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Topics - mattmccutchen

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Electric Motorcycle Events / Interested in bringing your motorcycle to EV shows near Washington, DC?

« on: May 26, 2022, 10:09:42 PM »

I live in the Washington, DC area, and I recently learned that in addition to the events listed in the well-known National Drive Electric Week and Drive Electric Earth Day directories, there are many other local events throughout the year run by different organizations that recruit people to display their electric vehicles through the Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington, DC. In essence, if you join EVADC via the member portal and check the "Outreach" box, then you get invited to these events as they are scheduled. It's nice to have at least one motorcycle at each event if possible and if the event organizers consider it in good taste for their mission. So far, I usually seem to be the only EVADC member responding to these invitations and bringing a motorcycle. This is starting to chew up too much of my weekends, and I'm going to have to cut back. So if anyone else here is in the Washington, DC area and would be interested in showing their motorcycle at some of these events, that would be great. For example, there's an event coming up on Sunday, June 5 in Arlington, VA. I'm not sure whether a motorcycle is welcome at this particular event, but it would be worth asking.

Thanks for your attention!

Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2012 and older / Newbie trying to fix 2012 Zero S slow acceleration

« on: January 09, 2016, 11:58:38 PM »

My 2012 Zero S recently developed a problem: it is accelerating much more slowly than normal in each mode (Eco and Sport), even when fully charged. I had left it parked outside, and one time when I passed by, I noticed the tailbag had been opened and all the contents had been put on the ground; the next time I rode the motorcycle after that, I noticed the slow acceleration. So my theory is that the same person searched the tailbag and tampered with the motorcycle in a failed attempt to steal it, causing the acceleration problem. I further suspected the throttle or kill switch cable might be kinked (that happened to me a few years ago), but I wiggled the wires and it was unclear if it helped.

Normally I'd go to a Zero dealer for service, but the nearest dealer is about 200 miles away and shipping the motorcycle alone will cost about $600, so I'm hoping to repair the motorcycle myself. I have no experience with this, but the MIT Electric Vehicle Team will let me use their shop and tools and may guide me through some of the steps. Can someone summarize the steps I should take to diagnose and (if possible) fix the problem and point me to any documentation I'll need?

I suspect it may be obvious to many people in this community how to find this kind of information, but I'm struggling and would really appreciate some help. I found a thread about a similar problem caused by the throttle, but if I'm going to test the throttle resistance, I need to know what's normal. I also saw a thread about some diagnostic interfaces, but it's unclear to me from that thread which one I should use and where the port is on the motorcycle. I'm guessing Zero headquarters won't be willing to help me, but I can ask if you think it's worth asking.

Thanks!

General Discussion / Fragmentation of the electric motorcycle forums

« on: May 08, 2014, 12:42:39 PM »

Currently there are three major electric motorcycle forums that I know of: http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/, http://elmoto.net/, http://brammoforum.com/. The accepted practice to reach the entire community seems to be to post to (and read the replies on) all of them, as demonstrated recently by the owners map and my group ride announcements; this is a PITA. To collect some data on how important this actually is: which forums do you read? Would you be willing to help the community function better by standardizing on one forum at least for brand-independent group rides, and possibly for a broader range of topics if the fragmentation doesn't seem to be serving any purpose?

For myself: I check all three forums for group rides (though probably not often enough) and would be willing to standardize on any one of them, though I'd prefer one with a brand-independent title, and if I have to pick one, I'm partial to http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/ as the first one I found.

General Discussion / Electric-friendly group ride in Santa Cruz Mountains Sunday, May 11

« on: May 08, 2014, 12:28:31 PM »

I'm organizing another electric-friendly group ride this Sunday, May 11. (please view using the old Google Maps): ~53 miles. Leave from the charging station near Elm St & Boone Ln, Los Gatos, CA at 12:00 pm, stop for lunch in Boulder Creek, and return to the starting point about 4:00 pm. I'll be keeping a moderate pace; others may go ahead and wait for us at the stops (or not).

If you're coming, I'd appreciate advance notice by public reply, PM, or email. If you're interested in traveling with me from Mountain View, let me know. If you will be late to the meeting point, please contact me (email is OK) before 12:00 pm, otherwise we won't wait.

General Discussion / Electric-friendly group rides in San Francisco Bay Area April 12, 26

« on: April 10, 2014, 12:23:58 PM »

Hey! I'm planning two group rides in the San Francisco Bay Area that might be of special interest to this forum inasmuch as (1) I'll be on them with my 2012 Zero S ZF9 and (2) consequently, they're organized around a "fun" segment within range of a 2012 Zero S ZF9 with J1772 stations at both ends. (Bring your own adapters, etc.; I'll be using mine.) (Please view links using the old Google Maps; the new one is miserable for plotting complex routes.)

Saturday, April 12: Lucas Valley Rd and Fairfax-Bolinas Rd. Leave from the Taylor Rd charging stations in the Presidio, San Francisco, at 11:00 am (changed). We'll negotiate if/where we want to stop; individuals can split off as they wish. Anyone who doesn't make long stops can expect to be back to Taylor Rd ~2:00 pm. The electrics can additionally charge at Muir Woods if necessary.
Saturday, April 26: Morgan Territory Rd and Mount Diablo. Leave from the Vineyard Hills Business Condos parking lot, Livermore, at 11:00 am. (If the management doesn't like us being there, then from the cul-de-sac of Independence Dr.) Lunch in Concord (charging available at John Muir Medical Center) or such other location as attendees more familiar with the area may suggest. Return to Bishop Ranch 6, San Ramon ~3:30 pm if you wish. AIUI, there's a $10 fee to enter Mount Diablo State Park.

I'll be keeping a moderate pace; others may do as they wish.

If you're coming, I'd appreciate advance notice by public reply, PM, or email. I'll be charging before each trip but may not wait at the station; if you contact me, we can try to meet early. If you are running late to the meeting point, please email me.

(I'm posting this announcement on multiple forums because no single forum reaches everyone; it's a PITA. If you consider this abusive, let me know what you think would be reasonable.)

General Discussion / Electric-only group ride on San Francisco peninsula, Saturday, March 22

« on: March 20, 2014, 10:56:33 PM »

I'm planning a group ride for electric motorcycles (and scooters, etc.) only this Saturday, March 22, starting at 9:30 am at Alice's Restaurant, Skyline Blvd & La Honda Rd, Woodside, CA. Here's the planned , which we might adjust on the day of the ride. I prefer a conservative pace, but this may be open to negotiation and/or we could split into subgroups. Two of my friends are going, and I wanted to invite anyone else from the forum who might be interested. If you will come, please reply to this thread or email or PM me so I know to wait for you. I don't want to post my cell phone number publicly, but I will be monitoring those other channels up until departure time.

Cheers!

General Discussion / National Plug In Day this weekend

« on: September 26, 2013, 01:35:14 PM »

National Plug In Day is this weekend, September 28-29; events will be held at various places and times across the US. (Should it be called National Plug In Weekend? Go figure.) If you like to hang out with other EV enthusiasts, this is for you. Terry Hershner and I will be at the rally in Cupertino, CA. The organizers of that rally asked me to help recruit more e-motorcyclists, hence the post here; the same would probably apply to any of the events.

Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2012 and older / Running two chargers from a single J1772 port

« on: August 12, 2013, 03:22:55 AM »

Something that people may find useful: Recently I've started using a C14/C13 splitter I found online to run two chargers for my 2012 Zero S (the internal charger and one external charger) from a single J1772 port, using the official Zero J1772 adapter. This lets me charge at 2x speed at locations that have one J1772 port and nothing else, such as my church, and at locations with multiple J1772 ports and nothing else without having to buy a second J1772 adapter. (The official adapter is ridiculously overpriced, but I wasn't able to find a viable alternative.) I've tested the setup with ChargePoint, Blink, and ClipperCreek J1772 stations. Here's a photo of the setup at a ChargePoint station:

General Discussion / Looking to meet other riders in the San Francisco Bay Area

« on: March 09, 2013, 01:03:57 PM »

Hi! I bought a 2012 Zero S (my first and only motorcycle) back in mid-December and absolutely love it. I've put about 2000 miles on it so far (not counting about 400 on a loaner Zero while it was in for service) visiting beautiful places around the Bay Area. I just wish I had other people with whom to share this great joy.

Would anyone in the area like to meet for a ride, or just a conversation?

I've kept track of my sightings of other electric motorcycles. Out of curiosity, was any of these anyone on this forum?

Saturday, January 19, 2013, about 2:30 pm: A red Zero S going south on the Great Highway in San Francisco. I was going north on my Zero.
Saturday, January 19, 2013, about 6:30 pm: A Vectrix parked in the motorcycle area of the SFMTA Sutter & Stockton Garage.
Sunday, January 27, 2013, about 12:00 pm: I spoke with a new Brammo Empulse R owner at the SFMTA Golden Gateway garage, but we didn't exchange contact info.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013, about 7:00 pm: A Zero (I couldn't tell the color or model in the dark) going south on San Antonio Road in Mountain View, waiting at the traffic light at East Bayshore Road. I was riding in a friend's car.