Genre | Riding Style > Street

The State of Play

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princec:
Bit quiet in this topic, but I can't see anywhere else to ramble on, so ... I thought I'd start a thread where I muse about what's wrong with each of the main bikes on the market and what might be done to fix it. Or at least, tempt me in to buying one of them.

Zero FX (and S and DS)

* No traction control
* Ultra-short range
* Outdated dash & switchgearI'd love one of these but where I live the roads are perpetually covered in mud and shit, or soaking wet, or both, and I just know that I'll highside it because of the total lack of traction from an electric motor. So for me, they're not even under consideration until they get the safety net of TC.

I can live with the ultra-short range because my commute happens to be 50 miles round trip and I can charge it up at work in the middle.

For ten large though, the dash and switchgear are a joke. KTM can manage to put state-of-the art stuff on a 390. C'mon Zero.


Zero SR/DSR

* Belt drive reliability
* No traction control
* Only 3kW AC charging onboard
* No CCS
* Outdated dash & switchgear
* Questionable styling
* Could do with another front disc
* Price : performance ratioWith a 50% price hike comes many more opportunities to whinge. The belt drive is the SR's biggest bugbear. I've seen at least 3 videos of Zero's belts snapping, two of which were the SR range I think. It doesn't matter if it's got a range of 1000 miles and costs just a thousand quid, if I can't be 100% sure it's going to get me to work without a basic mechanical failure, I can't even consider it. (Maybe I've been lucky but over the last 30 years and approximately as many bikes in varying conditions from new to decidedly antique, I've never had a breakdown through mechanical failure).

With even more power TC is more important - eh TMF?.

And now we're looking at 15 large, I'm expecting the same sort of premium equipment on this bike that every other bike at this price range has: TFT dash, LED this and that, easy-to-use switchgear. In fact if the SR/DSR don't get the lighting and dash off of the SR/F in short order they can probably expect to not sell any more of them. Also, bikes at this price are usually putting out at least 50% more power.


Zero SR/F (Premium)

* Belt drive reliability
* Waterproofing and general electrical component reliability
* Only 6kW AC charging onboard
* No CCSNow we're looking at 20 grand, we can moan about the 6kW charging meaning a 2 hour charge time at the side of the road. It's not just that it inconveniences the rider waiting so long, it inconveniences everybody else who has to wait, especially as the proliferation of 12-22kW chargers continues. It ain't forward thinking or future proofing. Never mind the fact it doesn't have fast DC charging, essential for any distance work.


Energica Ribelle/SS9/Eva/Ego

* Weight, weight, and more weight
* Chain drive (noise! Mess!)Fancy dash - check! CCS - check! Electronic aids - check! Styling - check! But OMG, have you ever tried to actually move one of these things? They are insanely heavy. I can barely shift one, and I spent 10 years riding fully loaded 1150GSAs.

And though the chain drive is ultra-reliable of course... it's messy and super noisy. Belts really are the way to go.


HD LiveWire

* Price
* Only 3kW AC charging onboard
There's no way in a million years I'd put down Tesla money to buy a bike. I'll be buying a Tesla, thanks.


Lightning Strike

* Doesn't actually exist ;)

Cas :)

BigPoppa:
I can only speak for the Energicas but they do have the slow speed reverse and forward to ease moving the bike around. I too come from larger bikes (Concours14, Victory Cross Country Tour, Triumph Trophy) and I find the Energica a bit easier to maneuver around than those bikes.

As for chain vs belt, there’s pluses and minuses to both. You can’t say one is better than the other, just different for different purposes. While the belt is virtually zero maintenance and cleaner, if you want the ability to fine tune performance by utilizing different sprocket sizes chain is the only option. On my last chain driven bike (Ducati Diavel) I played around a bit with different front and rear sprocket sizes to get an acceleration curve that suited me and my riding style. I couldn’t do that on my belt or shaft driven bikes. As for mess, it depends on how you clean the chain and what you use to lube it. I’ve used chain waxes for years and never had enough fling to make it feel like the chain was too dirty.

Sound is subjective. Personally I like the sound the Energica makes. Around town it’s loud enough that pedestrians notice me so that’s an added benefit.

princec:
I like the sound of all of them, but definitely not a fan of chain noise (I never realised just how horrible the sound was because, well, I'd never ridden for any length of time with the engine off at speed before!). I've only ever altered the gearing on exactly one bike I've owned (and in fact still own ... the 690).

The Energica holds the dubious title of Electric Bike That Totally Conked Out On A Test Ride for me. Said it had 60% battery in the showroom. Got 2 miles then it decided no, actually, it had 0% battery and was going to stop in the middle of the road. So flat even reverse gear wouldn't operate. Nearly put my back out trying to haul it off the main road into a nearby driveway. It was unbelievably difficult to push - perhaps because it couldn't disengage the motor or something? Also it didn't really have much leverage or effective handholds (it was an EsseEsse9). It took two of us big blokes to get it into the back of the recovery van.

Cas :)

Fran K:
To muse and ramble on and not about what might make the original poster here aquire an electric motorcycle.

How about the BMW  Supposedly available in this states Ca Ct Md Mn Nh NJ Ny and Pa.

There are the ones with 15,000 rpm motors, Harley with angle reduction gearing and Energica.  Then the direct drive ones that max out at about half of that.

I believe the energica uses a 520 chain which would seem to indicate sport oriented not a 530 or 532 like one would expect for that weight.

I believe the Harley has an on board charger for a normal 15 amp outlet so not 3kw like you put.


Whether you get or really need to be sensible an off board charger for the zero is something to consider, the one they offer for the FX is not very powerful.

As for the dealers Energica has given an exclusive for New England (I read) to a place in New York on the other side of the Hudson river.  The Zero dealers seem to be real salesman oriented, seem awful argumentative for stuff that I just read off the website. They also will tell you to go and talk to the parts counter or the service manager.  For the price of the FX you put 10k, out the door with the $600 accessory charger is probably a few k more (swapable battery variant) and then sales tax and registration.  For me there is not enough spent on the suspention for the price and intended purpose.  I can not communicate with the salespeople about getting it sprung for static sag and rider sag, they must put springs in it for max load.  Feel just about every ripple in the pavement of a test ride, no static sag at all.

Hopefully the FX will have a belt that is easier to change like the most recent introduced model.  A password to change the speedometer to match the gearing is kind of hard to believe for electronic stuff, at least for me used to a magnet on the front wheel as in off road oriented.

Crissa:
The S is fine in the rain and slick.  Even an old one.  There are always rain failures in every series of motorcycle.

Most of the Energica guys I talked to today wouldn't ride their bikes in the rain.

The Harley does not have an onboard charger.  It only has DC or offboard granny cable.

All electrics are very difficult to push when conked out.  Basically, the regen gets stuck on.

-Crissa

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