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Topics - TheRan

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Electric Motorcycle News / Cake files for bankruptcy

« on: February 09, 2024, 02:38:07 AM »

Not all that surprising, it's a boutique brand in an already small market and doesn't have the advantage of manufacturing overseas (well, I assume they're made in Sweden).

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2024/february/cake-file-for-bankruptcy/

General Discussion / Just a $20k FXS and $40k S/DS

« on: January 13, 2024, 08:09:08 PM »

Stumbled across these and it's absolutely mind blowing. Customised Zeros for like double the cost. And it's not like they've even had significant work done or what has been done is done well. They're basically just pulled on the bodywork and headlight off, stuck on a basic seat, made the most low effort "tank" I've ever seen, and then put on some LED lights. Interestingly from the range and power figures they give for the more expensive model it would have to be a 14.4 model, however all the photos of it show a 7.2 with the additional storage compartment behind the battery. Even on the Droog website they don't list much in the way of specs. It does however have a power tank so I guess that makes it slightly less of a rip off. Although expecting them to at least use a recent model with the TFT dash is apparently too much.

https://shop.uncrate.com/products/droog-moto-e-fighter-motorcycle
https://uncrate.com/droog-moto-dm-017-e-fighter-v2-motorcycle/

Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ / Motor is losing all power, no error messages

« on: October 27, 2023, 02:37:29 AM »

So the week before last one day while coming home from work I had a few moments where the throttle would stop responding for a few seconds and then come back, mostly on harder acceleration I think, and then when I got to a hill right near my home it died and it took a few times of turning it on and off to get it running again. The next day going to work the same thing happened again except it died permanently and I had to put it in storage. Finally got around to bringing the bike home yesterday and a few times on the hour long journey of pushing it I managed to get a short pulse of drive from the motor, like a small jerk, and then it would die again until I turned it back on like ten or fifteen minutes later. I put it on a paddock stand today and it was all working fine for maybe five minutes or so, put the kickstand down and then when I put it back up it was permadead again.

I've downloaded the logs and all I see is the kickstand and kill switch disabling the throttle, no throttle faults. Each time the bike dies (just the motor, everything else still has power) there's no warning triangle or error codes on the dash. I was thinking it's the kickstand switch which is what I was trying to diagnose when I had it on the paddock stand but that seems to be functioning correctly and if that was playing up I assume I'd get the warning triangle and error 44/45 on the dash. The throttle connection is plugged in securely and the bike died just sitting on a stand without being moved so it doesn't seem like there's a loose connection somewhere.

Any ideas on what else I can try to diagnose the cause of this issue? It doesn't seem like it's something that would cause a fault that would be logged, maybe something acting in an abnormal way that would appear "normal" to the bike but would prevent the drive happening (like the kickstand being down or kill switch being on, but they show a warning on the dash).

Electric Motorcycle News / Some info on Kawasaki's Ninja 7 HEV

« on: October 06, 2023, 04:48:45 PM »

This could perhaps be less of a disappointment than their recent fully electric bikes. The concern with hybrid bikes has always been where do you put the battery and motor on an already cramped gas bike, it looks like Kawasaki's solution is to just stretch the thing out. Looks much longer than most other A2 class bikes and more on par with something like a H2, and notice it also has twin brake discs up front so maybe it's up there when it comes to weight too. Not much extra power from that electric motor though at 12hp (the same as their fully electric bikes) and a 48v battery which I can't imagine is any bigger than one of the singles in their fully electric bikes.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/kawasaki-ninja-7-hev/

Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ / Doubling up on onboard chargers

« on: August 03, 2023, 07:58:28 PM »

So a used charger popped up on Ebay for really cheap and I bought it with the intention of having a spare for when my current one inevitably dies, not having to wait for a replacement to be ordered. However it got me thinking, why not use it in addition? It seems like it would be fairly easy, either use it like a Delta (from the photo it looks like they just have an Anderson connector on them) or make some spacers for the belly pan and squeeze it in there.

However what I don't know about is actually controlling the thing, because I know it's not just a dumb charger like the Delta and has some communication with the bike. I'm at least going to have to buy a connector for that so if anyone knows what it is that would be appreciated. Does the communication just tell the bike to close the contactor and enable charging, in which case if I'm using the default charger too it doesn't matter? Or does the bike also tell the charger to do its thing?

Electric Motorcycle News / Vmoto Soco Stash

« on: November 14, 2022, 06:43:12 PM »

This looks like it could be a decent alternative to Zero's 7.2kW/h models from an established brand.

8kW continuous with 15kW peak with a boost button from a frame mounted motor, 143kg (the same as a 7.2 S/DS which is no longer available in Europe), a storage compartment in the tank area (like an S/DS, lacking from an FXE) large enough for a full face helmet, a motorway suitable 68mph top speed with 75mph in boost mode, and a competitive 7.2kW/h removable battery that will charge in 5-6 hours or 3.5 hours with an external fast charger (an FXE is like 9 hours, the 7.2 S/DS around 4-5 hours). No price yet, it will of course be more than their current most expensive model at £4.5k but with an FXE being a bit over £13k they have a lot of room to undercut it.

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/news/2022/november/vmoto-stash-dirt-bike-production
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/vmoto-soco-stash-on-r-off-r-f01/

Pics and Vids / Living with an EV without a home charger

« on: October 15, 2022, 05:24:16 PM »

I found this quite interesting. With my Zero it's not a problem for me to charge at home as I have a small paved area right in front of my house where I park my bikes and have an exterior outlet, however I have a lawn after that so I've often wondered how I'd cope if I ever got a car as I would like it to be electric. One thought I did have is putting a hook on the lamp post in front of my house which would elevate the cable, but I also like the idea of the cable trench.

Parts, Mods And Hacks / Zero DS replacement fender/mudguard

« on: June 16, 2022, 03:41:29 AM »

So there are no aftermarket fenders specifically for the DS. As stated in the unofficial manual the Honda XR650 shares the same bolt pattern, however they're generally only available in red, white, or black, and they look a bit dated.

I saw a carbon KTM SX125/250/450 fender on Ebay and decided to take a gamble on it, being prepared to drill new holes if need be. Turns out no drilling is required, I don't think the pattern is exactly the same but it uses slightly larger bolts so there's some wiggle room. There were a few modifications required, the posts for mounting the KTM's front plate needed to be cut off and to clear the DS's headlight I needed to add a spacer to bring the fender down slightly. The material I made it from was 10mm thick which was just enough. I was also expecting to have to cut down the rear but it clears the plastic on the battery with probably around 10mm at least to spare.

As for the whys, it's quite a bit stiffer, wider, it looks cool, and stickers will stick to it. I tried to put an adhesive L plate on the stock fender so I can get rid of the one sticking out the side but the finish on it just wouldn't have it.

Other Electric Motorcycles / DAB Motors Concept-E RS

« on: April 10, 2022, 09:23:32 PM »

This popped up on my Instagram feed and I thought it looked rather nice. That is until I saw the price, starting at €28.5k (€29.9k for the Burberry Edition) before you add the Ohlins fork and Brembo brakes. For that price I figured you'd probably get some decent performance but no, that gets you a 10kW motor (20kW peak) and a 4.7kW/h 52v battery which gives you a 100km/h top speed and 100km range (no mention of charging at all). Despite all the carbon fibre it's not even that light at 137kg. I guess being "handcrafted" in France and a limited edition (29 for the regular model, 20 for the Burberry one) is supposed to justify the price.

https://dabmotors.com/concept-e-rs/

Also they have a 500cc gas bike, starting at a more reasonable €15k. Reminds me of the CCM bikes which also use a Husky engine, a bit more expensive but perhaps French build quality is better than British to justify that.

Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ / 2022 S, DS, and DSR updates

« on: September 14, 2021, 07:20:07 PM »

Nothing too special, just the colour display and Cypher II from the FXE and FX and some new colours. Strange that they've left out the SR.

Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ / A reminder to check the lid on your tank storage compartment

« on: September 01, 2021, 03:40:29 PM »

I always assumed the tank lid was an integral part of the tank plastic assembly but it turns out it's just glued on, the rest of the assembly is the same as when the bikes used to have the removable bag and there aren't even any screws securing it. After only about 2 years and 3k miles my lid had come almost completely detached, to the extent that I could easily pull it off the rest of the way with nothing needed to pry it away. I only noticed when my key got stuck as I tried to pull it out and it lifted the entire thing up.

I've since glued it back in after cleaning off the junk that was previously holding it, I only had some gasket maker to hand but to be honest it's probably just as strong as what was there before. If you're someone that puts valuables in the tank compartment I would suggest driving some screws through both parts from the inside.

Parts, Mods And Hacks / IEC to USB charging adapter?

« on: January 28, 2021, 11:18:30 PM »

While browsing through Amazon for a suitable USB socket to go on the dash of my Zero I stumbled across this curiosity. I have no intention of buying one to use it but it's certainly interesting, although my question is could it actually work? It doesn't say it's specifically for a Zero but surely any other bike that uses an IEC socket is going to have that connected to the built in charger, and that charger won't be designed to send power back out through the socket from the battery, right?

The only way I could think that this could work is if the bike used an external charger that plugged into a socket that connects straight to the battery, like the external charge socket on a Zero to use the Quiq charger, but surely no bikes would use an IEC connection for that. If they did then that would create the possibility that it would be connected straight to the mains which of course wouldn't be good.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MKOKO-Electrical-Motorcycle-36-120V-Mobile-phone/dp/B07WP8Z47B/ref=sr_1_169?dchild=1&keywords=usb&qid=1611801982&s=automotive&sr=1-169&th=1

General Discussion / Alrendo TS Bravo

« on: January 20, 2021, 12:48:30 AM »

Saw English Electric post this on their IG. Similar to the Sondors if Alrendo can hit the price they claim it looks like a really well priced bike. I can't quite believe it but they're saying that for €10k (£8.9k or $12.k) you can get a 58kW (75hp) bike with a 16.6kW/h battery and 3.8kW charging. That's SR beating for less than the cost of a non-R 7.2kW/h model. And to top it all off it will supposedly be rated at just 11kW continuous so will be suitable for the Euro A1 licence, I'm guessing this is why it's limited to 83mph (one area where it loses out to the SR). It is also a little heavier than an SR at 200kg which is still pretty damn good, no doubt due to the larger battery, charger, twin front brakes, and a massive 180mm rear tyre. Also it has a 7 inch colour screen.

If they really can do it for that price and it is A1 compliant I think I might have to take out another loan and get one. If it wasn't for the fact that off roading is so fun I'd even consider selling my DS (which cost only a few hundred pound less, ex-demo) to get one.

https://alrendomotorcycles.com/ts-bravo

They also have a sport bike, the TS Alpha, that's coming soon but no details yet

Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ / Max speed limit

« on: October 04, 2020, 09:32:50 AM »

Anyone know whether the max speed limit (not in the app, what the bike is limited to with the custom setting maxed out) is based off the speedo reading or the motor RPM?

What I'm wondering is if changing the gearing (for example fitting the chain kit) and having the dealer modify the software so the speedo reading is correct lowers the max speed or if it remains the same. Obviously the motor can only spin so fast so changing the gearing too much would lower the max speed no matter what, so assume the motor can spin fast enough to reach the same top speed with the lower gearing.

Also, when getting the software adjusted do you think a dealer would be willing to input values different to what the chain kit comes with, say if you wanted to gear it even lower?

Electric Motorcycle News / Indian's first electric bike, the eFTR Jr

« on: October 01, 2020, 06:03:20 PM »

Nothing to do with the partnership between Polaris (the owner of Indian) and Zero it would seem, a bit of a kick in the nuts for those people who for some reason wanted an electric full size FTR but I guess there's still hope for them. Surprisingly it actually seems to be priced rather well at $750 (about £580) for what is probably around a 1kW motor and a decently sized battery judging by the run time numbers.

https://www.indianmotorcycle.com/en-us/eftr-jr/