Zero FXS at 1000

"Tekamul" (tekamulburner) 08/12/2016 at 11:14 • Filed to: ZERO FXS, SENIOR WEAK, FXS

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As I stare into the empty darkness that may be a future without Oppo, I clutch my keyboard one final time and hurl forth a mighty jumble of words that encompass what could be my final post.

The easiest way to drop 84 pounds from the curb weight. There’s a slight drop in performance, though

Zero FXS : The 1000 mile update

I’ve just crested 1000 miles on the Zero, and I have a better handle on what I do and don’t like about it. First, a quick background, so as you read this you know where I’m coming from.

My previous bikes have all been

4-stroke Gas powered

Carbureted

Standard or cruiser-style

Generally featureless, beyond a motor, transmission and headlights

Likes

Just get on it and go
- There’s very little worry about in the morning. As long as the tires are good, I’m on my way. No warm ups, no checking the odometer and guessing where I’m at for gas, no checking for leaks or funny smells, no chain to lube and adjust

Stealth mode
- Leaving my neighborhood in the morning is always nice. Same with the early morning commute. It’s relatively quiet, I hear everything around me. At night on a back road at low speeds, it’s almost creepy. Critters beware

Maneuverability
- Compared to my last daily bike, the Zero is 200+ pounds lighter, a whole lot narrower, and has a lot more travel. It goes wherever I point it

Electric motor characteristics
- Maximum instant torque from a stop is addictive. Never worrying about gearing when having to make a sudden traffic adjustment is nice. No delay between my wrist and the wheel at any point.

Look at that powerhouse! I mean, look at it, because there’s not much else you can do. No whirring, humming parts to observe at ‘idle’.

No heat
- With it being midsummer, sitting in a traffic jam can really suck. On a motorcycle, even more so, with all the heat pumping out from under you. With this, the hottest I’ve ever had the motor is 170F (there’s a continuous read out). I’ve never felt any ambient heat from this thing.

The attention
- A lot of people are interested in what it is once they figure it out. It gets a lot of weird stares from people who don’t know electric motorcycles exist. But it also starts some good conversations with people who ride. But that word conversation is important (more later). There’s definitely an age skew, young people like it a lot more than old. The first three questions are always the same. How far, fast and much. I should make a sticker for the side of it.

Dislikes

Cheapo charge system
- The FXS is meant to be small, light, inexpensive. That last part shows up a lot of places. First is the charging. The FXS has only a level 1 charger built in, and no option (yet) to add a stage 2 on board. That means charging is 110AC only. Just a standard 3 prong plug. Convenient enough at home, but slow, and not always available at public charge points. I can get a J1772 adapter, but they’re expensive and don’t provide a faster charge

The sounds
- I really like the quiet times on this bike. But when it does make noise, a lot of it is bad. Under hard acceleration it makes a star wars like whir that’s kinda fun. Under deceleration the noise is much less enjoyable. The whir becomes a whine, and I try to just block it out. It’s not loud, but it’s the only sound besides the tires and the very quiet click of the belt drive.

Also, the brakes make unhappy sounds. Probably because they mostly don’t do a lot on my standard commute. So when I do use them, it sounds like I’m clearing some oxidation. Always.

The ABS
- As a lot of others have said, it’s aggressive. It comes on early, and leaves late. Shutting it off requires some button fiddling with every startup, so I just live with it for now.

The headlights
- Definitely more cost cutting. They are under powered, and the beam shape is not a big help.

The flashers
- This bike has flashers. I’ve not had a bike with flashers before. The switch is large, and placed right where I’m use to having the high beam switch. That switch is smaller, and tucked to the side of the flashers. Why is it so prominent? They get a lot of use. Every time I pass a lonely car at night, they get out 2 flashes before I swear in my helmet and fumble for the right switch.

No aftermarket
- It’s a new model, from a tiny manufacturer in a niche market of a niche market. I get it. Still, I’m not in the mood right now to be a pioneer cobbling together a custom solution for everything. What Zero has available does not interest me.

The attention
- As a said above, I like when people engage me about the bike with questions. But there’s another part. A certain genre of riders really don’t like it. I’ve heard a fair number of derogatory comments aimed at the bike. Usually while I’m moving and they’re stopped, so there’s really no chance for discourse.

Overall, I really love this bike. I’m on it everyday that I can be, and the efficiency, while not key to my purchase, has been really great. It has a trip meter that resets which each full charge, which allows me to track the calculated range and energy use almost daily. My lifetime average equivalent MPG is 309 so far, using the EPA recognized conversion of 1 MPGe= 1 mile/33.7 KWh and the battery charge tracker on board.

ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy > Tekamul 08/12/2016 at 11:30

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In the first pic, what is it that you’ve removed?

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > Tekamul 08/12/2016 at 11:32

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So on a full charge you go 309 miles roughly?

Tekamul > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy 08/12/2016 at 11:33

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All the battery.

There are two 3.3KWh battery packs in there, they just make up a solid hunk of weight. I took them out just to see what it looked like in there and what it felt like at a stand still on a 200 pound bike. It felt like a fat tire.

It usually looks like :

Tekamul > ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper 08/12/2016 at 11:37

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No, at only 6.5KWh capacity it’s about 60 miles on a charge. It’s INCREDIBLY dependent on how/where you ride.

At highway speeds (70+) it’s like mid 30's. At city speeds (35) it’s like 80. My best trip was a 20 city ride that calculated out to be good for 98 miles if I maintained the speed/style.

The 309 is meant to be an MPG equivalent, same as what they slap to the side of a plugin hybrid or EV.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Tekamul 08/12/2016 at 12:18

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My new toy

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Tekamul 08/12/2016 at 12:19

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I see some various E Bikes on SF now.

Tekamul > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 08/12/2016 at 12:27

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Very nice. What is it?

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Tekamul 08/12/2016 at 12:28

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Super 73.

Made in LA, they are being built now, it was a kickstarter. But they did so well we are getting all upgraded parts and range.

Tekamul > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 08/12/2016 at 12:42

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Very interesting.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Tekamul 08/12/2016 at 12:59

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The super 73 is fun looking, I might get another battery and they are working on bigger batteries too, but we already are promised a larger one than the original kickstarter announcement, they think 30-36 miles depending on assist/weight. The holy grail of electric mountain bikes is the Stealth. It’s a damn motorcycle, very fast and good range, but you can go where mountain bikes go, just don’t get nuts in front of the park police.

cazzyodo > Tekamul 08/12/2016 at 14:27

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I love this write-up. I want an electric vehicle pretty badly and with all the troubles of my current motorcycle (it hasn’t run in almost 2 years now for a variety of reasons) I’m hoping I can somehow scrounge up the dough for one of these. How tall are you, btw? I’m 6'4" with a 36" inseam that made me look ridiculous on a few bikes before I bought the one that refuses to work now.

But first, pay for wedding. Maybe I can convince the eventual wife that it would be a good idea for me...

Tekamul > cazzyodo 08/12/2016 at 14:37

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I’m 6' flat. It’s a supermoto style, so the seat is high, but not as high as the dual sport version, the FX. This one’s at 33", the FX is 34.7".

I can put both feet down easily, but it’s certainly not as low as a standard UJM

cazzyodo > Tekamul 08/12/2016 at 14:43

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There’s hope yet. I used to ride a Suzuki Intruder (cruiser) so it would definitely be higher. Regardless of my ability to buy one I do want to at least look at them. There’s still incentives available in MA!