in the bike. So much so that my SOP is to plug the bike into a socket which has a power switch, and only flip the switch to the on position once everything is plugged in safely.
I'd imagine however that the lower amp draw on UK 240v supplies is also kinder to the IEC connector on the bike.