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Zero Motorcycles makes its service manuals free

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Re: Zero Motorcycles makes its service manuals free

#41

Post by whartung »

porknubbins wrote: post #17

Are there any OEMs whose service manuals are hard to find? I restore cars and motorcycles and have never had trouble finding a pdf or hard copy for around $20. Its good that they are doing this though a lot of the secrets I’d want to know about an electric motorcycle are about the ECU when that software is some of the most tightly guarded of any.

BMW no longer sells service manuals for their bikes.

There are, essentially, bootlegs on line, but my understanding is that while before they had a dedicated Window application for their manuals, they're moving to an online only system, and only for dealers.

So, while there are manuals floating around now, who knows how that will go moving forward.

Obviously, this will be a key sticking point in the future with the "right to repair" laws trickling through the state legislatures.

Re: Zero Motorcycles makes its service manuals free

#43

Post by russellbeattie »

It's going to take a while for people to get used to tinkering with electric vehicles vs ICEs. There's lots of great ways to get yourself fried in those manuals. I could totally see myself skipping the "High Voltage Discharging procedure" (despite the warning on every section involving the battery) just to make a "quick adjustment" and becoming a statistic.

Re: Zero Motorcycles makes its service manuals free

#44

Post by subhro »

mmh0000 wrote: post #39
leetrout wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where are you getting the top BMW for 18? Or are you talking about the ones they farm out?

https://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/en/models/sport/r1250rs.html Okay. 20k. Still less than an electric and more powerful with more features.

1250RS is not top of the line for sure in any of the segments it is marketed at. I would say a K16 would be more towards the top.

Re: Zero Motorcycles makes its service manuals free

#45

Post by i_k_k »

userbinator wrote: post #42
i_k_k wrote: post #40

Off topic, but does anyone make simple electric motorcycles? You know, a frame, battery, motor, etc., but without a connected app and all the goo that comes with it.

You can probably find plenty of them on Alibaba.

Well I’ll be. Now how ‘bout a simple, quality bike? :)

Re: Zero Motorcycles makes its service manuals free

#46

Post by blululu »

JumpinJack_Cash wrote: post #12
cdot2 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is energica really the leader in electric motorcycle sales? I couldnt find any stats but Ive definitely seen some zero bikes on the road and Ive never seen an energica in person

They are going nowhere. Electric motorcycles are a terrible idea because they are not the problem as far as emission go. Given the ratio between the weight of the motorcycle and the weight of the passenger/s they are extemely efficient, having the whole passenger vehicles switch to motorcycles would be even better than have them switch to 3000 pounds EVs. The vast majority of people are too coward to drive them unfor…

Eh, you’d be surprised how much particulates a 2 stroke engine with no catalytic converter spits out.

But the more important point is that electric motorcycles are amazingly fun to ride. No clutch and crazy of acceleration gives an amazing ride.

Re: Zero Motorcycles makes its service manuals free

#47

Post by userbinator »

porknubbins wrote: post #17

Are there any OEMs whose service manuals are hard to find? I restore cars and motorcycles and have never had trouble finding a pdf or hard copy for around $20. Its good that they are doing this though a lot of the secrets I’d want to know about an electric motorcycle are about the ECU when that software is some of the most tightly guarded of any.

Your mention of "restore" suggests mainly older models, which certainly did have far more widely-distributed service literature and are simpler than newer vehicles.

Re: Zero Motorcycles makes its service manuals free

#48

Post by somerandomqaguy »

JumpinJack_Cash wrote: post #12
cdot2 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is energica really the leader in electric motorcycle sales? I couldnt find any stats but Ive definitely seen some zero bikes on the road and Ive never seen an energica in person

They are going nowhere. Electric motorcycles are a terrible idea because they are not the problem as far as emission go. Given the ratio between the weight of the motorcycle and the weight of the passenger/s they are extemely efficient, having the whole passenger vehicles switch to motorcycles would be even better than have them switch to 3000 pounds EVs. The vast majority of people are too coward to drive them unfor…

....?

Motocross racing is probably going to see more electric because you really can't put that much power down into the dirt. And electric dirt bikes have much finer grain control of power delivery which makes them quite competitive against gas motorcycles.

And smaller electric dirt bikes can get away with going places where the noise of a gas engine would just draw too much ire. I've seen some Surron's going onto bike paths; they're not supposed to but if you're careful and courteous, I doubt anyone's gonna call the cops on you.

Surron was also doing demo's and training with their bike's indoors with the speed electronically limited to about 12kph (7mph). No tail pipe emissions, no noise, so no problems running them in a building. Folks that have never swung a leg over a motorcycle before could confidently mess around with one in about 20 minutes without having to think first about clutch or being scared of a whiskey throttle or stalling the bike.

And you gotta keep in mind, it's not the expensive high performance two wheelers that are where they're really thriving, it's the cheap personal commuter. Pedal ebikes and low speed electric mopeds are growing pretty damn quick.

Plus there is at least one intriguing idea in regards to security that gas bike's can't do. Having the electric motor apply reverse torque to the rear when someone tries to wheel the bike away without the key, effective turning the motor into a wheel lock for the rear when parked. I don't know how practical it really is but the ideal has some merit IMO.

Re: Zero Motorcycles makes its service manuals free

#49

Post by leetrout »

subhro wrote: post #44
mmh0000 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/en/models/sport/r1250rs.html Okay. 20k. Still less than an electric and more powerful with more features.

1250RS is not top of the line for sure in any of the segments it is marketed at. I would say a K16 would be more towards the top.

Yep. Or the flagship of adventure bikes - R1250 GS also a bit more than the RS or RT.

Re: Zero Motorcycles makes its service manuals free

#50

Post by bradly »

JumpinJack_Cash wrote: post #27
bradly wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Electric motorcycles are a terrible idea because they are not the problem as far as emission go. There are other reasons to want an electric motorcycles besides low emissions.

Motorcycles are the best vehicles as far as acceleration and weight/power ratio is concerned, they fare even better in the price/quickness and price/fun ratio. A 45,000$ Kawasaki H2R has won a drag race against a RedBull F1 car, an F16, a Gulfstream G600 a Bugatti, a TeslaP100..[0] By orders of magnitude the Kawasaki was the cheapest vehicle in that race and smoked them all..but that bike can only be driven to the li…

I'm not sure what any of that has to do with why people enjoy electric motorcycles. You seem focused on a motorcycle's racing ability as a measure of its usefulness or enjoyment.
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