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The Electric Motorcycle Thread

R3DS!X said:
Actually that is a pretty dope idea. Solar panel setup on top and charge by day and drive at night.
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Solar won't do much good when we consider the E-RV will have around 300KWH of batteries to charge. It would take a few thousand hours even if the entire RV were made from solar panels.

-Don- Yuma, AZ (RV)
 
gas generator then :laughing
 
So I test rode a Zero FXS today. Shout out to SF Moto being super nice and friendly. No hassle, just went for a ride, handshake and chatted. If you do want to do a test ride you have to schedule ahead and I think they only do them on Saturdays.

I'm really torn on if I like the bike or not. It's super fun stoplight to stoplight. Messed around in Eco and Sport mode.

But we jumped on the freeway for a very short couple-exit ride and it would not get past 68-69MPH. Supposedly top speed is 85.

That was a bummer, I'm about 195lbs and 5'11... soooo not sure if it was my weight, wind resistance, or a dealership/app restriction on speed?

I know the FXS isn't meant for freeways but if I can't get up past 70MPH for quick hops I'm not really impressed.

Otherwise, super fun bike around SF. I kept trying to downshift coming to stop lights.. so that was different. The twist and go feeling was amazing. Overall I give it a :thumbup ... but I'm not sure an OTD price of roughly ~$13k is warranted to be perfectly honest.
 
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Eco mode limits top speed to 70 mph. If you're not doing supermoto stuff I'd recommend the Zero S platform, its 414 lbs and 6.2 inches of travel are fun enough for Eco mode. Both the Zero (D)S(R) and the FX(S) can't take more than like 7 seconds of WOT in Sport mode before it overheats, but a 13.0 kW battery would run out in like 20 miles if you rode it like that.
 
dittoalex said:
Eco mode limits top speed to 70 mph. If you're not doing supermoto stuff I'd recommend the Zero S platform, its 414 lbs and 6.2 inches of travel are fun enough for Eco mode. Both the Zero (D)S(R) and the FX(S) can't take more than like 7 seconds of WOT in Sport mode before it overheats, but a 13.0 kW battery would run out in like 20 miles if you rode it like that.
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I wonder if I had it in Eco Mode? I swear I put it into Sport.. but maybe not.

I'm not a big fan of the Zero S platform - just not my cup of tea on the looks. The FXS for me would be a screw around bike for around town and short trips to Alice's/skyline and back.
 
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Electrictards...
I thought about buying an Alta SM... Way fun hooliganism riding I think would only allow less than an hour of antics.

Which meant trailering the bike to spots of fun.

Still...
 
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Butch said:
Electrictards...
I thought about buying an Alta SM... Way fun hooliganism riding I think would only allow less than an hour of antics.

Which meant trailering the bike ti spots of fun.

Still...
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Yeah, I was thinking about that. Trailer hitch motorcycle carrier would be easy enough. Given how light they are are compared to normal street electrics.
 
MikeL said:
Yeah, I was thinking about that. Trailer hitch motorcycle carrier would be easy enough. Given how light they are are compared to normal street electrics.
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With electrics, I let them ride up the hitch on their own power in the eco mode, with me slowly walking beside it. No clutch with very good slow speed throttle response makes it very easy to let the bike ride up the hitch on its own power.

That is how I get my 2017 Zero DS on this hitch on this RV I am in right now.

Very simple. And I have the type of cycle ramp that requires no tie downs at all.

But I had to shorten the rack's vertical bar so the bike's handbars would fit under it without tilting the bike.


-Don- Barstow, CA (RV with Zero DS)
 
Anyone have any insight on if Zero will update their FX/FXS lineup in 2020? I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a 2020 FXS.... BUT I will kick myself if they drop a major update in the next month or so.

I'm hoping they upgrade with level 2 and maybe a small battery bump in kWh. I feel like Zero should just start making level 2 standard on all their bikes.
 
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MikeL said:
BUT I will kick myself if they drop a major update in the next month or so.
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You mean like my new Energica?

It's not even year 2020, and my new model year 2020 bike is already obsolete. Now the new model comes with a 21.5 KWH battery instead of the 11.7 KWH battery. And the new bike is lighter. The new 21.5 KWH battery is a lot lighter than my "old" year 2020 11.7 KWH battery. And the price of my bike new, went down several thousand dollars in a few months.

But we have to expect such with E-motorcycles for quite a while.

The very best time to buy an e-motorcycle will be after we are dead!

So how long should we wait?

-Don- Barstow, CA (RV with Zero DS)
 
I owned an FXS for a while. AMA
 
So if the 10% EV credit ends in 2020, can I buy a new Energica on 12/21/20 and claim it when I do my taxes on 4/14/21? Do demo models count as new?
 
dittoalex said:
So if the 10% EV credit ends in 2020, can I buy a new Energica on 12/21/20 and claim it when I do my taxes on 4/14/21? Do demo models count as new?
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I would think "yes" on both as long as the EV credit expires at the very end of year 2020.

With the Demo, if you were the first buyer, it is a new bike.

-Don- Barstow, CA (RV with Zero DS)
 
R3DS!X said:
I owned an FXS for a while. AMA
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Is it worth it? lol.
Why did you get rid of yours?
How was maintenance?

I just want a bike to screw around on around town but want an EV. Don't want to drop the $15-20k on bigger/better EV bikes.
 
I rode a Cake today, Metcalf, Four Fingers, yeah, all four. It was interesting. More later.
Spoiler, not an Alta. Still cool.

Edit...
https://ridecake.com/kalk-or/
The Cake Kalk OR is the dirtbike I rode and was so different than my Alta that it is pointless to compare. If I rode for a couple hours I could say if I liked it or not. I will say it did not handle washboard bumps well. The front wheel felt too small. Still, at this point my first impression is reserved.

Edit two..
It is really light, so that makes makes it more fun and easier to ride. It is electric, 100% power at zero rpm makes it way easier to ride, especially in the dirt. It does not stall, which makes it way, way easier to ride. It is not as tall as many dirt bikes, so that makes it less intimidating for many, hence increasing the fun factor.

Kalk OR would be an awesome first dirtbike. Electrics are way easier to ride than ICE bikes.

I suck at internet skilz, so I can’t do a linky. If you go to satellite view on Google maps, to Metcalf, and just to the right of “Valley View” is an unmarked serpentine trail, the fingers... that is what I rode. Nice short test, prolly 15 minutes.
 
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MikeL said:
Is it worth it? lol.
Why did you get rid of yours?
How was maintenance?

I just want a bike to screw around on around town but want an EV. Don't want to drop the $15-20k on bigger/better EV bikes.
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Worth it is gonna depend on the rider and their needs and wants. If you just do city commutes and that's all, then yeah, it's great for that.
Not much maintenance to actually do. There is a motor commissioning that you have to take it to the shop for. I warped the rear pully twice and then converted to chain drive. Had two of the on board chargers go out. So I wouldn't say the bike was all that reliable. At least the one I got.
I got rid of it because I wanted a bit more range and was hoping to land a job that was a bit further away than the FXS could handle. I was fortunate to ride the Energica before I put money down on a Zero SRF. The quick charging opens up a lot more possibilities and the bike is all around awesome.
 
Butch said:
I rode a Cake today, Metcalf, Four Fingers, yeah, all four. It was interesting. More later.
Spoiler, not an Alta. Still cool.

Edit...
https://ridecake.com/kalk-or/
The Cake Kalk OR is the dirtbike I rode and was so different than my Alta that it is pointless to compare. If I rode for a couple hours I could say if I liked it or not. I will say it did not handle washboard bumps well. The front wheel felt too small. Still, at this point my first impression is reserved.
Click to expand...

Boo. Have you ridden the Sur Ron Light Bee to compare?
 
Not yet.
Yo, Merlin!
 
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I got to demo ride the Energica Ego at Calmoto Livermore Saturday. Lovely dealership, btw. I went along with a group of friends for curiosity sake. The Ego is nice looking and has lots of trick machined billet parts. A beast in acceleration and no shifting required. Just roll it on and it shrieks like a banshee. Lots of fun in a straight line. In the turns its 600 pounds is readily apparent and sluggish and the suspension bouncy over rough patches. It was set to medium. Disclaimer, I ride older and smaller bikes so my perspective is skewed.

Limited range is another negative, they claim 100 miles normal and 120 in eco mode. If my brief wrist-happy ride was any measure I'd be lucky to get 50 miles. $20k. What buyer did they have in mind when they designed this bike?
 
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