ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
General Category => Industry - Electric Powered Two Wheelers => Topic started by: MichaelJ on June 18, 2014, 10:41:52 PM
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Terry Richards, Director of EV technology at the Current Motor Company (http://www.currentmotor.com), is traveling over 400 miles (http://binged.it/1qsGpqR) on his company's Super Scooter (http://www.currentmotor.com/details/specs) from their headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI to the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair (https://www.midwestrenew.org/energyfair) in Custer, WI.
Not shown on the specs page for the scooter, but obvious from the photos, is that this scooter supports Level 2 charging.
You can follow Terry's journey on Current Motor's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Current-Motor-Company/117679958243595).
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It looks like the scooter is about as capable of charging from J1772 as Zero - low-power onboard charger connected with an adapter.
They state 6 hours charge time for the High Performance scooter's 5.75 kWh battery pack. It might even be a Delta-Q charger.
Regardless, he is still able to make some useful distance (150+ miles) in 3 riding sessions over the day, with two long mid-day charge sessions and an overnight charge.
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As I said, the Level 2 charging information and accessory specs are not shown on the web site. The J1772 adapter is still under development, AFAIK. They didn't have one when I received my scooter from them. Captions on the photos of the road trip imply that L2 charging is much faster than L1.
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How do you like your Super Scooter?
The battery pack on the Super Scooter is small, but if they're just hopping from one J1772 charger to the next then the onboard charger may matter more than the battery pack size.
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I've been enjoying the scooter. I wrote up (http://evenvy.wordpress.com/category/company/current-motor/) my excitement and experiences with the scooter when it was fresh and new, but as riding it became routine, there became less and less noteworthy to write about.
The effective range of the scooter is a little bit further than my round-trip to work, so I can't stray too far from the commute without recharging at work. However, my workplace recently replaced the Level 1/Level 2 ChargePoints with Level 2-only EVSE, so I can't recharge at work anymore.
I don't have the Level 2 charging solution that Terry is using on his scooter, so I charge to full at night in 2-3 hours at home at 120V.
Acceleration is weak under about 15 mph, so facing uphill at a stop sign or light requires some patience from the drivers behind me. However, it can climb a 15% slope from a running start and reaches 55 mph on level ground.
Down hill or slowing down, regenerative braking only happens with a squeeze of the brakes, so without accelerating or braking, the scooter coasts. I prefer coasting to engine braking on my cruiser, so I really enjoy the coasting feature of the scooter. In contrast, the lack of coasting on the Zero S I test rode was a little unnerving. The Brammo Empulse has a clutch, so if necessary, I can coast just like I am acustomed to.
The stock headlights make it difficult to see far enough ahead on unlit rural roads, but I had them replaced with aftermarket LED emitters that are a significant improvement. Replacing them meant that there were no changes needed to the outside of the scooter, so the scooter still looks stock but with brighter headlights.
The tail case is lockable and large enough for my helmet, so I'm happy to not have to carry that to and from my office from the garage.
There aren't any interesting riding destinations within the scooter's range, so commuting is pretty much its sole use. I'm satisfied with how well it fills that role, though.
Still, I'm here to learn about products with more range and faster charging. Touring doesn't seem to be possible with stock bikes this year, but who knows what next year will bring...or what tomorrow's surprise from Harley-Davidson will bring? :)
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You could buy a J1772 adapter box similar to the one Current is using, maybe even the same one.
http://www.tucsonev.com/ (http://www.tucsonev.com/)
Assuming the onboard charger is auto-ranging, ie 85-265V AC and 50-60 Hz and can handle the voltage the J1772 EVSE offers.
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You could buy a J1772 adapter box similar to the one Current is using, maybe even the same one.
Quite possibly. I hope that Terry will have time to talk about it after he returns from his trip.