The Electric Motorcycle Thread

[FXCLM5]

lightning was a joke, it came with zero battery shielding - fukn insane.

And there is no algorithm to determine remaining miles, only a very generic battery level reader of 1-9 bars lol, these issues should not be found on units being delivered to the paying customer.

 

[morroquen]

2021 SS9 Plus

Several months ago, I requested for a recommendation on which electric motorcycle I should get based on my commute distance and many other factors.

Just wanted to update everyone that I picked up my 2021 Energica SS9 Plus today, and also wanted to thank you all for help, suggestions and valuable information that helped me make a decision.

Loving the bike so far, but time will tell if that holds up... I can't actually commute anywhere just yet ��

 

[HadesOmega]

Nice I test rode a 2020 earlier this year and I liked it a lot. The Energicas are the best you can get at the moment. Update us on the range your getting. If you can achieve 100+ miles mixed riding it's good enough for me.

 

[dittoalex]

Several months ago, I requested for a recommendation on which electric motorcycle I should get based on my commute distance and many other factors.

Just wanted to update everyone that I picked up my 2021 Energica SS9 today, and also wanted to thank you all for help, suggestions and valuable information that helped me make a decision.

Loving the bike so far, but time will tell if that holds up... I can't actually commute anywhere just yet ��

Does the chassis remain neutral when trailbraking into a late apex? Does it pogo on the power out?

 

[DonTom]

My 2017 Zero 13.0 with 9000 miles needs a battery, it went from 30% left when I got home from my loop to now I have had to decrease my return slab from 70 mph to 65 mph and now the minimum 60 mph just to make it home with between 5% and 0%. Going by the SoC at the end of my ride, cold weather has permanently hurt the battery life as the final SoC has only kept getting worse. Moving away from electric bikes, battery durability just isn't there.

My 2017 Zero DS ZF 6.5 range was reduced to below 50% of the range it used to get. It also charged more than twice as fast as it should. So REGEN would give the same added range as ever and at very slow speeds with lots of stop and go, there was little difference. At steady speeds the range was less than half of what it should be.

I thought of that as good news, as the battery was still in warranty. So I recently got a new 7.2 KWH battery in place of my 6.5 KWH battery and now the bike has better range than ever. All at no cost to me.

My Zero SR/F with Power Tank has no noticeable drop in range since it was new. What a bummer! Looks like I won't be able to exchange my 16.3 KWH worth of batteries for a 18 KWH worth.

If your range is less than 80% of what it used to be under the same conditions (temps etc) you should be able to get a new (& most likely larger) battery replacement at no cost to you.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[DonTom]

Just wanted to update everyone that I picked up my 2021 Energica SS9 Plus today, and also wanted to thank you all for help, suggestions and valuable information that helped me make a decision.

Loving the bike so far, but time will tell if that holds up... I can't actually commute anywhere just yet ��

I didn't realize the Plus bikes could be purchased already.

I love my SS9, it's the most fun bike of my ten, but mine is not the plus. But it charges even faster than the plus when riding at freeway speeds, so that is nice. But with mine, I cannot make it on home charging between my house in Auburn and Reno, which is 99 miles of hills. I have wondered if the + could do such, which will make the + tempting to me. OTOH, there are many places to charge between here and Reno and the 20 minute stop is not that big of a deal. CCS is every 20 miles or so on I-80 east of here in Auburn to Reno.

I have found the reverse and cruise control to work very well on my 2020 SS9 and such have been very handy at times. And the performance of this bike is unbelievable in the sport mode. There is no way to not love it.

It's hard to believe they even make a faster bike.

BTW, one thing I did on mine is shorten a granny cable and bring a Tesla Tap. I can charge my SS9 anywhere on the road form 120 & 240VAC as well as from Tesla Destination chargers. And all the stuff fits in one side bag. I use an 120 VAC extension cord with an adapter for 240 VAC. Nothing gets warm while charging.

On Plugshare, you can see me charging my Energica in Genoa, NV (240 VAC outlet) as well as the Recharge Station (Tesla Destination) on USA Parkway.

The Genora was before I modified my cable. But here, at the Target, I am charging from 120 VAC with my modified cable. Notice the granny box is just inches away from the J1772

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[Tom G]

While I really love electric traction, particularly with trains in Europe under the wire, I'm not convinced that electric traction is at prime time through the US just yet (commuting seems OK so far). I could probably make it between your properties and back twice (400 mi) if I take it easy w/o gas stop on my bike. Need to say that I insisted on the ADV version since I had a DR650 before which gave me about 120 mi before gas stops.

 

[DonTom]

While I really love electric traction, particularly with trains in Europe under the wire, I'm not convinced that electric traction is at prime time through the US just yet (commuting seems OK so far). I could probably make it between your properties and back twice (400 mi) if I take it easy w/o gas stop on my bike. Need to say that I insisted on the ADV version since I had a DR650 before which gave me about 120 mi before gas stops.

I have a few bikes that can do around 400 miles, such as my Moto-Guzzi Stelvio which has an 8.5 gallon gas tank.

Electric isn't for every ride. At least not yet. Electric is only good for around 90% of my riding.

But I can say about the same for any of my bikes.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[morroquen]

Update us on the range your getting. If you can achieve 100+ miles mixed riding it's good enough for me.

Did about 70 miles on the first day on the way home, nearly all freeway, average speed 65 mph in the slow lane. Got home with 18% battery left. It should easily do 100 mixed miles, as long as you are not aggressive with the throttle.

Does the chassis remain neutral when trailbraking into a late apex? Does it pogo on the power out?

Haven't trailbraked into a late apex just yet. Chassis seems quite stable, but I have not had the opportunity to ride with bike in the twisties yet.

 

[R3DS!X]

Does the chassis remain neutral when trailbraking into a late apex? Does it pogo on the power out?

Chassis is super one of the things about my bike that make my weiner hard. It's a late brake champ and super stable when cornering. I have very close to the same bike as him.

 

[MikeL]

Congrats on the new bike! Can't wait to hear more!

Did about 70 miles on the first day on the way home, nearly all freeway, average speed 65 mph in the slow lane. Got home with 18% battery left. It should easily do 100 mixed miles, as long as you are not aggressive with the throttle.

Did you have range anxiety or did you feel fairly comfortable?

 

[morroquen]

Congrats on the new bike! Can't wait to hear more!



Did you have range anxiety or did you feel fairly comfortable?

Serious range anxiety. This was the first time riding the bike (on the way home from the dealership) and I wasn't sure how accurate the range indication was. I started by doing typical Bay Area "speed of traffic" speeds, but saw the range drop dramatically quickly. After dropping to 25%, I slowed down, moved to the slowest lane, engaged cruise control and kept looking down every 5 seconds

 

[R3DS!X]

Did about 70 miles on the first day on the way home, nearly all freeway, average speed 65 mph in the slow lane. Got home with 18% battery left. It should easily do 100 mixed miles, as long as you are not aggressive with the throttle.

Thats less miles than i was expecting with the new battery packs.

 

[dittoalex]

Yeah, that's heartbreaking.

 

[morroquen]

Thats less miles than i was expecting with the new battery packs.

I started out pretty heavy handed, riding at typical bay area freeway speeds, which is about 75 mph, with the occasional overtake. Did about 45 miles like that. After seeing the range drop really quickly, however, I did slow down.

This is just one ride, not enough data to form an opinion on range yet.

 

[DonTom]

Did about 70 miles on the first day on the way home, nearly all freeway, average speed 65 mph in the slow lane. Got home with 18% battery left. It should easily do 100 mixed miles, as long as you are not aggressive with the throttle.

Their spec for mixed riding is 143 miles. But you have a few miles left even when you're at zero SOC.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[HadesOmega]

Hmm I get 60 mixed with the Empulse, I would think the 2021 SS9 could do 100 miles =/ The battery has like double the capacity.

You'll get used to how much range your bike has after a while and be able to plan trips. Also cold weather will drop your range. Definitely download plugshare and chargepoint apps.

Maybe it needs breaking in.

 

[DonTom]

Hmm I get 60 mixed with the Empulse, I would think the 2021 SS9 could do 100 miles =/ The battery has like double the capacity.

With a battery, an KWH is only a KWH at the current draw where it is tested. So to get a realistic comparison in KWH of batteries you have to first know the current draw.

Here is an example, when we compare the 13.4 KWH Energica battery to the new 21.5 KWH battery:

By Energica's own specs:

The 13.4 KWH battery range spec is 124, 100, and 80 miles.
The 21.5 KWH battery range spec is 249, 143 and 112 miles.

But the 21.5 KWH battery has a spec of 60% more KWH than the 13.4 KWH battery.

However,

That is in percentage of range improvement as 100%, 43% & 40% increase with the 21.5 KWH battery. At what speed do we find that 60% increase in KWH?

I assume the 80/112 freeway miles is at ~65 MPH.

I assume at 80 MPH, both the 13.4 & 21.5 KWH battery could have around the exact same range.

At 100 MPH, perhaps the 13.4 KWH battery has a better range than the new 21.5 KWH battery.

That's why I would like to see a chart on each, like Tesla has. I know my Tesla Model 3 (LR, AWD) gets 420 miles of range at 38 MPH, 320 miles at 65 MPH. etc.

With the 21.5 KWH Energica battery, I expect the nominal KWH reduces a lot more with load than does 13.4 KWH battery.

The big advantage of the 21.5 KWH battery is at slower speeds, where the range doubles and has the same charge time per mile as the 13.4 KWH battery. As the speed increases, it looks like the difference becomes less and less between the new and old battery by Energia's own range specs and requires longer charge times to go the same distance.

If going fast enough, is it possible that the 13.4 KWH battery gives better range than the newer 21.5 KWH battery? I kinda assume such is possible, say at above 100 MPH.

The Energica 21.5 KWH battery also gives less range on a charge than does the 13.4 KWH battery when compared at freeway speeds, by their own specs.

When Zero batteries are compared, double the battery size in KWH and get exactly double the range at ANY speed. Double the charge rate/time and likewise get double.

Zero batteries are very linear and can be compared by KWH. Energica batteries are very non-linear by their own written specs.

It seems to me that Energica cheated a bit to get that 21.5 KWH rating, trying to say they get the best mileage of all electric bikes--which is probably true but ONLY at slower speeds. That is not how we normally ride an Energica. A 2018 Zero SR with power tank (18.0 KWH <150 miles combined riding>) gives better range than the 21.5 KWH Energicas at any reasonable speed (143 miles combined).

Now if they could get that 60% KWH increase at freeway speeds. they would really have something worth considering.

Bottom line is:

Do not get fooled by battery KWH specs!

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[HadesOmega]

According to their spec it should get more than 100 miles. If they tested both models the same way I would guess it should be close to their specs. I guess real world is always going to be different. It's too bad they don't do REAL world test, they should have a fuely for EVs, so you have a database of range and SOC for a bike.

 

[HadesOmega]

Sooo I upgraded the controller on my Sur Ron Light Bee to an ASI BAC2000 controller and one of the features is the ability to use a regen throttle. I've never used a regen throttle before so I wanted to give it a try and after using it for a few months it's the tits! You're able to precisely control the amount of regen. I suppose it is similar to the regen button on the Chevy Bolt or if you've heard about the Riperton superbike they removed the rear brakes and installed a regen brake lever instead. It takes some learning to get used to but it becomes second nature after a while. One drawback is it heats your battery up fast soooo it'll overheat your battery and you'll loose regen suddenly. One good thing is you don't use your mechanical brakes at all, save on brake pads, or use your mechanical brakes. It's easier to control than off throttle regen also.

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