ElectricMotorcycleForum.com

No idea. Took it out again on the same route - zero issues

How hefty is the 12 volt charger on the bike?  Is it only a few amps to basically keep up with lights on the battery or can it put some real power, like 8 to 10 amp.  If it's only a few it'll never really be able to keep up with your 12 volt demands when gloves, butt warmers etc start wanting 100 watts or so.  Batteries are going to suck anyways when it's that cold, especially the LIons, so if the charger is not able to keep up it's done a lot faster.  You can get  like a 5 ah block battery that can easily sneak into a cubby hole, a mesh weave on a bag etc.  putting a second battery on it in parallel that you can use as a boost in times of need like that can make the difference between a safe trip and getting stuck somewhere for hours or overnight.

It's kind of sleazy but one of those pocket car jumpers would work too for a emergency.  No you are not jamming it for 500 amp to jump something, but it probably has 5 to 10 ah packed into it that'll basically be like a second battery.  Maybe hide it under the seat with a quick home made clip to go from power out to clamp into the battery terminals.  Your garage looks like you got the tools to make stuff like that

Aaron

I don't know what the exact draw is from the bike, but you are allowed up to 10amps from the P&A plug under the seat (same as the LW1). I think it was the combination of the 12v already being at the precipice of low voltage, then me heating up my gear. The cold is also a consideration. I'm passing info along to LiveWire, they know what gear I'm using so I suspect they will do their own internal testing to see if there is something that can be done to resolve it (or just advise owners how to prevent it).

Ok, unless you are just an idiot, which you don't seem to be.  Or an attention starved Z-Tard, which again you don't seem to be, or you got trapped by a surprise storm, or had NO alternative.

WHY?

Just, WHY would you do this?  The down on the ground outcome is pretty much a given.

At least with the livewire you have a chance of picking it up by yourself.  A bigger / heavier bike like the Energica, not so much.

Bruh,  a few 'Likes' on YT for a video proving to the world how stupid you are, is NOT worth your life son.  Please, don't be doing shit like this, it's simply NOT worth all that can go wrong.  If you can't get to the road, the ambulance can't get to YOU either.  Think on that for a minute.

also, from what I remember, the 12 volt battery is a Lead Acid.  Get yourself one of those battery tenders, plug the bitch in and leave it plugged in.  It wont hurt the battery at all, in fact LA chem, actually LOVES being topped / floated.  This way your battery is nice and fully charged for you on your trip and you don't have to worry about stupid shit OR having to lug your charger with you all over the place. 

Be safe, not a 5 minute 'hero' on Fakebook, Twatter, or Tictard.

Aaron

Ok, here are the facts since these types of comments are a dime a dozen - and not one of them asks any questions before casting judgement. Your immediate assessment, is wrong.

I left that morning around 10am - the weather forecast was that snow would stop around 11am and had a 35% chance of snow in the evening around 5 or 6pm. The temps were not to drop below freezing until 9pm. I called ahead to my dealer and asked if the weather was bad, reported they only had a few sprinkles in the morning, but nothing since. The trip would have only taken me maybe 3-4 hours to complete, and that's if I really took my time, average is 3 hours. I departed.

When I got to Roanoke, snow was still pretty light and not threatening as it was not really sticking to the ground, and temps were still above 37°F -  by all accounts still safe to ride. That's when the 12v issue started, thankfully I was still able to level 3 charge the bike even though I had a 12v error. I took the battery out, put it on a trickle charger for an hour, but still didn't work.

That's when I called an Uber to return the parts and see if my dealer had any spare 12v lithium ion batteries - they didn't . One of the techs gave me a spare tool kit (one in the video) and I caught another Uber back to the bike (VW dealership).

Now this dealership was very pro-EV, and the lead service manager let me park the bike in the warming bay. This was now around 2-3pm, and the snow was starting to pick up (against weather predictions). At this point, I was still hopeful that I could make it home - and that's all I wanted to do, get home. I could give two fucks about subscribers, views, likes etc - so please don't apply this thinking that every person making videos is after these metrics. I just enjoy riding and telling stories through my videos - something I've done since a child.

When I hit the central highlands, between Roanoke and Lexington, that's when the conditions got really bad. Unfortunately there really isn't anything out there. There is one hotel near Natural Bridge, however it was shut. Emergency crews were dispatched in the whole valley, and towing crews were picking up cars constantly (many drove by me with cars on the backs). So let me assure you that had I another choice in the matter, I would have stopped. However stopping would have meant that now I"m just sitting out in the cold. Riding, I can at least make progress to get home, of which I was supposed to pick up my daughter that evening and dinner was waiting on me.

I think anyone can appreciate the feeling of just wanting to get home - especially after trying to unfuck the 12v battery and get back on the road. Next time you cast judgement at someone, at least put yourself in their shoes - I don't think anyone would have done anything differently were they in my shoes. I made decisions with the info I had at the time I made those decisions - sometimes things go unexpectedly wrong and you have to adapt. Thankfully as the conditions worsened, I slow my rate of movement and was going relatively slow when I fell. I was wearing full technical gear from head to toe, and felt nothing on impact. My shoulder was sore the day after, but something akin to working out - some slight superficial bruising from the D3O armor, but otherwise perfectly fine.

I did not enjoy this 

Grip heaters?

Yes you can add heated grips. It has a P&A under the seat for up to 10amps

The final video in a series documenting my journey from the TN/VA border to the PA/NY border on backcountry off-roads for 1200 miles on my modified LiveWire One.

Thanks for the comparison! When you say 'freeway' miles, what speeds are you going?

Quote from: ADVENTURESonZERO on October 04, 2022, 03:44:26 AM

I went with the 2020 ELW purely because it was a Harley-Davidson.

I wonder how much extra you paid for the HD name . . .


-Don-  Auburn, CA

I didn't pay any extra, bought a brand new HDLW at the same price point as a brand new LW1