Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[oobflyer]

I pre-ordered the 2012 Zero-S ZF9 on Nov. 10. I'm number three in line at the dealership in Pleasanton, CA. I was told that the bikes will be at the dealership in February - woo hoo!

Have you pre-ordered? Which bike? Which dealership?

[zap mc]

I am really interested to know why someone would pay $14000 for a Zero and without seeing it or riding it and i am stunned that there are two people ahead of you in the queue who have also done the same.

I have never met anyone who would pay more than $8000 for one!

[gasdive]

I paid 14000 for my 2010 DS.  (that's what they cost with taxes here in Australia).  I bought it while it was still in a shipping container on it's way here.

Why....  I just wanted one.  I haven't been disappointed it's been great.  More fun to ride than my CBR1000 was.

As far as the 9 kWh version goes...  I'd be more tempted by the XU or X right now.  It has the range I need for what I want to do, BUT if I was thinking about a long distance ride or even touring (on an electric!!!) then my money would be going to the 9 kWh DS.  I know I can get 50 km from the 4 kWh DS so 100 km from the 9 should be a certainty.  That's enough to do 200 km a day which is enough for most touring duties if you go somewhere interesting.   

=:)

[drivin98]

Sadly, I need to save a while and get a car before I can get a bike. If I had my ruthers though, I might go for a DS ZF9, since I live pretty close to a National Park with lots of trail riding opportunities. The XU and X are pretty attractive options as well.


The new S looks sweet though, and I hope you start up a blog or something to share your experience with those of us who are still bike-less.

[Richard230]

I'm thinking about it. I like the single-speed direct belt drive. Plus the DS ZF9 now has enough juice to visit my daughter and I won't have to worry about my motor overheating when I get caught in a traffic jam. And the closest motorcycle dealer to me (just 8 miles away) is a Zero dealer. I am just a little gun-shy about being an early adopter again. After two GPR-S bikes, I am more than a little nervous.

[RickSteeb]

I am really interested to know why someone would pay $14000 for a Zero and without seeing it or riding it and i am stunned that there are two people ahead of you in the queue who have also done the same.

I have never met anyone who would pay more than $8000 for one!

I'm one of the two!  Paid for a 2011 DS on Halloween, but asked them to hold off until EICMA and give me the option to switch to the '12 model.  Shortly after seeing one at the factory "in person" last Tuesday, I chose the 2012 DS 6kWhr version, and believe the extra $3k is justified by the brushless motor, 50% more juice, and 80MPH top speed.  I expect 45-50 mile range on highway at legal speeds...  and can hardly wait.  Thought the '11 model was adequate, but the '12s are looking much more so!

[zap mc]

" I expect 45-50 mile range on highway at legal speeds...  and can hardly wait."

So at 55mph you recon you will get 45-50 miles?! How do you work that out?
I recon it will be nearer 20-25 miles

[gasdive]

I would also be surprised if the 6 got you 25 miles at freeway speeds.  I've got 50 miles out of the 2010 but I was crawling along the whole way.  I've seen the low battery flashing after less than 10 miles at 60 mph.

[cirrus pete]

I would also be surprised if the 6 got you 25 miles at freeway speeds.  I've got 50 miles out of the 2010 but I was crawling along the whole way.  I've seen the low battery flashing after less than 10 miles at 60 mph.

I have gotten 25 miles on my 2011 S with most of the ride flat out at ~70mph on the freeway.

[oobflyer]

I am really interested to know why someone would pay $14000 for a Zero

After tax incentives the price comes down a few thousand dollars ($11,000) ... but the one amazing thing that can be said about electric vehicles is that they SAVE money. If you compare an $11,000 electric bike to an equivalent gas bike (say one that costs $8,000), ride both of them for five years, the cost of the gas bike just keeps going up with gas prices, maintenance (oil changes, tune-ups, etc.) Meanwhile the electric bike will start saving you money right away (no gas!) and will have saved more than the difference in price after five years (maybe sooner depending on how much you ride) - and will continue to save money until it breaks down or requires new batteries.

I paid just over $7,000 for my '07 Vectrix. I have over 11,000 miles on it (three years of riding). If you assume a similar gas-bike gets 50 MPG, and gas is $4/gal, then I have saved nearly $900 in gas. Meanwhile I've never needed a tune-up or oil change. Tune-ups can cost $400 or $500 each, oil changes cost $80 each (I also have a gas bike for the long rides, so I know).

would also be surprised if the 6 got you 25 miles at freeway speeds.

This sounds a bit low to me. My Vectrix had a 3.7 kWh battery pack (now upgraded to 6 kWh) - I could go 25 miles on the freeway (at the speed limit). With a 6kWh pack you should be able to go 45-50 miles... unless you are racing. The Zero is also much lighter than the Vectrix - which also improves range.

[manlytom]

Now I am riding the Zero S -- 2011 model -- the newest we can just get over here in Australia. To my research it is the first in Sydney area or so !! yeah know down under is in some items behind ...

It looks a better build and has improvements over the 2010 model -- if it now works as well better I am happy and look forward to upgrade to 2012 or higher when available for us.

Obviously still on the Agni motor, so hope that one will work better in the 2011 than in my 2010. It is still not the new 2012 brushless -- anyone knows the make of that ?

Would have gotten the 2012 if available - as it has the higher performance ... and a switch to make it go of the line fast.

cheers
T

[zap mc]

Obviously still on the Agni motor, so hope that one will work better in the 2011 than in my 2010. It is still not the new 2012 brushless -- anyone knows the make of that ?

It is supposed to be Zeros own make as they recieved a substantial govenment grant for their powertrain development, however they may have just bought in or adapted someone elses motor. It is 3 phase brushless so not compatible with the earlier brushed DC motors and would probably account for the higher top speed being as a result of the higher rpm available from a brushless motor. NOt sure whether that would make it an AC motor either but we can see that most race teams in TTXGP are using AC brushless now so it would follow if that was the case

[gasdive]

Zero is a bit mum on the exact type of motor used in the 2010/11 bikes but the "engine number" on my rego starts with 95R so I am *guessing* that would indicate that they've used the 95-R model of motor.  They already have a very high rev limit.  So I doubt that there's a huge gain to be made in that area by going to an AC motor. 

Now on the other hand. The rpm/volt of the 95 and 95-R motors is the same.  So the 95 motor has a maximum voltage of 56 V which is the same as the pack voltage on the S/DS and that yeilds 4000 rpm.  The 95-R has a maximum voltage of 84 Volts and that gives you 6000 rpm. 

So looking at the voltage of the pack, you'd have to say the bike (or at least the battery) was designed to have the 95 model motor.  It's not out of the question that it was designed for the 95 and when the 95-R became available they put that in instead.  It has the same mounts and is electrically identical.  You could also say that I'm building very large structure of speculation based on the Engine number on my rego papers. 

Of course just spinning the motor faster doesn't mean you can go faster.  You can't pull the engine out of a Hyabusa and plonk in a .049 model plane engine that spins to twice the speed and expect to go twice as fast.  To go faster means you must be making (or converting) energy at a higher rate in a cubic reletionship.  To go from the current 67 mph top speed to 80 mph top speed means that it must be drawing power from the battery at 80/67x80/67x80/67 times faster.  (that's 1.7 times faster).  So simply going to an AC motor with a higher rev limit or more rpm/v isn't of itself going to make the bike go faster.  Not without other changes to the bike. 

[zap mc]

if you look at the press pics of the new Zero you will see that the motor has 3 very beefy wires going to it so i assume that the current draw is more than previous models

[nogasman]

Called Zero today and they said they had a sneak peek test ride of the 2012 S (maybe more) in Scottsdale last weekend. Anyone get out to try it?