ElectricMotorcycleForum.com

Hosted using firebase here https://zerong-a5759.web.app/ Fetches data for last 20 days as is. You can play with the properties and graph types to get something visually working.





And here is source code for those interested https://github.com/hanscappelle/zerong-webapp Including the php script that acts as a gateway for CORS reasons.

Just a first initial feedback after receiving and using the PCC app. It's an Android beta app available from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.powercruisecontrol.energica that will connect to OBDII Bluetooth dongles to retrieve bike info and adapt your route using that info.

Initially this was a closed beta app but since a few days it's been public. So no more need to request access. I'll post back here once I have a video out to show how it's useful (or not). Out of curiosity, Is there anyone else here already using this App? It was shared by one of the devs on the facebook group a while ago.

Required Hardware

You'll need an OBDII dongle with bluetooth support so using the ELM327 chipset. Some are available that use Wifi, the app won't connect to wifi based dongles. Also not all dongles fully support the OBD protocols needed for this to work. Most 5 EUR chinese copies (those blue transparant ones) will likely fail. They sell their own dongle that works for sure at amazon (at least amazon.de and amazon.it, not sure about other countries).

Installation

Initial connection wasn't straight forward. The app redirects to the Android Bluetooth settings during set up but for some reason it prompted me for a password of at least 16 digits while the password it the instructions is "1234". I tried with spaces, 0, and more but only succeeded once the app for some (unknown) reason skipped the minimal password length. Not sure yet what I did to fix that or if it is device specific. I was testing on a Nexus 5X device. The good news is that that was the only issue I encountered.

Next the app prompted me to buy a license. The cost of it is 25 EUR per year with a 30 day free trial. This is linked to the VIN so tied vehicle not user. However if you have multiple EVs like me you would have to buy multiple licenses. For now the Zero and Mercedes aren't supported yet so not yet an issue.



Using the App

After that you can start using the app. On top you make a connection and there is a map where you can plan a route. During that route the initial green screen will show a percentage of what you have left (or come short) reaching your destination. That is the part I'll try to capture in a video cause it will make much more sense that way. That is the main feature of the app.

There is also a data screen showing state of your bike. Keep in mind that this app is in beta. The voltage values are missing for example. And the kWh value displayed is not from the canbus but just 71% of nominal capacity. Which isn't what is really available so I doubt the calculations will be OK at this point. The battery temperature is the right value.

Just a quick write up to share my experience. I get tons of info from these kind of write ups so I do my best to give back also. You can find more of my "adventures" on my YT channel https://www.youtube.com/c/Hans2183/



"Adventures" is probably not the right word cause as a father of 4 kids working a full time job I don't ride as often or as for as I wished for. Not to mention covid-19 restrictions. As of this weekend we are finally allowed to be outside beyond 6:00-22:00 again. And 22nd of May I'll join an EV planned route here in Belgium for 1.000 km. At least that is the route planned, I'll probably not make it that long.

This is not my first electric motorcycle. I switched to electric 2 years ago on a Zero SR/F and have collected only 14.000 km on that one, mostly due to covid-19 since I had to work from home. If I refer a lot to Zero that is why.

Current state

I have this bike since March and over the weekend finally went over the first 1.000 km. Since half of that was on a single day I still don't have that much experience riding it but I guess I can always update later on.

It'll soon go in for it's first checkup now but really I haven't seen anything fail so far. Note that on my Zero by now the front brake switch had failed and got replaced under warranty.


Ergonomics

I picked the SS9 because I couldn't get used to the narrow seats on all the other models. If not I would’ve probably bought the Ribelle. The SS9 has a retro bench style seat that made all the difference for me. It’s seat is comfy on longer rides and there is lots of room to move forward or backwards on it during longer rides.

The original handlebars are very wide (as on adventures bikes) which really helps with the input you need to give this bike while riding. The original black ones have a big bend in them giving you a very relaxed upright sitting position. I swapped those for the Ribelle handlebars for having just a little more tucked down sitting position. Partly triggered by seeing some reviewers tuck in on the original bars having their elbows sticking out in what seems to be a very awkward position .



Footpegs are also clearly more relaxed than those on the Ribelle and other models. That said you could likely easily swap the pegs from these different models like you can with the handlebars. It’s only the seat with the hinge mechanism that is not as interchangeable.

Compare to the Zero SRF everything is way more relaxed. I’m not comparing to the SRS at this point cause that one also has less aggressive ergonomics. Although not as big as a difference as SS9 vs Ribelle. For I example I have the SRS footpads on my SRF and that only drops them for around 2cm.

I’ve done a ride with a passenger this weekend for around 100 km with and then 100 km back without and you barely notice someone is behind you handling wise. She (my 18y old kid) was fine with the comfort she said. We never bumped into each other. All I did for settings is change the preload on the spring and set it as soft as possible and then changed regen to LOW instead of MEDIUM which I use most of the time. Ride mode was RAIN to get more range.


Range

In numbers the Energica plus models have 50% more battery capacity than the Zero SRF (without power tank). The Zero however is more efficient on all speeds so you don’t get a 50% increase in range.

I haven’t made an exact measurement but my feeling is the range increase is more around 30%. Still anything added is for sure welcome. In practice I mostly notice it when going on the highway running 100 - 120 kmh. Cause below that the Zero also has a very good range.

And where I would often get home on a longer 200km ride with the zero in limp mode I can do that with the Energica having like 20% battery or so left.

I also notice it when charging from a 220V outlet at home .


Charging

Which brings me to charging. And where I don’t really often notice that much difference in range with that bigger battery it’s the opposite with charge speeds. Every time I go charge on a DC fast charger I realise that is the way to go and makes such a huge difference.

My Zero has the charge tank installed for 12kW giving it a 1h empty to full charge time. Not bad but the Energica is twice that speed. Sure if you need to decide between the two you also need to taken the infrastructure that is available to you into account. Cause those speeds are on a totally different system (AC vs DC).

Anyway that 485km ride I referred to in the beginning was with a friend on his ICE bike and we stopped more for stretching and talking than what was needed for charging. So yes touring on these bikes is possible.


Weight

I can’t write about this bike without talking about the weight. It’s there but honestly it hasn’t really bothered me much. Sure if you compare it directly to the SRF (also not light but lighter) it needs more input when riding on twisty roads.

On the highway on higher speeds and straight lines the added weight comes as a bonus cause it’s more stable.

On slow riding between traffic I haven’t noticed it so far. It did catch up on me on slow riding when I had to turn in also a few times.

For parking I do use the slow forward and backward movement. It’s mostly welcome on not perfectly flat services cause the smallest incline can make it hard to get moving.

If they sold a smaller capacity model with the new battery combination I would have considered it for the lower weight. But they don’t sell it anyway.


Chain Drive

A bit too soon to talk much about that feature. Also I haven’t used the bike in rain yet. I might even do my best to avoid that anyway.

In the future I might look into replacing it with one of those new Regina maintenance free chains. I also noticed those come in gold so that would match really well (cause yes you should pick chains based on color).


Luggage

Only had a quick attempt over the weekend with a big 20L bag strapped to the tank cause I had a passenger on the back. Because the seat has to move up when charging that is probably the way to go. These bags have fast clips to detach easily so you could probably also use them on the back.



I’m not sure yet if I will go for an Energica tank bag or not. They look way better but they are probably also a bit smaller. We’ll see. I’ve heard they are delayed by that evergreen boat that got stuck in the Suez Canal… Oh wait no I’m in Europe .


Overall Quality

Like I said no issues to report so far. It just works every time I use it. The overall quality seems very well. If anything I think they could easily cut on price and weight by not overbuilding some of the parts. But hey if that is the only complaint then they are actually doing a great job.👍.


Electronics

The dashboard and the functionality on the dash is perfect. Only mishap there is the cruise control that is nearly impossible to reach while riding. The switches on the other side are not high quality, in fact the same ones zero uses. But for now they keep working.

I like how you get that extra switch up front to activate and change the riding profile. Also that you can change ride mode and regen separately. On Zero those 2 are always linked to each other. And for custom regen you need to make a custom ride mode.

Also regen works better in general in how it gets you to a full stop. On zero you’ll always have to use the brakes for that. The only benefit I see on Zero on regen function is how it allows to control brake and neutral regen separately.

I think the Energica also uses it’s brake light during regen which is great. But difficult to confirm while riding. So just based on observations of a co rider.

The App is another story, luckily you don’t really need it to use the bike. In fact at this point I haven’t even connected the app to the bike nor have I gone into the settings menu on the bike itself. There was simply no need for it so far (thanks to that profile button).

When I bought the bike the My Energica app was temporarily taken from the iOS App Store so at first I couldn’t use it anyway. My dealer was kind enough to inform me once it was back and I installed it right away and had a quick look.



There is one feature in that app that I would really like to work. It should be able to report charge stations when you ride close to them on the dashboard using GPS and cellular of your phone. I’ll have to make a separate post about that feature though cause a quick test reveals that fetching those chargers is currently broken. I opened a discussion on FB and get back to that when I have more info https://www.facebook.com/groups/210803326383780/permalink/926154038182035/

Anyone who has an overview picture of the charge tank? To help me show how routing should be done. Especially the orange wrapped wires and black charge inlets. Preferably an EU type2. Only tank cover to be removed.

The story behind this question ;

I had mine installed today and noticed the tank cover was pinching some wires. So I took tank cover off to see if I could fix it.

Some bolts were swapped, one cross threaded and some were missing. Plus some frame damage :-?.

But I couldn't get the wires to fit and then I noticed the stickers on the charger were upside down. So I grabbed the af1racing manual and indeed it.s mounted I upside down...

I have it swapped now but could need use some visual help on the wire routing. Thanks in advance!

I broke my belt a few days back. Managed to get a new one from a dealer that had it in stock and opened up for me on the second day of Christmas. You don't have to remove your rear wheel to replace a belt but while at it I did anyway so I could clean up and inspect everything.

There is already a great video online on how to remove the rear wheel, my video talks about some extra things I noticed. For example the license plate light has a connector hidden in the wrap material so you can completely remove it. And the break caliper can be removed before moving the wheel out once you have the axle out.



I'll update here once the actual belt replacement video is uploaded also. That was really easy to do. All you have to remove is the plastic fender on top of the rear wheel directly behind the motor. All the other things can stay in place.

It has enough slack not to hinder steering. It follows mostly existing cable routing. Goes underneath the plastics up front and comes into the tank from the tank lid hinge system. It's not in the way of the tank lid closing. Next it's taped on the side of the storage compartment.

The thing I'm not convinced about is how it sticks out on the USB connection in the tank storage compartment. That might get stuck on or hit by something I drop in there.

This quadlock kit also comes with a battery connector but given how small this battery is I'm not going to risk that. Plus it wouldn't switch ON/OFF with the contact key of the bike as it does now.





For the charging itself I had to relocate the universal sticky pad on my cheap iPhone 11 silicone case to the exact center for the charger to be picked up. But other than that it just works. Officially it's only compatible with their phone specific cases.

Quickly my background: I started riding to filter traffic during my 110km (highway) commute with a 2005 BMW R1200RT that I bought second had with 70.000 km done, added another 70k. Replaced that with a BMW R1200 GS LC 2016 model bought new with now just below 70k of riding done. I had a Triumph Street Triple for fun (mostly weekends). This summer I traded that Triumph for a red SRF premium delivered to me in August. Started actually riding it daily in September. The RT was sold when I bought the GS. The GS I still keep for longer distance (travel).

I ordered that SRF after test riding it in June. It was more comfortable to ride than the Street Triple and the electric way of riding without clutch made it easier to handle and ride than the GS for daily commutes. Obviously the GS has more protection against weather and a more relaxed and upright position. So far I've only used the SRF for commutes and very short fun rides. With another newborn I just don't find the time to go out that much.

It did great for the first 6.000 km in all kind of weather. I love how easy filtering through traffic at low speed is with this bike. And even handling standing next to it (parking) it feels lighter than the GS. In theory it should weigh the same but I guess the GS has more height and therefor feels more tippy. I really like being back on 2x 17" wheels since that is so much better on tarmac which I ride most of the time. The GS isn't bad but you feel that the steering is lighter and it's all just less planted.

The GS has way more options for the same price, think of GPS, luggage, electronic suspension, ... And it's way more relaxed to sit on than the SRF. The SRF is a bit too sporty still for daily use but thanks to the less springy suspension (compared to the Street Triple) it's doable. One day I'll probably look into lowering the foot pegs.

Comparing it to the GS and the costs to keep that bike running (dealer maintained) and having an investment of 10k into the new bike I calculated it should take me 3 years or 90.000 km in distance to get that 10k investment back. That is with the money I safe from reduced maintenance cost and from cheaper electricity compared to gas.

Because of range and cold weather and wind on higher speeds in general I started riding slower which isn't a bad thing. It's safer to say the least. I'm a very cautious rider but on the highway I could go fast when it was empty. Not with this bike. The range hasn't really been a problem for me so far. I get around 120-130 km in distance on highways and 150 km or more on other road types.

I charge it almost always at home over night with a 220V adapter (wall socket). I also have a 3x16A cable with 2 type2 connectors to charge it on location. At work there is a charging station that can charge at full 5.7 kW for which my bike is the limit. It's probably an 11 or 22 kW station since these are the most common over here. I'm charged per kWh on that station and with the card I use for it I can use many charge stations all over the country. Most cost around 0,35 EUR / kWh. I couldn't find any free chargers so far. Unless you would count the ones in parking garage where you can charge for free but have to pay for the parking.

I had it serviced at around 1.000 km following instructions. I then also had the Zero specific rear luggage rack installed by the dealer so that I had more space for my backpack to go. I carry my clothes and a laptop with my in a backpack that I secure to the rear seat with rok straps. I paid for service, the hardware and some time to get it installed.

At around 3k my front brake light switch that triggers regen and brake light failed after a very wet ride. I informed my dealer and he ordered the part and a week later I could go by and he had it replaced in no time, free of charge.

At around 4k I had a second firmware update. The first one went fine and I never really noticed a difference. This one however resulted in the charging cable not being released after charging is done. The first morning I noticed that it took me almost an hour to figure out. In the end I learned that turning the bike on and off several times finally releases the cable. I informed my dealer and he confirmed Zero was aware of the issue and would have a fix soon. And indeed, two weeks later a new firmware update was available and now the cable released as soon as I turned the ignition key. All was working perfect again.

But then at little over 5k the real problems started. After a very wet rain the CEL or Check Engine Light turned on during a ride. I still had full power (as far as you can check that in the rain) and I could ride as long as I wanted (or at least until the battery would die). Luckily I didn't because once home it wouldn't let me charge the bike. Also at that point I couldn't ride the bike anymore. When I turned the key the battery and engine light wouldn't go out and there was no audible click and the killswitch wouldn't let me arm it to ride.

I imagined the rain was the issue here so I let the bike dry. It's stored in my garage but it was already cold (around 16 °C inside the garage) so it didn't really dry over night. So in the morning still no charging and I took the GS again. I hadn't used that bike for 3 months. I almost stalled it at the first stopping point since I forgot the clutch.

In the evening I used a hair dryer on the bike and after that I could suddenly charge and use it again. It still showed the CEL on the dash, even while riding. But the battery icon did go out, the click happened and I could simply arm it and go. Once at work it again failed to charge and arm once I arrived there. But in the evening, when it was time to go home it worked again.

I could use it for another week without issues. After a few rides the CEL no longer stayed on. Granted those were very nice weather days. I informed my dealer about these issues and he asked me to go by to have the logs send over to Zero. Since it worked again I explained I rather kept using it for now and return if the error would come back.

It was on the first heavy rain that the CEL turned on again. Also I was stranded at work that day with a bike that didn't want to charge nor arm. Even after a day of work it still refused to coöperate. So I asked my wife to come and get me.

The bike stayed at work for the weekend, also in a garage underneath the building. Dry, warm and protected by the guards of service. On monday I got to work with the van ready to push it in. The bike was already working again at that point but I didn't want to risk it anymore since I just couldn't rely on it in wet weather. I dropped it off at the dealer in the evening.



The next day he informed me he did some tests and replaced some parts but didn't get it working reliably so Zero Europe would come and pick it up to get it fixed. So for now I'm back on the GS, getting used to shifting gears again (it has a quickshifter but still) and keeping it upright.