ElectricMotorcycleForum.com

I was holding off to see the 2016 specs...

So, let me get this straight. The main batter got almost unnoticeable larger, but now costs $3000.

I can pay extra for a tank accessory to charge better, but then I have two on-board chargers on a very space-limited vehicle that technically doesn't need either of them because the motor controller's regen circuit could be used... and if I do that, I lose the option to pay extra for more battery... Golly, if only I could find a way to give Zero more money for another bad idea...

Oh, and that tank accessory won't even be available until March? And it'll be incompetent stealership-installed? It's like they're allergic to learning...

In March, Tesla announces and begins taking deposits for the Model 3. For the price, it'll be a much, much better deal for the money than the Zero S. Yeah, the Tesla will cost more, but I'll also get a heckuva lot more for it...

Sorry Zero, you really got it all upside-down and backwards, while also costing way more money than it's worth even when compared to a notoriously expensive luxury car company! They have batteries 6x larger that charge in an hour!

I guess the money I was saving for a Zero will be spent on the Tesla instead. By the time it actually ships, I'll be able to buy it outright with cash. I'll just keep riding my busted bobber rat bike until then...

Amperage kills. Voltage does nothing. I've had over 50,000 V applied to me, pass through me, and exit; at under 1 microamp. Only made my hair stand up.

Secondly, Amperage experiences resistance loss, Voltage does not. High Voltage == more efficient. Even those with the most remedial grasp of electronics knows this.

Ohm's Law explains both, and it's first-year, first-week material. T disagree with this fundamental reality out loud is to remove one's self from the real of being taken seriously.

All the Zero S really needs is a charger that doesn't suck. Why they haven't designed the motor controller to double as such is a bit confusing... It regen brakes, doesn't it? Most of the work is already done. No need for two separate pieces of hardware. DCQC is entirely off board anyway, and they had to ditch it because CHADEMO standards aren't standards...

They should talk to Tesla. See if the Superchargers can be asked pump lower voltage. Or just get with reality and use higher voltage in the Zero. Even in DIY electrics, we know this talk about higher voltage being more heat, more loss, etc, is the opposite of the truth. Even children know this...

We have about 7 kWh of original A123 pouch in a assembled pack even if you are interested.

If it were 14KW, sure... 7 ain't gonna do it for me.

Before the Zero was known to me, I had planned a wheel motor conversion. My only holdup was finding a way to stuff enough KWh into the frame.

A pre-assembled pouch-cell pack with integrated BMS seems to be the highest energy density I can find, but it's overall shape is unmanageable: http://www.electriccarpartscompany.com/-BESTGO_c_20.html

I'd already settled on the enertrac motor.

Going the traditional CALB route is not going to stuff anywhere near enough KWh into it. Not an option.

The plan was to stuff it int he bike you see in my avatar. But, so far, no suitable batteries to get me to the same KWh capacity as a Zero... Zero having QC issues puts me back to DIY + these handy quick chargers = I'll do it DIY if I can find batteries.

Please don't start asking budget questions. We're not there yet. I want to find out if the tech even exists. If it doesn't exist, there is no price, and there is no project; as has been the case for several years now.

I want as close to 15KWh as I can get @ as close to 120v as I can get. Staying compatible with the DC power supply bulk chargers I've seen here would be a requirement as well... Just can't find use-able batteries, everything else is known.

https://www.youtube.com/user/inhdtv/videos <-- The general idea, but with way more range and suspension.

The root issue is that Zero does not want to keep throwing parts and money at an incompetent dealership. This is exactly why Tesla does their work direct; the old garde refuse to learnin new tricks, and simply turn derogatory when expected to think.

Don't get down on Zero over your dealership. Electrics are much simpler than ICEs, they're just different, and the people doing the work are memorizers, not understanders. They won't learn how. It's not inability. If you can rebuild an ICE, you're far more than capable of solving anything on an electric. It's just a matter of willingness to learn new things; which they are unwilling.

Zero's fault in this is not screening dealerships for competence.

Personally, I would never have taken it to a dealership for service. I learned that lesson a long time ago... They just plain can't be trusted. I'd keep the bike and deal direct with Zero, and do the repair work myself. If you're willing to learn the new tricks that your dealership is not, you'll find electrics are really not that hard.

I'm keeping my eyes open for any comparable electric bikes announced for 2015 who might sell direct. It's just stupid to deal with dealerships because they want to keep the old ways alive... You may as well be counting in the KKK to teach diversity tolerance by having conventional motorsports knuckle-draggers sell and work on an electric. They'll destroy your business and never take responsibility.

I don't blame Zero for not sending more parts and more parts and more parts... As with everything, I'd advise stepping up and being your own service department, no one will ever do a better job than you. I bet you get results fast once you cut the dealership out of it. Mark my words.

My brain skips over DC Input values on stuff like this, but I just realized;

Input: 90 ~ 264VAC    127 ~ 370VDC

127 to 370VDC... Do I have to pick some smaller range and they're just telling me everything, or does it really handle this massively variable input?

Did I just find a 2KW High Voltage Photo Voltaic Charge Controller for a big ol' bank of LiFePO4s? Oh baby... I could switch to the Zero and have full solar charging... All DIY, no guvjerks involved forcing me to do it all screwed up and backwards to make them happy...

I would not call it no big deal. My rebel is on original bearings with deep 6 digit odo, parked in the rain it's whole life. Ninja much the same. See who makes the bearings when you pull them. This should not have happened to such new bearings unless they were harshly abused.