Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[BoobInspector]

Hey peeps,

glad I found this forum. Reddit threads can be pretty dry at times. Anyways, I've had the motorcycle fever infect me worst than Corona. I split money and picked up my first bike with a friend 1.5 months ago. It was a 1981 Honda XL100. Beauty of a bike, perfect for a beginner. The highest speed I was able to shift it into was 85 km/h. Unfortunately, it didn't have lights or license plate, didn't want to head ache, so I sold it for same price.

I rode on the back of my friends ninja 650 2 days ago, now I am gripped by the fever of riding a bike. I really really want a ebike, no worrying about clutch or whatever.. I did lots of research. Most ebikes can't do what I want. Need a relatively good 0-50 km/h to keep up on deerfoot, or other highways. Super SOCO doesn't cut it. Energica and other brands too expensive. The Ultraviolet f77 is perfect, but who fkn knows if it will actually get released? It's been in delay for 3 years.

Now, I'm at the zero stage. A lil expensive, but that's fine, I'll bite the bullet. As long as it's under 10k CAD. Financially stupid decision, but I will just work harder these 3 months, selling scripts and attachements. I am a software student.

I found a zero s 2018 bike for 10K CAD! It felt like my heart was answered by the heavens itself. It's a used bike from kijiji with 3500 km on it. After some research, I found out that it doesn't have traction control. WTF?

Isn't TC mandatory? Critical, pertinent? If any of you guys could advise me on this, or provide something for under 10k ebikes, I will be in your debt.

With Love,

BoobaInspector

[princec]

I had an 81 XL100 once! Used to do jumps in a field on it when I was 17.

About TC... it's not mandatory, and you should be warned that as a beginner on bikes, traction on electrics is particularly tricky as they lose it without any warning whatsoever. Very experienced riders seem to be even more at risk because they're not used to it.

Myself, I wouldn't buy an electric bike without it, because I ride in all weathers all year round and on the shitty mud-covered country roads where I live traction is often at a premium even when it's hot, dry, and sunny. Also I've been riding ICE bikes for so long that I'm 100% prime candidate for not heeding the warnings about electric traction seriously and losing the back end unexpectedly on a patch of inexperience.

Example:


(that's the considerably torquier *R version of the S you're looking at but principle is the same. Also notice that it's the trailie style one with the stupid gripless knobbly tyres - anyone sane would put Michelin Road 5s on it)

Cas

[JaimeC]

I've got close to 3/4 of a million miles on all kinds of motorcycles in all kinds of weather (INCLUDING snow) and I've NEVER felt the need for traction control on a street bike.  It's all a matter of learning how your motorcycle responds to your right wrist.  As Reg Pridmore pointed out in a C.L.A.S.S. session:  Accidents happen when this (pointing to his head) becomes disconnected from THIS (pointing to his right wrist).

I would hope that after a week or so of riding a motorcycle the rider would realize the throttle has more than two positions.  There are an INFINITE number of positions between throttle off and WFO.

[princec]

Indeed but wouldn't it be nice to know at which point in that infinite number of positions the rear is going to break loose and spit you off round a corner.
C'mon, this is someone's life here, being elitist around this point benefits nobody at all except your own ego. You'll be arguing about ABS next.

Cas

[angrygirafe]

It is weird going to a bike without TC, especially if you’ve ever had TC kick in on a previous bike. I have a 2018 Zero S, so no TC, and I am much more gentle riding in the rain than I would be on my Yamaha FJ-09. The only time the Yammy TC ever kicked in was on black ice though, and that’s not a risk where I live now. TC is great, but don’t let it’s absence scare you away from the Zero. Just keep in mind that it’s a limitation, and slow down before taking those gravelly wet corners.

[princec]

Absolute speed is rarely the problem here - just the difference between 86 and 87 degrees of throttle rotation... Zeros lose traction like an on/off switch, without any warning, not like a nice friendly ICE powertrain with their gentle breaking away and controllable slides. Save up for an SR/F dude, or if you don't want to wait, get a nice cheap CB500 in the meantime.

Cas

[staples]

Yes, there is no traction control, and yes, without it you can go from having traction to not having traction in an instant. But I think the more important thing is how you react to it. That XL100 didn't have traction control, and you didn't die. Let's say you get the S, and you have an unfortunate traction issue. You'll just graduate into the second category of motorcycle riders, those that have crashed, from those that are going to crash.

[Crissa]

I ride in all weather on my S and have never slipped unintentionally.  You can hammer the throttle from start, but never do it in a straight line or on a curve.  Since it does exactly what you tell it to do, it will do exactly what you tell it to do.

-Crissa

[Richard230]

The only time that I lost traction while riding my "S" was when riding up a very tight and short freeway on-ramp that was a little damp and greasy. When I applied throttle while leaned over in an attempt to match traffic speed on the freeway, the rear wheel suddenly lost traction and spun up, causing the rear of the Zero to shake violently for a couple of seconds until I closed the throttle and brought traction under control again (or got away from the slippery section of the pavement). However, that was enough of an experience to wake me up and I have been more careful with the throttle since then. 

While I will agree that could also have happened to an ICE motorcycle, they have more drive-line inertia that slows down the rate of sudden tire spin when traction is lost than does the Zero.