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[Richard230]

I just returned from having myself and my Zero S photographed for their feature story on the Zero, which will be in the April issue of City Bike magazine. 

Attached are three photos that I took in between the formal photo shoot.

I was told that my Zero and I might be on the cover of the magazine - but if I was them, I wouldn't put me on the cover.  I don't look all that cute.   

[Richard230]

Here is one with the trolley car gone. Fortunately, it missed my bike when it took off.   

[Richard230]

And then we checked out the local wind-power plant.

[expevride]

Just test rode the Zero DS and placed my order for a 2012 Zero DS ZF9, waiting impatiently till next week!

[skadamo]

Richard230, that is cool that your bike is in City Bike! Should be some great exposure for Zero.

Just test rode the Zero DS and placed my order for a 2012 Zero DS ZF9, waiting impatiently till next week!

Congrats expevride!!! Let us know what you think of the DS.

[Richard230]

As I was performing my usual Sunday morning breakfast visit to Alice's Restaurant today, what should I see but a 2012 Zero S drive around the lot and come to rest near me.  I immediately pointed out the stealth power supply (see attached photo) to the rider so he could plug in and then had an interesting 30-minute conversation with him (while he rubbed his hands and tried to warm them up).

It turns out that he was a Zero factory employee who was on his way to a Zero demonstration at a local school and was stopping at the restaurant for a bite to eat. I mentioned that his bike needed some heated grips and he said that they were testing a bike with heated grips and they worked well and used relatively little power (compared to the drive system).  He also mentioned that they were working with various after-market suppliers to develop a range of accessories, including saddlebags. It sounds like Zero is really working hard to expand their market share and satisfy their customers.  I continue to be impressed with this company.   

[trikester]

After Zero diagnosed and fixed my ECO mode shutdown problem, on my 2012 DS, I immediately went to work on the rear wheel to 17" modification & chain drive, so I hadn't ridden it to check out the repair. I just got it back together last night and rode to a vintage bike meet today (I know it isn't vintage). I rode it in ECO mode and no problems, so the repair was good.

I like my 2010 DS but I'm even happier with the 2012 DS! Even though it's 20 pounds heavier than the 2010 it seems to handle even better (if that's possible) and I don't notice the additional weight. It got a lot of attention at the monthly bike meet. People would ask; "how quiet is it"? My answer is; "the new dual sport knobbies I put on it make the loudest sound I hear". 

Trikester

[protomech]

Motorcycle.com has a review of the 2012 ZF9 DS.
http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/2012-zero-ds-review-91239.html

They get a couple things wrong (list the ZF9 range but the ZF6 weight, and quote a $595 price for the 4x quickcharge accessory) but it's a good read nonetheless.

They also set the bike up on a dyno.



The new motor offers about 25% more power up to 50 mph, but as the 2010 bike falls off in power the 2012 bike offers +100% or more.

The 2010 S uses an Agni75 motor. IIRC.
The 2012 S uses a modified Motenergy ME0913 motor.

The x axis for the motorcycle.com dyno plot is kind of screwed up. I've pulled their numbers into a spreadsheet (will attach later) and produced a more traditional plot of hp, torque vs motor rpm. Note that I'm using motorcycle.com's numbers for the hp / torque measurements, I assume these are uncorrected wheel measurements and I apply no corrections of my own.

[Richard230]

Thanks protomech. Those power and torque charts are interesting.

Now we need to find some IC motorcycle power curves to see what size IC motor compares with the Zero models. That would also be interesting and would give us something to talk about with other motorcycle owners so that they can compare one type of motor with another.

[protomech]

Here's a motorcycle.com dyno run of a 2010 Ninja 250; plot of hp, torque vs rpm.



And see below attachments of plots of motor power vs rpm, and bike power vs mph.

Ninja 250R makes more power in 1st and 2nd gears below 40 mph or so, and in 5th and 6th gears above 70 mph.

0-60 times for the 250R are all over the place; MotorcycleUSA reports 7.7s (carb), MCN reports 10.2s (EFI model). Various forums report times in the 5-6s range but most likely they're FOS .. or about as accurate as my best guess for the Zero @ 10s 0-60 : )

[craigq]

Thumpers rule... WR250X   

[Richard230]

Interesting. It looks to me from the power and torque curves that a better comparison on the 2012 Zero with an IC motor would be something like a 500cc V-twin cruiser, where you get lots of low-speed torque and not as much peak power, relative to the torque produced.