ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2012 and older => Topic started by: 950ash on June 18, 2012, 02:45:07 AM
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My wife just bought one and the range she is getting is an average of 16miles until the battery guage up at the Instrument panel is flashing no bars. She and I have tryed a bunch of throttle practices but still the same result. Is this normal? Is there something we can do?
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Something's wrong. The first thing to try is placing the bike on the charger for 72 hours. Although it takes only 4 hours or so to completely charge it from empty, the additional time is to balance the cells. Then try it again. Of course the gauge should read fully charged (11 bars) before you start. The only thing that might use up 11 bars in 16 miles in a normally operating bike would be going wide open throttle...65-70 mph the whole time.
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Out of curiosity, I took my 2011 S for a ride this evening and went 16 miles. About a third of that was at 50-60 mph and the rest was regular city traffic up to 40 mph, but mostly 30 mph, stop and go. I arrived home at one bar under the half-way mark. In other words, I had used 6 and had 4-5 bars to go. I should be able to go 30 miles riding at these speeds, with the last two bars starting to flash at about 25 miles. I weigh about 200 lbs. and ride pretty hard, so a range of 16 miles for you sounds off by quite a bit.
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ok after she takes it to work tomorrow we will let it sit charging for 72 hours then. She drives only 5 miles and must show it off.
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If that doesn't work, it is Possible that she has a bad cell, I use less energy than that riding track, also just FYI for when your issue is fixed, you still have a long way to go on two flashing bars before the bike cuts out, depending on how much your wife weighs, it could be anywhere from 5 to 12 miles on a healthy battery going pretty good on the highway. I have babied 2 flashing bars for 20 miles before, 4 miles with no bars.
After charging for 72 hours, take a look at the LEDs on the side of the charger while still plugged in, you should see one orange, and one green. You should actually see this after 4 hours, however, if the cells need to balance, you may see two orange leds. If you have one orange, and one red, you will need a new battery, or atleast a repair, which should be covered under zero warantee.
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Well the 2 bar flashing only lasts for a minute because your down to no bars in no time. I was wondering what the charger was showing too last night after she rides it. Will look when she get home.
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I drive 16 miles to work with about 12 of that on the freeway I usually get the "flashing no bar" treatment near the end of my freeway trip. I then drive 2 miles in the city where I get back 4 bars. When I park I have 1/2 tank or one bar above that. Then when I recharge it and it only takes 2 kwh to charge a 4 kwh battery.
Another time I drove it about 30 miles and the fuel gauge started flashing 10 miles from home. I thought for sure I was walking 5 miles or more but the bike kept beeping and got me home at a reduced speed (about 25mph). :)
I was also told that when the bike is new the battery management system will allow you less miles until the bike has been "broke in" or after a number of charge cycles.
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I have done recently 20 miles and went down to flashing two bars, and then back stable at 3 bars left. No highway but several uphills that I took swiftly. however, I am as well concerned of the 2011 range -- we need to watch that battery it seems !
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OK left on the charger for 72hours and only got 20 miles until all bars on the gauge were gone. Plugged it in and the charger guage went up to the second from the top. doesnt that mean it is mostly charged? Could it be that the instrument gauge is off that much?
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Have you made a call to Zero service?
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OK left on the charger for 72hours and only got 20 miles until all bars on the gauge were gone. Plugged it in and the charger guage went up to the second from the top. doesnt that mean it is mostly charged? Could it be that the instrument gauge is off that much?
If I'm understanding you correctly, the light second from the top means that it is dumping charge into the battery at a very high rate, meaning the charger knows the battery is fully discharged.
Keep the bike on the charger until the charger shows a green light. If it takes longer than a couple of days, it wouldn't hurt to take your bike to the nearest dealer to pull the BMS data.
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OK left on the charger for 72hours and only got 20 miles until all bars on the gauge were gone. Plugged it in and the charger guage went up to the second from the top. doesnt that mean it is mostly charged? Could it be that the instrument gauge is off that much?
If I'm understanding you correctly, the light second from the top means that it is dumping charge into the battery at a very high rate, meaning the charger knows the battery is fully discharged.
Keep the bike on the charger until the charger shows a green light. If it takes longer than a couple of days, it wouldn't hurt to take your bike to the nearest dealer to pull the BMS data.
Ha so yes I get what you mean, the more lights the more current. So last night I decided to try the bike myself and see how long the bike would last. At 13 miles all the instrument charge bars were gone and at 29 miles the bike was still going strong but it was getting too cold and my butt was numb. Is the guage that off?
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now that is interesting. I might try that and just keep going even if the gauge goes beserk at me. With 50km at "zero" bars on a slowish ride seems not enough that a 2011 should deliver.
check if your dealer can download / analyse details or email Zero servie.
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How fast were you going? There's a small amount of reserve in the 2012 bikes (900 Wh, good for around 8 miles @ 50 mph or 20 miles @ 20 mph) when the instrument cluster shows 0 bars remaining.
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Yesterday we ran it until it stopped us, all bars were gone at 20miles and the bike stopped at 40miles.
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That's good to know Ash. Thanks. I would have to say that these bikes break in around 2000 miles to where they handle better and go farther. Part of it may be a learning curve for the operator too.
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40 miles on a 2011 bike is not bad if you're traveling at reasonable speeds .. say 35-45+ mph. Perhaps it's just a messed up display.
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Yesterday we ran it until it stopped us, all bars were gone at 20miles and the bike stopped at 40miles.
I just heard back from Zero about this issue after they just swapped out my 2010 for a "new" 2011. There is a process called the "Running In" period. It states that for the 2011 bikes (not sure about the 2012s) the first 30 cycles of the battery is the run-in period. A cycle is considered using 1/3 of your battery capacity. The first 4 charge cycles will have a preset usage rate that reflects a very conservative percentage of your charge remaining. After 4 partial charges the indicator will begin to reflect a percent charge remaining based on the previous 4 riding cycles. You will not experience full capacity and accurate gauge until about 30 partial cycles on the bike! Attached is a pic I snapped of the PDF they sent me. I can email it to you if you PM me. Hope this helps. It sure did to me!(http://img.tapatalk.com/c6e4d99d-b738-7a31.jpg)
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sounds like your dash is reading your charge using the voltage method not the current method. simple change in the MBB, I had this happen to me once or twice as well, but it switched back on its own after a week or so.
Voltage charge measurement is very un reliable. It is how the 2010 measured the charge.
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I've got 2700 miles on a 2011 Zero S after a year. Just broken in.
I get 35 - 40 miles if I ride hard... 35 - 45mph with hills, hard acceleration, plus some highway.
I get 50+ if I ride 25 - 35, accelerate slowly, avoid hills, and coast down hills.
The #1 key factor for range: tire pressure. At 40 lbs I get 40 miles but only 30 of air pressure is 30 for the same ride. Tire pressure falls in just days so refill before every ride.
The #2 key factor for range: put on a summer screen that added 5 miles range overall.
Hope that helps.
ps. I'm trading my 2011 Zero S for a ZF9 2012 tomorrow via a dealer. Love it but I'll love the 2012 even more.
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ps. I'm trading my 2011 Zero S for a ZF9 2012 tomorrow via a dealer. Love it but I'll love the 2012 even more.
Curious what kind of trade in value you were offered? As a 2011S owner I am tempted, but imagine the depreciation hit is pretty bad...
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ps. I'm trading my 2011 Zero S for a ZF9 2012 tomorrow via a dealer. Love it but I'll love the 2012 even more.
Curious what kind of trade in value you were offered? As a 2011S owner I am tempted, but imagine the depreciation hit is pretty bad...
I wouldn't say "depreciation hit" rather I'd say "depreciation bloodbath." :-\
If you double the performance of any product from one model year to the next you'd expect to take a 50% depreciation loss... and you'd be right.
The problem is not that the 2001 S was bad, the problem is that the 2012 S is so good. Even compared to the fictitious Brammo Empulse nothing comes close.
Just got back from my first 2012 S ZF9 ride since delivery this AM. First impressions:
1. A 35 mile ride that typically left me staring at two flashing bars as I approached my driveway today left me with 7 bars. I could have gone at least another 60 miles
2. A jogging fat man could beat my 2011 S off the line. Sport mode on the 2012 makes the bike fast enough that I can finally get off the line and safely in front of traffic, and accelerate reliably out of harm's way. I accelerated full throttle off the line every time today. Didn't seem to hurt the range. What's eco mode for?
3. I could feel the extra 40 lbs and I like it. They use the battery weight to move the center of mass lower to make the bike more stable and maneuverable, and less prone to get blown around in the wind
4. The ride is heavier and that's a good thing. The harshness of rough roads is smoothed out somewhat vs the 2011.
Bottom line, the bike is as fast and maneuverable as any 250CC ICE bike I've ridden. As for range, I'd get tired from riding before the battery gives out after 5 to 7 hours.
If you can stomach the depreciation, run don't walk to buy an upgrade.
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Glad you're having a blast on the new bike!
7 bars displayed means 4 to 4.9 bars consumed. The bike has a small reserve after the last bar disappears.. think of it as an invisible "12th bar". In practice, the bars span the first 7.0 kWh of the pack, the remaining 900 Wh is the reserve.
Eco mode boosts regenerative braking and rescales the throttle input up to 70% maximum torque. Riding in sport mode if you ride in an identical manner should result in a very small -- if any -- penalty over Eco mode. The problem is keeping from dipping into the acceleration and riding at higher speeds when in Sport mode ; )
I briefly rode a 2011 S last year, approximately five months before I purchased my 2012. I didn't recall as much of a performance gap. I tell people the bike is about as fast as a 250cc bike when they ask how fast it is.
I'm going to try a 2 hour ride this weekend. Seat on the 2012s is definitely an improvement over the 2011, longer rides appreciate it.
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Glad you're having a blast on the new bike!
7 bars displayed means 4 to 4.9 bars consumed. The bike has a small reserve after the last bar disappears.. think of it as an invisible "12th bar". In practice, the bars span the first 7.0 kWh of the pack, the remaining 900 Wh is the reserve.
Okay, thx.
Eco mode boosts regenerative braking and rescales the throttle input up to 70% maximum torque. Riding in sport mode if you ride in an identical manner should result in a very small -- if any -- penalty over Eco mode. The problem is keeping from dipping into the acceleration and riding at higher speeds when in Sport mode ; )
You'd think the extra regen braking would do more for range. Wonder how much output the regen generates.
I briefly rode a 2011 S last year, approximately five months before I purchased my 2012. I didn't recall as much of a performance gap. I tell people the bike is about as fast as a 250cc bike when they ask how fast it is.
You were smart to wait.
I'm going to try a 2 hour ride this weekend. Seat on the 2012s is definitely an improvement over the 2011, longer rides appreciate it.
My ass appreciates the more pliable seat, too. ;D