ElectricMotorcycleForum.com

Well it finally happened to me... About 30 minutes after rain, I stopped at a t-junction, moved off and lost rear traction either on the painted line or a greasy spot. Zwipppp! Both me and the bike lying on the floor. No other vehicles involved, fortunately. Drat the simplicity of the 2018 DS!

Goodbye to my right original Givi pannier - the plastic took most of the fall of the bike. I seem to have swapped my front brake lever for a banana and I have been fitted with a more modern two-piece collarbone!

Because it was a fairly rural location there weren't even any vehicles to see my embarassment. I had managed to pick myself up, key off the bike, haul it upright, get it over to the side and retrieve the plastic pannier bits before anybody even drove past.

Apart from the busted pannier, everything on the bike functions. Throttle is free, controls all work. Front brake seems fine too. I took a few minutes for a roadside sit down before going home slowly. By the time I got home the shoulder was really complaining so I went to A&E to discover the tip of the right collarbone has snapped cleanly off but was still held in place so no surgery needed.

I will take advantage of the enforced downtime to get a new brake lever from English Electric Motors, go shopping for a new pair of panniers and get my jacket cleaned and re-waterproofed. It was an Ashley Watson waxed cotton and it needed a bit of tidying up which I never had time for. Now I do.

The D3O pads seemed to do their job because my right hip is fine. I just fell on the part of the shoulder not covered by the shoulder-specific pad.

I have a submission to be added to the Unofficial Manual to do with the Front Brake Pad changing process for my 2018 DS (so all models under the 2015+ S Platform section).

The situation is that I was changing the front pads which were slightly worn and a stainless steel spring plate fell out of the caliper when I dropped the right pad after not getting the left one all the way seated. It was not mentioned in the manual so I started making records. In addition there were some stainless steel side plates on the outsides of the stock pads which I had no idea whether to move over to the new pads or discard.

In the process of making inquiries on the Facebook group, I was told or found the following...

===

1. The stock Front pads may be fitted with stainless steel shims that are held onto the outside of the pads by four small folded clips. These are called anti-squeal shims and should be carefully removed, cleaned and transferred to the new pads in the same orientation. A light coating of copper anti-seize grease to both the outside of the pads themselves and the anti-squeal shims is advised.

2. When removing lightly worn pads without taking the caliper off first it is possible to dislodge a stainless steel rectangular spring from the top of the caliper body. If this drops out, the caliper must be removed according to normal instructions to refit the spring. It is an anti-rattle spring and exerts a small amount of spring pressure on the top surface of the pads to prevent rattling when riding on rough surfaces.

Take the opportunity to clean the spring. Hold the caliper in your hand with the rotor slot facing up towards you and the pad locking bolt at the front. You will see the caliper body has three sections of metal between the two sides. The loose spring only fits on the rear-most one. Note the two small folded lugs on the spring and place those face down into the body of the caliper. There is also another steel clip at the very back which is usually more firmly attached. It has a small lip visible on it (indicated in picture) and the back edge of the loose anti-rattle clip should go under this lip.

Replace the pair of pads and hold them in position with the pad locking bolt. In this position, the pads themselves hold the anti-rattle spring in place properly. You may now replace the caliper as per standard instructions (remembering the pad locking c-clip). Clean the rotor with IPA or brake cleaner and pump the front brake lever a fair few times to build back up the hydraulic pressure. Test braking in a safe area through low to mid speed controlled stops before progressing to mid to high speed emergency stops.

Ah, I understand.

So the actual reason the Unofficial Manual suggests taking the calipers off is for the situation where the old pads are well worn and the pistons NEED to be pushed back. If the pads are only slightly worn and are merely being upgraded or replaced due to damage then you might be able to get away with undoing the bolt, dropping the old pads and gently pushing back the slightly extended piston by use of a fingertip or perhaps the end of a plastic ruler.

Well my new pads will arrive next week so I'll report on how I get on.

I am looking at the section in the Unofficial Manual concerning Front Pad replacement on a 2018 DS and I have a question about one of the steps...

LINK : https://zeromanual.com/wiki/Front_Brake_Pad_Replacement

Step 7 : Fully push back the pistons, by using a C-clamp with at least 2x2-inch opening and 1-inch heads, clamping the old pads to the outside caliper body.

What is the purpose of this part? Is it because the pistons have a tendency to push forwards as soon as the caliper is off the rotor? What is the tool being described as I don't understand what it is? Could a slim wedge of roughly the same thickness as the rotor do the same job?

I don't have a camera yet of course but I do know that my Dealer added a tracker to the Zero wiring loom. It is on battery when the Zero is off and recharges itself when you key on so it must be possible. I have not read the Unofficial Manual yet either.

Thanks for the comments so far. I am leaning towards a DVR fit-and-forget system at the moment.

My insurers have suggested that I might like to get some sort of camera while using my Zero and that it will provide a benefit to my premiums if I choose to have one fitted. Since I am not familiar with the current crop of cameras, where they should be mounted and how they receive power on a Zero I thought I would come and ask.

It would simply be for liability use rather than adventure or route recording.


1. Helmet, body or vehicle mount?

I am familiar with the "GoPro type" box cameras for helmet, chest or handlebar which I would assume have to be removed and re-fitted every time you leave the bike but I used to own a "bullet camera with DVR" unit in the distant past which would be fixed to the bike itself.

What do you advise for mounting location and why?


2. Power

I know most of the helmet cameras have integrated batteries but tend to have limited battery duration before recharge. The latest GoPros for example tend to have a bit over an hour. Since the Zero DS 2018 does not have an integrated 12V battery, how are the DVR types wired in? Those models aimed at ICE bikes are wired to activate at key on/off. Can this behaviour be copied on the Zero? I do have a tracker on the bike which activates on key on.


3. Recording - loop and lock?

Assuming a suitable SD card, how do the motorbike cameras tend to handle looping at end of card and incident locking during accident?


4. Front only or both front and rear?

Some models of DVR are twin camera. Is this a feature that people tend to advise? Riding location is rural and small town.

Thanks in advance for advice and suggestions.

As far as I know, the v3.0 is backwards compatible with the v2.5 as it is just the controller box itself that differs. It should be a drop in replacement according to my dealer.

Once I can get the replacement controller, it will make a very nice charging solution for my Zero.