Living with the Zero FX (Week 2)

"RacersJunkyard" (RacersJunkyard) 12/04/2014 at 18:20 • Filed to: None

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New technology is great. It's why people camped out in front of the apple store for days before the iPhone 6 came out, and it's why parents fight each other to the ground at Best Buy each black Friday. Newer technology has the potential to make our lives suck less, or at least help distract us from how much our lives suck. However, the world has been slow to react to advances in new technology, especially electric vehicles. My FX isn't an exception by any means, its got some kinks and problems but so does any new technology. So let's talk about the second week of living with my FX.

What I like:

I actually had some free time this weekend to ride the FX around downtown Fort Worth. The weather was nice enough and the tourists were out, or maybe they were just locals that wanted to walk off all that extra turkey. Either way I went for about a 30~40 mile ride and left my house with about as 85% charge and returned home with about a 30% charge. I wasn't riding "economically" either, there were many full throttle starts and even some time spent zipping around an empty parking garage.

The FX responds with it's signature !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! each time I cane it and enjoys spinning its tires on command. The FX and it's electric brethren are like puppies that never get tired. You need to make them run around, jump through hoops and chase cars before they get tired. The FX feels just like that. I swear, if I ever get tired of that, kick in the pants, feeling when I rack the throttle i'm probably dead, or riding something faster like a rocket ship.

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People love to stop and look at this bike too. It's sleek appearance has a degree of tough guy but also can't be taken seriously. It's a big black dirt bike with a face like a crow. It's also quiet, so you can't show off by revving the engine, because all you'll do is smoke the back tire (Not a bad thing). The FX gets the best kind of looks, confused looks. People expect it to sound like a two stroke, but when it sounds like nothing, they do a double take and scratch their heads. They can't figure out how something so silent just shot past them. If the speed doesn't make you smile, the confused looks will.

What I don't like:

The FX is a dirt bike, yes it's street legal but that doesn't make it street comfy. After about an hour my backside was going numb so I had to take a break, which I did incidentally at the dealership where I bought the Zero.

The ride dampening on the FX can be adjusted front and rear, but i'm a bit of a bike novice so I'm pretty sure that if I messed with it, i'd just make it worse. The front of the bike has plenty of compression from the factory, it's the rear of the FX that feels like i'm riding a hard tail. That being said, the FX is very easy to ride long distances because you can just stand up. The sitting position puts your feet right under you, just like a dirt bike.

The other gripe I have about the FX and the other electric bike I rode is their lack of perceptible speed. What I mean, is that when you ride along in a car or a bike with an internal combustion engine the sound of the engine gives you an idea of how fast you're really going. If you drive that vehicle long enough the sound of the engine give you an idea of how fast you're going without looking at your speedometer, not so in the Zeros I've ridden. The engine is quiet, and that's nice, but that also takes away a large component of feedback that you would get in an ICE. There's very little noise, and once you get moving quickly the wind noise is loud enough to overpower any engine noise you could hear.

This means that when I take off from a traffic light, I have to keep checking down to make sure i'm not doing 50 in a 35. The acceleration is so effortless that you really don't have any idea that you're speeding until it's too late. I'm sure that the more I ride the better i'll get at judging relative speed when I'm all by myself on the road, but something about looking down, away from the road, every minute or so just doesn't feel safe. I can't really fault Zero for that one either I just need to learn the bike.

Other stuff:

The zero, as you can imagine doesn't have a starter motor, because it doesn't need one. So instead of a starter button it's got a "mode" button.

This allows the rider to switch between three modes Eco, Sport and Custom. Eco as you can probably guess, limits the torque, increases regenerative braking and top speed of the bike is lower in favor of increased range. Honestly the FX in eco mode isn't all that slower, it puts the bike into 'normal dirt bike' mode. Sure the range is longer but since the torque is less explosive you can set the bike to Eco and help others learn to ride. It's the perfect setup if someone has never ridden a motorcycle before. Sport mode is just as self explanatory. More torque, higher top speed, less regenerative braking and faster throttle response. Zero may as well call this, 'Hoon' mode. The third mode, Custom, is accessed only through Zero's app. That's right this bike has an app that lets you set your bike up just the way you want, this means that you can set everything up to 11 with no thought of economy, on the fly, from your phone. However, I have never done this. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that the app doesn't seem to work on my bike. I've gotten it to work on other Zeros, just not mine. That sucks for two big reasons:

1. I haven't ever been able to get into the real, tweakability of this bike because of a software problem.

2. I can't fix this with a wrench.

I know the Zero is a technological marvel but if I want to be able to really uncork this FX I should be able to do so without an app. What happens if someone buys a Zero and doesn't have a smart phone? Then they'll never be able to know the smile making levels of crazy this bike can truly create. Or if you're like me and your app doesn't work what you're left with is a question.

"What am I missing?"

For all I know, sport mode may be everything turned all the way up. But with the promise of an app that lets you tweak your bikes torque and top speed, you can't not want to play with that! I know I do, and I'm disappointed that I can't. Is it a first world problem? Yes. Can I still enjoy the FX without the app? Hell yes. Do I want them to fix this? absolutely.

I know that Zero will hammer out the issues with the software and the ride quality. That's what happens when you're the first motorcycle company to let your riders make their bikes faster with a damn phone. It's a new technology and it's not perfect, but man does this FX make me excited to see where they'll be in five years.

On twitter @RACERSJUNKYARD

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > RacersJunkyard 12/04/2014 at 18:47

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Quick question and you don't have to answer if you don't want to but how expesive does an FX run?

Anon > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 12/04/2014 at 18:55

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Before taxes and stuff? 9800

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 12/04/2014 at 19:01

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I'm kind of curious to know as well.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > RacersJunkyard 12/04/2014 at 19:02

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It seems like quite an interesting piece of kit. I hate to say it, but I do quite like what Harley Davidson has done with their electric prototypes. They've used a straight-cut sort of bevel gear to give it a bit of whine. It gives a bit more auditory feedback and makes a bit of a futuristic noise.

VonBelmont > RacersJunkyard 12/04/2014 at 19:12

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Anyone else think the title said F Zero X?

RacersJunkyard > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 12/04/2014 at 20:35

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The 2.7 is around $9,800

The 5.7 is around $11,400

The price difference is because the 5.7 has twice the range and more HP.

RacersJunkyard > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/04/2014 at 20:36

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I think Harley jumping into the EV scene is proof that Zero is on to something.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > RacersJunkyard 12/04/2014 at 20:39

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Yeah I was just browsing the website. That dual sport looks pretty awesome

RacersJunkyard > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 12/04/2014 at 21:19

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Yeah it looks great. It just doesn't have the ground clearance that the FX does.

Makoyouidiot > RacersJunkyard 12/04/2014 at 22:20

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I only have one question...can it be made to sound like a TIE Fighter?

BaconSandwich is tasty. > RacersJunkyard 12/04/2014 at 22:37

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I agree. I mean, really - how often do people ride even more than 60+ miles in a day on a bike? For something like a bike, an EV actually makes sense. That, and there's definitely some potential there. Imagine a Tron-inspired bike with a similar whine. I think it'd sell to a whole new crowd that existing bikes don't really cater to.

RacersJunkyard > BaconSandwich is tasty. 12/05/2014 at 00:20

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The only real exception to that rule is enduro riders. I really would love to see Zero put something together for endurance riding but I think battery tech needs to advance some. I tell you what, as long as I've owned my Zero i've never been wanting for more range.

RacersJunkyard > Makoyouidiot 12/05/2014 at 00:21

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Once I get some good audio equipment I'll record how it sounds. It already does kind of sound like one...kind of.

JEM > RacersJunkyard 12/05/2014 at 11:06

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At some point, you should really get this or a bigger article posted on Lanesplitter.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > RacersJunkyard 12/05/2014 at 11:15

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I'd think enduro riders are definitely a minority. That does bring up an interesting idea though - a Baja electric class (if there isn't already such a thing). I bet there's some potential there for some quick-swapping batteries.

RacersJunkyard > JEM 12/05/2014 at 12:42

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I'd love to do that, I just don't know how. Thanks for the support.

JEM > RacersJunkyard 12/05/2014 at 13:07

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Unfortunately, neither do I. Maybe tagging the post somehow with #lanesplitter or #twowheelsgood ?? past that I don't have much of a suggestion.

Frank Grimes > RacersJunkyard 12/17/2014 at 19:18

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yeah no.