Vetterizing my 2013 Zero S ZF11.4

[aluminumwelder]

Also you really do not need a water cooler. If you start welding several hours a day and the duty cycle is too small than and only then would I blow $400 on a water cooler.

the nice thing about the alpha 200x tig is it can run on 110v or 220v , that saves you hundreds on an electrician. In the future if you ever need to weld metal thicker than about 1/8" aluminum then you can pop for a 220v outlet, but that day will likely be far off if ever.

basically you could get a very capable set up for half what you projected to begin wtih.

the ahp alpha machine has very good reviews on amazon by the way. if you ever come down to charlotte, i can give you some tig lessons.

this advice is from someone that spent thousands on an expensive lincoln precision tig 275, water cooler, and the whole nine yards and then got a cheap longevity 160x which in hindsight what I should of got for the 10 hrs or so of welding that we do each week, it is more than capable, lighter and easier to use.

[3-Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Michael Moore

.... Steel is much more forgiving, 1018/1020 (which is all you really need) is relatively inexpensive, easy to find and easy to weld and a steel structure very likely can end up just as light or lighter if you do it right.....

Hi Michael,

Your experience may be different than mine, but I've found 1018 mild steel hard to weld.

Why??

Simple: metal impurities!!

I have a low end Miller TIG at home and a ThermalArc at work. Both machines will give me fits when welding cheap mild steel. There is crap that comes out of the metal, and it starts coating the tungsten almost immediately, which then dulls the sharp tip, then causes me to stop welding to sharpen the tip and try again.

Stainless Steel:

This stuff works great. No impurities, welds like butter with good technique, and the welds look beautiful. I definitely can not say that for the cheap 1018 I tried welding several years ago.

Higher Grade Steel:

I would definitely pay the extra to get high quality steel for welding a project. Chrome-moly or other high grade steel would be the only metal I would consider welding myself.

Jim.

[user removed]

Back in the old oxyacetelene days we used coat hangers and motorcycle spokes.

regards
Mech

[PeterS]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Back in the old oxyacetelene days we used coat hangers and motorcycle spokes.

regards
Mech

I braze little stuff and stick big stuff.

Definitely old fashioned.

[Burton]

I should have mentioned I live in a condo where I have the first two floors and a garage so torches are out of the question. Tig I could get away with though but don't think mig or stick would be a good idea.

I need the 240v outlet to charge my electric bike faster than 10 hours :/ So I guess you could knock the price down $300 so ~2700.

Looking at Kevin's reviews of the AHP 200. I was originally going to get the everlast 200dx but figured there were better features on the 250ex and better amperage ensuring I would likely not have to replace the machine in the future. The AHP seems like it has less features than the 200dx/dv.

I want to be able to weld aluminum and if I can motorcycle frames or just pipe based frames in general when my projects require it. I am in no way trying to make money or a living doing this but to me money spent learning a new skill is spent well. In the near future I am going to have a homestead and would like to be able to repair my tools on top of making things for my bikes

It seems like some people think you either spend under 1.5k on all your gear or your a professional from what I have been reading in many forums. I recently spent around $750 just for three lights because I like them and they are high quality investments. (jw speaker 8700 and two 6150's)

Hypothetically if I went with the AHP200 I would spend a total of $1584, if I went with the 200dx it would be $1800-$2000. The AHP200 is apparently doing repairs if you send the unit there on your dime but nothing is written in stone. The Everlast has a 5 year warranty.

I don't want to skimp on my helmet so I won't be getting something cheaper. If i didn't get the miller I would have got the speedglas 9000. The pre-darkening from sensing HF is one of the things that turned me on to the helmet.

As for the ceriated vs lanthinated I will do more research but it seems Jody's test shows lanthanated held up to 200amps better so I can switch those out before I order.

The miller helmet uses two Lithium CR2450's, a $0.55 battery ^_^

aluminumwelder thanks for the DVD offer I will keep it in mind.

How long can you weld above 100-140amps without your air cooled torch getting too hot to hold? I was under the impression a nice watercooled 20 is both tiny and cool under such conditions which is why I opted to add it into the list.

I have yet to find any good AHP 200dx vs Everlast 200dx threads yet but I have seen several E 200dx vs 250ex and it seemed like the upgrade was worth it.

[user removed]

I got a reman Lincoln mig, one of their smallest rigs and bought the bottle for the gas. It sat in my garage for 6 years and I gave it to my buddies body shop. They use it almost constantly now and it's over 10 years old. Including the shield it was less than $400 but not suitable for aluminum.

Mig is super easy to learn, I can do it blindfolded. When it's right it sounds like eggs in a frying pan.

regards
Mech

[American Viking]

I'm not here all the time, so bear with me.
You have the zero with the 11.4 battery pack.
What is your range at 65mph???
Do you ride it like a normal bike or baby it to get that range?

Can you do your entire commute to work without having to charge it at work or do have some arrangement with work?


I looked at your blog, you post interesting ideas, some I agree with, and some I don't (like your post about the 'true' cost of owning a motorcycle.)

I'd enjoy discussing some of those points someday, in the mean time, good luck keep at it.

[Burton]

I have a 2013 S ZF11.4 with a size 6 controller and DS shocks / forks installed. The brain is completely programmable via diginow interface and is currently set up to be slightly faster than a 2014 SR

I have not had the bike out on the highway yet to confirm actual range vs advertised range. Advertised range at 70mph is 70 miles and my commute is only 53 miles total each day. Accounting for winter and I would likely be cutting it close on the days I would ride it.

Theoretically I don't have to charge it at work to get home. I would like to get the bike to a point where I can go touring with it much like I do with my ICE bike. The vetter fairing and tail treatment should increase the range and increase charging efficiency since less energy is needed to go the same distance.

My current riding habits vary. I am running a 15/37 setup on my ninja 250 and tend to ride the speed limit of 65 but will drop down a gear and get up to 75 as needed. If I am riding more spirited I will keep the rpms around 7 to 9 k in corners so I can accelerate faster out of them. With the zero I suspect I will do the same as I do now except I might go faster.

The reason for going faster might sound odd but if touring going faster is better than slower as you actually increase your average miles per hour after including charging time. http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/b...17033#msg17033

[American Viking]

Thanks for the reply.

Originally Posted by Burton

I have a 2013 S ZF11.4 with a size 6 controller and DS shocks / forks installed. The brain is completely programmable via diginow interface and is currently set up to be slightly faster than a 2014 SR

I have not had the bike out on the highway yet to confirm actual range vs advertised range. Advertised range at 70mph is 70 miles and my commute is only 53 miles total each day. Accounting for winter and I would likely be cutting it close on the days I would ride it.

That is my problem with pure EV's right now, the range.
My commute to the office used to be 90 miles on the NJ turnpike where speeds average 75mph. No EV could handle that speed/range combo without charging at work (a few could barely make it to work, never mind back home again).
That's why I was hoping you had done some baseline commuting on the Zero.

Originally Posted by Burton

Theoretically I don't have to charge it at work to get home. I would like to get the bike to a point where I can go touring with it much like I do with my ICE bike. The vetter fairing and tail treatment should increase the range and increase charging efficiency since less energy is needed to go the same distance.

You say that you want to go touring on it like you do on your regular bike.
But that makes me ask you how far can you tour on your gas bike.
For me on my VFR, that's easily over 800 miles a day. 230-250 miles on a tank averaging 65-70 mph, 20 minutes to fill up/use the bathroom/get fluids, and then another 3-4 hours on the next tank. I don't know of any EV motorcycle that can do that. The frequent stops will make for a very long trip, unless you already stop frequently and often.

Originally Posted by Burton

My current riding habits vary. I am running a 15/37 setup on my ninja 250 and tend to ride the speed limit of 65 but will drop down a gear and get up to 75 as needed. If I am riding more spirited I will keep the rpms around 7 to 9 k in corners so I can accelerate faster out of them. With the zero I suspect I will do the same as I do now except I might go faster.
The reason for going faster might sound odd but if touring going faster is better than slower as you actually increase your average miles per hour after including charging time. Terry's fourth cross-US trip

Oh I understand that completely, the few miles that running at 60 mph saves me, compared to maybe having one more gas stop, is not really significant.

Ev's either need a break through in battery capacity or a charging break through to cut charging times down, before they are really ready to compete with ICE vehicles in long distance travel.

Keep going.

[Burton]

When I go touring typically I only get on the highway if I have to. Where I ride now it takes me 1 to 2 hours to get there through a mix of highway / freeway / backroads and takes about a full tank; or at least it did at one point. Right now I average 66mpg with my current commute but I tend to average more when out riding all day.

My MO is to ride out to the mountains, fill up and ride most of the day in the mountains, then hop on the highway and head home which normally takes around 4 hours.

I only cover around 500 miles in a day but I start my day at 7am and end it around 11pm. This includes at least two stops for gas / drink / refreshments.

With the Zero if I went to my north starting point 59 miles away the average speed would mean I wouldn't have to charge but it would be wise to do it and get there early. With and without this streamlining modification.

The next stage with the zero will range in speed from 15 to 45 mph meaning I could go about 130+ miles stock or around 200 miles with the streamlining(maybe) before charging again. In the mountains it can take a while to cover these distances. I could likely survive till lunch before charging.

The second half of the day we would likely cover another 100 miles and stop once more. I would likely charge one last time before going home.

However by the time I am going home my butt is getting sore faster causing me to shift a lot and I would likely stop after 2 hours to rest. Then depending how long the day was I would stop another 1 hour from home.


Even with the cowl I expect my total miles covered will be lower than my miles I typically cover.