ElectricMotorcycleForum.com

The SR/F and SR/S have a cruise control feature. and that is a great thing. I personally do not use it much but every time i do the feature itself is fantastic, giving your right hand a well deserved rest

However, the button to engage the cruise control is in a (how shall i say this nicely) horrible position. When normally gripping the "gas"handle my thumb is far from long enough to reach the button. I physically have to move my hand to the utmost left of the handle and then reach with my thumb, twisting my right arm. Not very pratical or even safe when you want to turn it off (it will also turn of when engaging the front or rear brake or the kill switch by the way)

So with a little experimenting with a 3D cad program (Solidworks) and a 3D printer (cheap Anet-A6) and 4 itterations I think I now have a working cruisecontrolbuttonextensionarm (triple word value for scrabble )

In the attachments there are some photo's of the extension arm and also the STL file to 3D print it yourselves. I have not tested it on the road yet but sitting in the garage I can easily power on the cruise control by keeping the button pressed for 1 second. Actually engagin the cruise can only be done when going at least 30 kph.

The install is pretty simple, just unbolt the lower bolt of the mirror/brakehandle retaining bracket. this is a black M6x20mm bolt which will be too short for the 3D printed extender. So you will also have to get a M6x40mm bolt and secure the extender so that the little blob on the back of the extender lines up with the dimple in the cruise control button. That's about it for install. Now you can test whether it works by switching on the bike, putting up the kickstand (don't forget to sit on the bike or have it on a stand LOL) and press the extender arm.

With my bike i have made it so the button is already about a mm depressed in the resting state of the extender. That way when the extender is depressed i have about 1 mm clearance on the back before it touches the throttle housing when it engages the cruise control button fully. If you print the extender yourself you may have to fiddle (or rather file) a bit with the blob on the backside to properly engage the button.

Do NOT print this extender in PLA. it will go brittle and deform in sunlight. I have used (black) PETG but i supposed you can also use ABS. It does need some flexibility but I think the PETG will do fine. Having the luxury of owning a 3D printer helps if it shoiuld break prematuraly, Ill just print a new one

Hope this helps some people deal with the awkward placing of the cruise control button. I think I'll test it out some evening this week to know for sure it handles well

 

Using the info from this excellent thread about the API for the connected features of the SR/F :

https://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=9520.0

I thought : why not try to make a iPhone or even better a Apple Watch app to get the data from the API to :
* See the SOC of the SR/F when it's charging, either at home on the couch or at a restaurant while charging on a trip.
* See the time it takes to get to the charge target set on the bike (also available from the API)
* See on a map where the bike is according to the API and if pressed on the map go there by foot or car  (?)

Now I've never made an iPhone or Watch app. I do have some experience with an Arduino and can bus and Office VBA programming so the learning curve for Xcode and the swift programming language was pretty steep. But with searching on the internet and some borrowed code from Hans2183's app ZeroNG  (available for iOs and Android, THANKS HANS!) I succeeded in making an Apple Watch app with some basic buttons displaying SOC, charge time left, Plugged in or not, charging or not and the street and city information and a map. All using info from the API. All I have to do is enter the username and password which is the same as the ones you enter into the official zero app. It then gets the unit number and with those three you can get the SOC, chargetime, plugged in, charging etc.

So if publishersd it would be usable for all SR/F owners (Sorry not for S/DS/SR/DSR/FS/FX/etc as they are not "effortlessly connected").
I still have to investigate how to get it into the apple App Store and get it approved, but I would like to know if SR/F owners would be interested in this app ? (providing I can get it approved by apple). And off course the app will be free of charge

It should work on all apple watches with watchOS 6 which is available for series 1,2,3,4 and 5 so only the very first series of watches is out. It should also work OK on 38, 40, 42 or 44 mm watches.

I personally have set the watch settings so that an active app stays "On / in the foreground" for 1 hour instead of 2minutes or 15 seconds (see watch settings). That way when I lift my wrist the app updates the data every 1 minute and vibrates shortly  when done. The Apple Watch either uses the iPhone data connection or if equipped with its own sim-card obviously its own data plan.

I haven't used the app much because it's too cold (for me) or too wet to ride the bike (I have a fairly short commute and own a car and no traffic jams on the commute) so it basically has been a winter project. So there should be some bugs in the app but the basics seem to work nicely.

Just before trading in my SR for a SR/F I took some measurements to later compare it to the SR/F
Most striking to me is that while the SR/F seems so much bigger and "fatter" it does not really show that in the measurements

The biggest difference is the distance from the saddle to the handlebars which are a whopping 9 cm more forward.
Unfortunately i didn't measure the rider peg height if someone can measure that for me i could add it)


                         SR - SR/F
Width mirrortips 90 cm - 86 cm
Width handlebar 79 cm - 78 cm
Width Seat 30 cm - 36 cm
Width  Turn signals rear 37 cm - 41 cm
Width Turn signals front 51 cm - 53 cm
Width swingarm rear 29.5 cm - 31 cm
Width Passenger pegs 55 cm - 64 cm
Width Passenger ankle guards 30 cm - 42 cm
Width Rider pegs 57 cm - 57 cm
Width Fairing 43 cm - 45 cm
Width Fairing tips front 36 cm - 34 cm
Width Rear Fairing 28 cm - 37 cm (wings)
Ground clearance 18 cm - 14 cm
Height Handlebar tip 102 cm - 100 cm
Height Mirror top 124 cm - 117 cm
rear axle to Turn indicator tip distance +4 cm -
Handlebar tip to saddletip 61 cm - 69 cm !! (66 cm after installing SW motech BarBack risers 30-22 mm)
Handlebar tip to front axle 85 cm - 89 cm (91 cm after installing handlebar risers)
Handlebar tip to rear axle 129 cm - 129 cm (126 cm after installing handlebar risers)
Saddle tip to rear axle 85 cm - 77 cm
Brake handle to handlebar 5.5 - 7.5 cm - 5.5 - 8 cm
Front wheel to battery housing (plastics) 7 cm - 4 cm
Width of battery plastics 40 cm - 38 cm
Headlight width 18 cm - 20 cm
Front forks centre 18.5 cm -  20.5 cm
Storage compartment length 24 cm - 25 cm
Storage compartment opening length 20 cm - 25 cm
Storage compartment width 23 cm - 20 cm
Storage compartment opening width 21 cm - 20 cm
Storage compartment volume :

This week the rear shock absorber of my Zero SR 2014 failed. First signs were a very pogostick like ride when riding two-up. Later the shock bottomed out at speed bumps at after that the shock bottomed out at just about every bump.
When I got home (riding a bit more cautious) the shock even bottomed when i would sit on the seat and released my weight on the seat by standing up. If i would bounce in the seat the whole bike would jump like a pogo stick. No dampening at all

From different posts on this forum the quality of the rear shock was described "mediocre" at best and now i can only add to that. I've ridden the SR for 3 years now and racked up 24.000 km (15.000 miles) and other than a few tires and a set of front brake pads it hasn't let me down, until this week.

In order not to replace it with the crappy stock shock i decided to replace it with a Wilbers shock (typenr : 640-1143-00)

https://www.wilbers-shop.de/Motorrad/Zero-Motorcycles/Zero-S-Z1-M5/Federbein-Typ-640-Road.html?manufacturer=amu5e4136ae98d5a8327b54d6aadf5d7&year=2014&catname=794e4df955161fa07d826ad45c552708

Delivery is stated on the website to be 14 days so plenty of time to see if the old shock is easy to remove. It turns out it is not too difficult if you have some basic mechanical skills.

* I first put the bike on a stand under the metal pan which protects the onboard charger. If you lift the bike high enough so that the rear tire is just touching the ground (almost all weight of of it) it wil be easier to lift
* next  step is to remove the seat by unbolting the 2 bolts at the rear of the seat and lifting the seat up.
* next step is to remove the tank plastics by removing 3 screws on either sides on the inside of "radiator shroud" side of the tank (font) these are 6 philips screws. Then 2 screws inside the "frunk" after youve taken out the "frunk bag" these 2 screws are near the helmet lock. Finally remove the 2 screws on the rear of the tank plastics (1 on each side). The entire tank plastics then can be lifted upwards and set aside.
* 3rd step is to remove the aluminium Y-bracket to which the rear of the tank plastics is screwed. This is done by removing 2 bolts (4 mm hex) at the end of the 2 "fingers" of the Y-bracket and the 2x 10mm locknuts at the other end of the Y-bracket. (see picture)
* to set the Y-bracket aside you need to unscrew the fuse holder which is bolted to the Y-bracket. (2x 3mm hex bolts) (see picture)
* now you have to remove the plastic shield above the controller. It is only screwed at the rear with a single philips screw.
* the shield can be removed by sliding and rotating the shield around the multi pole connector of the controller (no need to disconnect any connectors!)
* now you can see the top bolt which holds the shock to the frame. It is just a 17mm locknut and there is some room to manoeuvre (see picture). It is somewhat tight so take care you don't knock the bike of the stand
* now remove the rear wheel and belt guard by unbolting 4x 3mm hex bolts (2 on either side)
* also unbolt the locknut at the bottom of the shock. This may also take some force so again be careful not to knock the bike of the stand. (see picture)
* the bolt going through the shock can easily be pulled out if you lower or raise the stand on which the bike is standing so that the weight of the swingarm is exactly supported by the stand (this takes the load of of the shock and the bolts come out very easily) (see picture in second post)
* retrieve the bushings which go into the shock mounting and refit them to the bolt and also the locknut so you know the correct order in which to refit the bushings to the shock later.
* do the same with the top bolt and also retrieve the bushings while manoeuvring the shock away from the bike.
* now you will have the (broken) shock. (see picture)

refitting should be a matter of doing it all in reverse. As I will have to wait 2 whole weeks waiting for the new shock I will report the refitting in a later post.

attached are some pictures of the process.

Also some measurements of the shock

* distance between the mounting points 280 mm
* hole diameter of the mounting point 12 mm
* spring diameter 60 mm
* spring rate 710 lbs/inch

EDIT :

HERE THE LINK FOR PROGRAMMING THE DEFAULT VOLTAGE

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=6405.msg58171#msg58171

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After completing my first and second attempt at a fast charger for my 2014 Zero SR :

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3949.0
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=5763.msg49366#msg49366

I kept searching and trying to get quotes in for a couple of Eltek Flatpack S units instead of the Flatpack 2 HE units.
The Flatpack S is an icredibly small rectifier with 1800 W of output power which is only 72x42x217mm (2.83x1.63x8.54) "tall" and weighs only 850 grammes (1.9 lbs)
I already had one of those in the 'supercharger' version 1.

My Homemade 'supercharger' version 2 now consists of 2 sets of 2 Eltek Flatpack S rectifiers with their output wired in series.

These rectifiers are Constant voltage, constant current, constant power and feature an internal "reverse current diode"
max current of the flatpack S is 1800/48 = 37.5 Amps when below 48 Volts and 1800 Watts above 48 Volts (sadly no overcurrent possibility as with the mean well RSP2000)
All rectifiers have been reprogrammed to have a default output voltage of 57.0 Volts (factory default is 53.5 Volts) with each 2 in series a total output voltage of 114 Volts which is around 90% SOC for the Zero. (follow how the reprogramming was done in the following thread on endless-sphere : https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=71139 )
This means that at the highest SOC (57 Volts) the output current equals 1800 W / 57 V = 31.5 A

The flatpack S rectifiers were not cheap (360 euro's including VAT each) but are so incredibly small, i just had to have them.

The charger setup consists of :
* type 2 mennekes plug for 32Amps (standard in europe for 3 phase 400 VAC, each phase-neutral 230 VAC) with a 680 Ohm resistor between PP and PE to ask for 20A charging power and a 880 Ohm resistor and diode between CP and PE to indicate "ready for charging". Reference : http://visforvoltage.org/forum/13357-mennekes-type-2-plug-officially-not-vectrix
* 5G1.5mm2 PUR cable to carry the 3 phase voltage to the rectifiers and onboard charger lead
* Lead for onboard charger (1300 Watt) on phase 1 (this also takes care of engaging the contactor)
* the first set of 2 Flatpack S rectifiers on phase 2 (2x1800 Watt)
* the second set of 2 Flatpack S rectifiers on phase 3 (2x1800 Watt)
* 10mm2 (8 AWG) cables to the anderson connector, these are highly flexible amplifier power leads commonly found in any Car-HIFI store
* Anderson SBS75X-BRN connector for the fast charging port on the Zero.

All the rectifiers (and onboard charger) are spread as evenly as possible on each of the three phases (L1 = 1300 Watt, L2 = 3600 Watt, L3 = 3600 Watt)

The real plus here is that they fit comfortably in the "Frunk" tank bag of a Zero without having to carry an extra tank bag.
However i also wanted to carry a motorcycle lock in there and that was not possible without a small and easy modification.

I just cut off the tank bag about an inch from the top and screwed the top ring into the cavity where the tank bag is inserted. It still works like it did before but I now have just a little more room to place the charger and the motorcycle lock. I also made a separation consisting of an aluminium plate to be able to keep the lock in the frunk and be able to put in the charger more easily.

It is by no means a waterproof setup because the rectifiers are air-cooled by fans but i don't ride in the rain anyway.
The charger can be placed on the passenger footrest to keep it of the ground.

This charger is a little bit less powerful than the version 1 because of the use of 1800W rectifiers instead of 2000 W, but much smaller and easier to take with me.

for comparison :
Version 1 :
1x1300 W (onboard) / 12 A
1x1800 W (FP S) / 37.5 A max
3x2000 W (FP 2 HE) / 41.6 A max
Total max current (at lower SOC) = 12 + 37.5 + 41.6 = 91 Amps
Total power (at higher SOC) = 1300+1800+3x2000 = 9.1 kW

Version 2 :
1x1300 W (onboard) / 12 A
4x1800 W (FP S) / 37.5 A max
Total max current (at lower SOC) = 12 + 37.5 + 37.5 = 87 Amps
Total max power (at higher SOC) = 1300 + 4x1800 = 8.5 kW

So not too much difference there.

Tried my new homemade supercharger yesterday. (Wintertime is tinkering time  )
Managed to charge with 83 ! Amps from 52% to 90% in under 30 minutes 

For my first attempt at a fast-charger see : http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3949.msg24310#msg24310

The following data is from the Zero App (ZF11.4 battery pack, 10.500 kWh capacity reported by the Zero App)
18:40 52% SOC, 0:30 to full charge, 83 Amps, 8628 Watt
18:46 60% SOC, 0:25 to full charge, 83 Amps, 8801 Watt
18:48 65% SOC, 0:22 to full charge, 83 Amps, 8863 Watt
18:52 70% SOC, 0:20 to full charge, 78 Amps, 8431 Watt
18:56 75% SOC, 0:16 to full charge, 78 Amps, 8554 Watt
19:00 80% SOC, 0:13 to full charge, 78 Amps, 8693 Watt
19:04 85% SOC, 0:10 to full charge, 78 Amps, 8805 Watt
19:05 87% SOC, 0:10 to full charge, 67 Amps, 7601 Watt, this is where the rectifiers started tapering off (reduce their current because constant voltage is reached)
19:08 89% SOC, 0:12 to full charge, 51 Amps, 5804 Watt
19:09 90% SOC, 0:13 to full charge, 46 Amps, 5244 Watt
 
So from 52% to 87% (+35%) in 25 minutes would mean 84% per hour

My Homemade 'supercharger'  consists of 2 sets of Eltek Flatpack rectifiers.
The first set is a Flatpack S charger (48 Volts 1800 Watts) and a Eltek flatpack 2 HE rectifier (48V 2000W)
The second set are 2 pcs Eltek flatpack 2 HE rectifiers (48V 2000W)

These rectifiers are Constant voltage, constant current, constant power and feature an internal "reverse current diode" (ask me how i know  )
max current of the flatpack S is 1800/48 = 37.5 Amps when below 48 Volts and 1800 Watts above 48 Volts (sadly no overcurrent possibility as with the mean well RSP2000)
max current of the Eltek Flatpack 2 HE is 2000/48 = 41.7 Amps when output is below 48 Volts
All rectifiers have been reprogrammed to have a default output voltage of 57.0 Volts (factory default is 53.5 Volts) with each 2 in series a total output voltage of 114 Volts which is around 90% SOC for the Zero. (follow how the reprogramming was done in the following thread on endless-sphere : https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=71139 )
The flatpack 2 HE rectifiers can be sourced from eBay between 100 and 200 euro's each. Unfortunately the much smaller and lighter flatpack S cannot but maybe in due time.

The charger setup consists of :
* type 2 mennekes plug for 32Amps (standard in europe for 3 phase 400 VAC, each phase-neutral 230 VAC) with a 680 Ohm resistor between PP and PE to ask for 20A charging power and a 880 Ohm resistor and diode between CP and PE to indicate "ready for charging". Reference : http://visforvoltage.org/forum/13357-mennekes-type-2-plug-officially-not-vectrix
* 5G1.5mm2 PUR cable to carry the 3 phase voltage to the rectifiers and onboard charger lead
* Lead for onboard charger (1300 Watt) on phase 1 (this also takes care of engaging the contactor)
* the Flatpack S on phase 2 (1800 Watt)
* the first Flatpack2 HE on phase 3 (2000 Watt)
* the second Flatpack2 HE on phase 1 (2000 Watt)
* the third Flatpack2 HE on phase 2 (2000 Watt)
* 10mm2 (8 AWG) cables to the anderson connector, these are highly flexible amplifier power leads commonly found in any Car-HIFI store
* Anderson SBS75X-BRN connector for the fast charging port on the Zero.

All the rectifiers (and onboard charger) are spread as evenly as possible on each of the three phases (L1 = 3300 Watt, L2 = 3800 Watt, L3 = 2000 Watt)

It (just) fits into a simple tankbag to easily take it on longer trips.
I've also set it up so I can take either of the 2 sets to reduce weight (at the expense of less charging power)

I have to do some more testing from lower SOC, that would theoretically increase the amps above the stated 83 Amps, at 0% SOC the voltage is around 96 Volts where the rectifiers can deliver their maximum current of 37,5 and 41,7 amps. Together with the 12A onboard charger this would deliver 91 Amps. And that's pretty close to the charge fuse of 100A. I hope i don't blow that one 

It is by no means a waterproof setup because the rectifiers are air-cooled by fans but i don't ride in the rain anyway.

Much like the topic in the <=2012 section of the zero's http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3857.0 I was looking for a way to prevent front wheel spray from entering the bundle of electric wires just above and in front of the battery on my 2014 SR. After removing the tank assembly and some careful measuring, it looked quite easy to make, just a flat sheet of metal or plastic cut in the right shape.

I first made  a mock-up in cardboard outlining it with a pencil along the frame and that fitted very well. So off to the DIY store to look for some suitable material.
Maybe not the most suitable but i used a 2mm thick piece of plexiglas and cut it in the shape of the cardboard.
In the frame there are 2 unused holes with some plastic covers on them. Drilling two holes in the right position of the plexiglass sheet right over the holes made the sheet fit perfectly and secured and it is now preventing front wheel spray to destroy the electrics.

I don't know if zero left it open on purpose (cooling ?) but I think the danger of water ruining electrics is greater. 

The cardboard with all dimensions (they are in millimeters by the way) is shown in one of the pictures below, if somebody want to make the splashguard for their own bike. Mind you, that is (off course) at your own risk