The Electric Motorcycle Thread
- Thread starter Butch
- Start date
GooF2
Well-known member
Big fan of the SeeSee Motorcyle electric zero conversion: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-vjqYSlNt7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
DonTom
Well-known member
That sounds about right. Faster on my DS, of course. It has a 7.2 KWH (replaced the 6.5 with a 7.2) battery and I can charge it at 1C.
-Don- Reno, NV
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DonTom
Well-known member
Even on my Energica, I carry mostly charging stuff. adapters, extension cords, modified granny cable, Tesla-Tap, etc. I want to be able to charge from everywhere possible when on the road.
-Don- Reno, NV
DonTom
Well-known member
That does me no good in Genoa, NV. And many other places. I can only charge the Energica at 3KW. I can charge my Zeros at twice that rate there in Genoa and MOST other places.
-Don- Reno, NV
DonTom
Well-known member
As well as Virginia City and countless other places.
In most parts of NV, 240 VAC charging (includes an outlet or J1772 or Tesla Destination charge station)is more common than CCS by far. And the 240 VAC is usually free, unlike the CCS that usually costs a lot more than gasoline for the equal distance.
In some parts of CA, CCS is more common. Such as I-80 between here and almost anywhere to the west.
-Don- Reno, NV
HadesOmega
Well-known member
I'm sure the DC Fastcharging are not as plentiful as L2 charging. Usually the DC Fasterchargers are around main routes like interstates and Walmarts.
That's another drawback for charging on the road many times the rate is more expensive than filling up a gas burner
' I manage to find the free ones =P
But yeah I think 6kwh charging is perfect I tried to see if Diginow could install a 6kw charger on my Empulse but they said they couldn't do it anymore. Apparently its "dangerous" to modify the charging system on the Empulse. Waiting to get your charge at 3kwh is painful if you are in a hurry. I'm sure double would not be as bad.
That's another drawback for charging on the road many times the rate is more expensive than filling up a gas burner
' I manage to find the free ones =PBut yeah I think 6kwh charging is perfect I tried to see if Diginow could install a 6kw charger on my Empulse but they said they couldn't do it anymore. Apparently its "dangerous" to modify the charging system on the Empulse. Waiting to get your charge at 3kwh is painful if you are in a hurry. I'm sure double would not be as bad.
dittoalex
Too much lean angle...
I want the equivalent of a Light Bee with more durability and less customization needed.
The Big 4 are moving forward with swappable battery stations: https://electrek.co/2020/09/04/hond...test-swappable-electric-motorcycle-batteries/
Hades, do you have a second battery yet? Is swapping not worth the effort?
The Big 4 are moving forward with swappable battery stations: https://electrek.co/2020/09/04/hond...test-swappable-electric-motorcycle-batteries/
Hades, do you have a second battery yet? Is swapping not worth the effort?
HadesOmega
Well-known member
Yes I do have 2 batteries for my Light Bee the stock one and a 72V Lite Speeds Bikes battery. If you want to carry a battery to go longer distances it sucks on the Light Bee there no where to put it except in a backpack and it weighs like 25lbs. I rode up to Lick Observatory with 2 packs one time to see if I could do it and I did but it sucked carry the battery along. If you can stash the battery somewhere it would work good. Like I use my Light Bee for doordash and if I can do deliveries around my area until my battery is done I go back home swap the packs and go back out, I don't have to worry about recharging or I can recharge the packs when electricity is cheapest. That's where I think that Gogoro swappable battery pack network would be great. Especially in the city it would work great. It would be like going to a gas station, in fact it probably faster to swap batteries than fill up gas. But I don't think it will work in America because of vandals and theives. Batteries are expensive. If people knew how easy to remove and expensive a sur ron battery pack was you can bet they'd try to steal it.
Now FOR RACING 2 battery packs is what you want. Constantly discharging and charging the battery without a break is a lot of strain and heats the battery up a lot. So if you have 2 packs you can do a race or track session pull the battery out put it on the charger slap the other on in and you got a fresh battery, it won't overheat as fast. Then when the other battery is done being topped off let it rest and just continue swapping.
Now check out this bad boy from Lite Speed Bikes. It's a Sur Ron parallel battery pack. Its basically a range extender or like the Zero Power Tank. You wire it in with a parallel cable. Throw this in a backpack and you got more range. Not sure what I think about being tethered to the bike with an electrical cable though.
https://litespeedbikes.mybigcommerce.com/60v16ah-surron-parallel-power-pack/
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Starpower
Well-known member
Check out the Kuberg products, I have the Ranger Race on order.
HadesOmega
Well-known member
berth
Well-known member
Genoa is a cool little town, in a state full of cool little towns that unsurprisingly don't necessarily offer 21st century infrastructure.
I don't think I've been there in 40 years.
dittoalex
Too much lean angle...
Have you tried one out in meatspace? Do you ride trials?
Starpower
Well-known member
No, on both. Studied the specs well, talked to people that have ridden one, an early release of 10 hit L.A. last month. Read the pro reviews and saw the videos and Kuberg has a strong rep. This was all enough for me especially, 110 pounds and 19 h.p. I have a very technical 1/2 mi. single track on my property, so far too challenging for my WR250R. Take a left at the top of my driveway and it's dirt road all the way into the Mendocino Nat. Forest. I see this as a mega blast without riding trial style - too old and I will die trying!
HadesOmega
Well-known member
It was only a matter of time and I did it by accident last night 125lbs bike running 17seconds quarter mile!
youtu.be/AZcJSixuXmU
125lbs bike running 17seconds quarter mile!youtu.be/AZcJSixuXmU
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HadesOmega
Well-known member
Oh yeah this too. Made it to the semi final. 3 days earlier racing supermotos taking home trophies and now one more!
HadesOmega
Well-known member
Jeep is installing solar EV chargers on the Rubicon trail for their PHEV Jeep. Last year I attempted to ride the Rubicon Trail on my Sur Ron Light Bee. I was able to ride most of it starting from the trailheads. But if Jeep is going to be doing this I have a very good chance of completing the whole trail. I don't know when it will be ready, I'm assuming it will be something like the EV chargers that are at Sonoma Raceway. A trailer with a solar panel and an L2 charger.
They're going to install one at Rubicon springs. So what this means if I can make it to Rubicon Springs I can top up my battery and finish the trail. The Light Bee doesn't have an onboard charger so my plan is to get an evse adapter that connects to the J1772 and sends a pilot signal to the evse and provide me with 220V AC power. Then I would bring a small charger along and charge my battery. Then when I get to Tahoma I would rent an airbnb and charge the Light Bee overnight and then ride back the next day.
I've already ordered the evse adapter and the charger. So whenever they get the charger installed I'm going to make an attempt.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/autos/new...rails-to-plug-in-hybrid-wranglers/ar-BB18WLYk
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erensi
feeling good, not bad
Alright I made it. 2016 Zero SR ZF 13.0, 72 miles in 1:32, average 47.5 mi/hr. I started at 99% battery and arrived at 10%. Mostly highway miles. Eco mode. I'm surprised how slow the average speed was. It didn't feel that slow.
Going over the mountain on HWY17 was a little nerve wracking because I could see the battery capacity dropping going up the hill. By the time I got to the top I was at 69%. Regen on the way down brought me up to 70%. I came across a logging truck full of logs and tucked in behind it until around San Jose. The battery stayed at 70% for a long time. I was lucky to find that truck because the wind felt pretty strong. I have never noticed wind so much before, except when riding a bicycle back in the day. I'm not sure if there was a headwind or if I was just noticing it more because wind noise was the only noise. But it felt like there was a lot of wind. Maybe also because the bike is lighter. So it was nice to have that truck even getting pelted with bits of Redwood bark. The truck turned off at I think 238 interchange and I went in the wind myself for a while. By the time I got to Fremont I was at 50%. I timries getting behind an SUV but it didn't provide much wind shelter so I abandoned that, and soon after I was able to catch a ride behind a FedEx truck all the way to Hayward , at which point I was at 40%. I was out in the wind from there on. By the time I got to downtown Oakland I was at 20% so I kicked it into sport mode but as someome mentioned, it cuts the power when the battery is low. But still the torque felt great. The next few miles through the city brought me down to 10% and it was done.
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dittoalex
Too much lean angle...
Zero bikes have horrible aerodynamics because they are thin without a wide cowling. I got the 20" windshield from https://madstad.com/products/zero-s-ds-2013-up?_pos=2&_sid=08f407cca&_ss=r and it helps but there is still a symphony of wind noise while moving around the bike.