An
Electric Test Ride.
After a whizz around the car park at the Wey Valley meeting I had in mind of testing an electric bike with Gita on the back. I needed an MOT for the Kawasaki and as Jack Lilley’s had moved to Byfleet and renamed West London Triumph I booked one in For Tuesday lunch time. Byfleet is only a couple of miles from Addlestone and I booked a test ride for after lunch. We had a good ride out, cool to start but warmed up as the day went on. You could see the Triumph sign from the road but it proved a challenge to get to in the trading estate. Some of the old faces populated the new premises even the man who did the MOT commented that the Kawasaki suspension bush had play in it. It had been like that for the last four MOTs but it was no worse than at the last MOT was his comment. Perhaps I should replace it before it gets a fail. MOT gained we went off to Clifton Nurseries, Woburn Hill, Addlestone to see Sparkmotos for the test ride. I had booked the Zero DS. It is the 44kw unrestricted model. The performance would be equivalent to the Kawasaki at about 70bhp. We arrived a little after one and I met up with Conor again. He looked up my blog and was pleased to see what I had written. Paperwork was completed and the DS was wheeled outside.
There was a few minutes of familiarisation before we were on our way. Our departure was filmed as we exited the car park. With Gita on the back it felt we were on holiday ready to begin a long journey. Straight away I felt at home on the bike well balanced two up and heavy enough to be stable. At the junction with the main road I was a little reluctant to pull out into traffic. I had no idea of the acceleration so didn’t risk anything. It was in Eco mode and did not pull away quickly. I was told that I would be out of Eco mode by the end of the road. In seconds I toggled the switch to find Sport and found the performance I wanted. Negotiating the roundabouts to get beyond St Peter’s Hospital then taking the first left to Chobham on nice country roads I could explore the bike’s characteristics a bit more. As I had experienced before it does not freewheel so you keep the power on until you want to stop. This is because the slowing down phase is used for energy regeneration. The amount regenerated can be customised from nothing, freewheel, to maximum which mega engine braking. It is odd because petrol engines have their own characters so you learn to ride with what you’ve got but being able to modify it to suit yourself is a whole different world. I still keep searching for a clutch as you pull to a standstill. The transmission just disengages before you stop and something that is strange to me. Pulling away is effortless and progressive the first part of the throttle opening takes up the drive gently and once moving the power is progressively delivered. There is no switch to surprise you but the acceleration is like that delivered by the ER6F from 7 to 10,000rpm. It is quick but not abrupt. I was not able to explore the performance beyond what I could do on a single lane road. The handling inspired confidence and I liked the ride and riding position. Two up the forks did bottom out a couple of times over rough sections so perhaps the travel needs to be a bit longer not firmer as the ride was quite comfortable so did not need firmer springs. I prefer bikes with suspension that works rather than the very hard found on sports bikes that rattle your fillings and send shock waves through your spine. Riding around via Chobham and back to Addlestone in traffic was very manageable as I got used to the lack of clutch. I gave Gita a smooth ride on the back and she liked our trip out allot. All in all it was a very manageable motorcycle well balanced with a weight of 185kg the same as the Kawasaki so it was nice to be able to have something to compare it by. It is undoubtedly something for the future and the drive is in that direction but I feel it is not quite yet for me. Range anxiety is my concern with around 120 miles before a recharge that takes about one and a half hours that is if you can somewhere to charge it is not so bad but I think a range of 300 miles would make me happier and I am told that increased range is on the way as battery technology improves.
As this week progressed I get around to more jobs at home. The first thing was to get some replacement gas cylinders to complete the welding of plant pot frames that are mounted below window baskets at the back of the house. Due to shortage of drivers and hence deliveries there were none at my local supplier but I found some in Twickenham. I was about to head off in the El Cid, but it would not start so I had to use the Toyota instead. When I got home I started work on the El Cid. The starting problem was that the carburettor was receiving no fuel. Fuel coming through but not getting into the float chamber. It turned that the float was not operating as it should and its pivot had become lose in the aluminium clasps that hold it in position. Once crimped up and firm the float worked properly and fuel supply restored. After that job I worked on the Buell fitting a sprung jockey wheel assembly to the belt drive. I had been getting chatter on the belt and this is caused by worn out jockey wheel bearings. In the morning I got a replacement set from Snobbs at Hanger Lane and fitted them in the afternoon. A bright yellow spring is the evidence and the belt tension looks to be OK but not as tight as it had been in the past. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes as this mechanism is supposed to improve belt and wheel bearing life.
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