ElectricMotorcycleForum.com

At 8200 miles, my FX front brake pads are toast. Another 1/32 inch and they would be down to metal. The rotor is also worn from 4.5mm down to 4.0mm with a deep lip on it, and will probably also need to be replaced. I believe it actually costs less than the OEM pad set.

Going from posts on here and the unofficial manual, I obtained a set of EBC FA181R pads and tried to install them. They are clearly not the correct pads. On the edge facing the anti-rattle clip, they have a smaller profile, as easily seen by stacking them with the OEM pads. As a result, the anti-rattle clip is not sufficiently expanded and its ends rub on the rotor edge. Since it's a wave rotor, I can see/hear the loose clip bouncing up and down and catching on the rotor.

Other notes: the brake pin on the 2016 FX is T25 Torx, as opposed to 4mm hex. I replaced the rear pads with FA 213 and those so far seem to be OK.

Today, Sunday, the beach town of Santa Cruz was forecast to be sunny and 71 degrees, so I decided to spend the day there. I just had to cross a 3100 ft mountain range 43 miles each way. It was not my first range-anxiety trip, but it was the first time in 2.5 years I had to commit to charging somewhere other than home.

I threw it in ECO mode at 11 am and headed up Stevens Canyon, Redwood Gulch, and Hwy 9, then took the Hwy 35 ridge road south to beautiful tiny Zayante Rd down to Felton, and finally Graham Hill Rd to Ocean St, arriving straight away at the location of a recently-installed 120V plug that someone kindly indicated on PlugShare, on the side of a pay parking kiosk in the main boardwalk parking area.

SOC was still an amazing 46% after 45 miles indicated (extra 4% distance is probably because my tires are shot!) To achieve that, I took it slow the whole time, which is still exciting on some of the beautiful single-lane goat roads through the woods. That extrapolates to around 80 mile range INCLUDING a vertical mile for the '16 FX 5.7.

I left the bike plugged in for 3.5 hours while I walked around the pier and boardwalk indulging in fish & chips and ice cream. Nobody had molested the power cord and it was at 83% when I returned.

After hitting the local 24 Hour Fitness for a workout and a 1 km swim, and the 7-Eleven on Ocean St for a giant icee, I returned home via Graham Hill and Hwy 9 all the way back to Redwood Gulch. After reaching the top of the hill, it was clear that I could partake of the heated vest and grips. Going down was free, 28% the whole way with occasional blips to 29%. When I rolled in at 8 pm, SOC was 17% with 91 miles on the meter. It looks like I could have gotten away with my choice of: one less hour of charging, or sport mode!

From: https://altaownersforum.com/threads/invest-in-new-alta-pre-order-a-phoenix-edition-bike.888/
---

Greetings, Alta owners and fans of Alta motorcycles.

If you would like to help Alta succeed, consider investing into Alta Motors v2.0. Now there are two ways of doing this:

1) Invest directly in Round 1 seed funding https://altaownersforum.com/threads/become-part-of-alta-motors-v2-0.882. At this time this option is available only to "accredited investors" (thanks to the SEC).

2) Pre-order a "Phoenix Edition" Alta Redshift from Alta Motors 2.0 (aka NewCo). These bikes will feature a limited-edition resurrection livery, celebrating the Alta Motors' rise from the ashes.

The second option is available to everyone, not just to accredited investors. Ordering a bike from NewCo is technically not an investment but a sale agreement. There is no associated investment risk. If NewCo cannot deliver your bike by July 2019, you will get your money back.

Here are the details:

(1) Base price for new MY 2019 motorcycles:
MX - $11k
EX - $12k
MXR - $12k
EXR - $13k
SM - $13k

(2) Add $500 for Phoenix Edition.

(3) Subtract $1k for 2018 models.

(4) Subtract another $1k for low-mileage vehicles.

(5) Warranty will be similar to previous warranty, but mechanics and legal documentation all new. Yes, these bikes will have a warranty!

(6) Take delivery between April and June (depending on what's already built, and other nuances).

(7) Constructive comments are welcomed and will be taken into consideration.

I am putting together a list of these new customers of Alta Motors v2.0. Please send me a PM if you would like to buy a bike and help your favorite electric motorcycle company. At this time I will need your name, desired model, and your city and state.

Time is of the essence. Please contact me only if you are willing to wire the money within 2 business days. The expected timeline to fund should be this week or next. NewCo will only collect money if there is a reasonable probability of acquiring the assets of OldCo and delivering bikes before July 2019.

By ordering these Alta Redshift "Phoenix Edition" bikes you are helping Alta Motors v2.0 accelerate the sale of the existing inventory and obtain up to $2 million of much-needed liquidity. This would also send a strong message to professional investors and the motorcycle market.

Last winter, I noticed that after a ride in the rain the front brakes would stop their howling for pretty much a whole week. I decided to test a theory and hosed down the front brakes. Lo and behold, they stopped squealing for a week.

Subsequently, I found that a quick splash from a water bottle works equally well! I have been doing that as needed for a few months now.

My only theory is that brake dust is washed away. However, I also tried blasts of compressed air, to no effect. I should also say that this bike sees an average of 60 mi/week with a lot of heavy braking.

Heated grips are useful year-round in the Northern CA climate. I've used them to great effect on my XT1200Z and 500 EXC. Now I need to install them on the FX (I took the long way home from work today -- a fun couple hours but with cold hands)!

Surprisingly, there's yet little information, here or in the unofficial manual. Am I right in thinking this should be straightforward? It seems they will take 35W from the Sumitomo connectors on the FX 12V accessory harness, and I can't imagine there should be anything too strange about the resistive throttle tube.

The Koso Apollos look like they'd be the best choice. They have great aesthetics, look easy to install, and have good reviews (http://kosonorthamerica.com/shop/motorcycle-mx/apollo-heated-grips/). I could document the installation.

I'll describe my experience installing the official Zero Cycra handguard accessory ($170) on a Zero FX. No instructions came with it, and tolerances are a bit tight.

Zero FX Cycra Handguard Installation

Preparation:
- Review pictures (below)
- Remove rubber bar ends
- Loosen the brake lever assembly by exactly one turn per Allen screw
- Slide brake lever assembly left by 1/2" to 1"

Right handguard rail assembly:
- Find right handguard rail
- Insert long Allen head bar-end screw into rail
- Thread thin spacer washer onto screw
- Thread long expanding aluminum cylinder onto screw
- Thread aluminum wedge onto screw
- Tighten screw hand tight with Allen wrench
- Slide rail assembly into end of bar
- Hold handguard rail at approximately the correct height
- Further tighten the screw. This expands the cylinder enough
  to hold the the rail roughly in place

Right handguard clamp assembly:
- Find right clamp, engraved with a big "R"
- Arrange clamp on bar with the four Allen bolts,
- Tighten just enough to hold the clamp in place
- Place thick spacer between clamp and handguard rail
- Insert long hex bolt through rail, spacer and into clamp
- Begin to thread it, but don't tighten yet

Right handguard position adjustment and tightening:
- The handguard rail should be slightly higher than the end of the brake lever
- Monitor the handguard height during the tightening process
- Tighten so everything is square as possible and with stress minimized
- Make sure wires and cables are not pinched or stressed
- Tighten bar-end screw
- Tighten large hex bolt
- Tighten small clamp bolts evenly, going round in a circle and making
  sure the open spaces at the top and bottom of the clamp are equal
- Tighten brake lever assembly, which should be about one turn per Allen screw

Left handguard:
- Repeat for the left side the same as right,
  easier than the right side because there is no lever to move
- Make sure the handguard height is identical to the right side
  (I measured for equal height above the turn signals)

Inspection:
- IMPORTANT: there should be a narrow but consistent clearance of about
  1/4" between the end of the brake lever and the rail
- The lever and mirror should be rotated to the right position
- There should also be about 1/4" of clearance between the clamp and
  brake line banjo bolt
- MOST IMPORTANT: the thin spacer guarantees the throttle cannot bind AT ALL,
  regardless of how tight the end screw is... VERIFY THIS IS THE CASE!

Finish:
- Affix plastic handguards (3 screws and washers each)
- Affix rail edge guards (2 screws each)
- Save rubber bar ends and short expanding aluminum cylinders (unused)

Hi all,

I got a new 2016 FX one week ago and am thrilled with it. It's my new commuter toy, and I can't stop going for rides! The technology is incredible.

There are a couple issues I'll need to fix, both having to do with the front wheel.

The main one is that the spokes break ridiculously easily. One broke while I was riding a demo. On mine, two spokes have broken in a week. I've never had a spoke break on any bike, not even during a decade of hard dirt biking in places like Moab. This bike breaks spokes easily during moderate braking on the street, always at the nipple threads. One broke coming up to a stop light, and another at the bottom of a parking garage ramp. I have a dealer appointment Tuesday and will see what they can do apart from point fixes. It's pretty clearly a major manufacturing defect at Zero or their supplier.

The other is the front brake that sounds like a train horn and terrifies women and small children. I have been working around this (and the spoke problem) by rear-braking as much as possible, but that's obviously unacceptable. I see posts here with some suggestions, including getting new pads, or trying to true up the calipers or float the rotor.

A possible third issue is the whine of the motor. It seems much louder than the demo bike, as if the bearings might be out of tolerance. That's disappointing because it makes people turn around when they hear me coming. But if it's normal I'm prepared to live with it. Maybe it'll be fixed by the time I upgrade to a 2018!

Cheers.