I
suspect that “nothing happening” may be a recurring theme with
electric bikes. They just get on with it, without fuss.
I was
reading a motorcycling blog yesterday, filled as usual with
inaccuracies and lies about electric motorcycles. Interestingly it
was from someone who “champions” (their words) electrics.
However they've got a set against Zeros. I haven't been able to
figure out why he doesn't like them.
Anyway
his negativity got me thinking about my bike again. Something I
haven't actually done much of this year. The novelty has worn off a
bit and I'm giving it about the same level of thought as I do my
microwave. When I want to reheat a cup of coffee I put it in the
microwave, when I want to go to the shops I get on the bike. I
remember the first time I used a microwave (a radar oven), I was
gobsmacked by it (I'm that old). Now I never think about it. The
bike's the same. It just gets on with getting me places.
This
negative article was full of the usual as well as the unusual. Zeros
are bad because he saw one (a prototype, but he didn't mention that)
4 years ago that had the switches labelled with a sharpie. The
implication being that they're so badly finished. (They're actually
so well finished that they make me cry with joy apart from some of
the DOT required stuff that's a bit tacky)
So I got
to thinking about all the times the Zero hasn't let me down. How it
just gets me places and I compared that to the petrol bikes I've had.
I'm not going to include all the mishaps of my companions, (the
internet isn't big enough) just what's gone wrong with the bike I've
actually been riding that's left me stranded. Now two things here,
I've done a lot of riding, and modern motorcycles make as much or
more power per litre as F1 cars, so you've got to expect a few things
to go wrong...
So here
it is, a list of things that will never go wrong with the Zero that
have stopped me on a petrol bike
Exploding
clutch baskets. 3 of these.
Stripped
gears. 2
Needle
circlip breaking. 2
Wrong
needle fitted. 1 (I still don't know how this happened and it took a
year to solve)
Fouled
plug. Maybe 30, maybe more, on that bike I carried 5 spare plugs and
sometimes ran out.
Carb
slides stuck full open. 2 (two different bikes, both scary
experiences)
Cracked
exhaust or lost exhaust bolts. 6
Gear
shift lever fallen off. 1
Muffler
fallen off. 2
Timing
plate loose. 1
Snapped
throttle cable. 1
Snapped
clutch cable. 3
Run out
of fuel. 2
Broken
choke. 1 (but parts took nearly a year to get, during which time I
had to remove the airbox and squirt fuel down the carbies to start
the bike so it delayed me hundreds of times)
Stuck
exhaust valve. 2
Failed
starter motor. 2
Vapour
lock. I couldn't count the times but all on one Ducati
Oil
leak. 1 (by oil leak I mean the whole lot fell out of the bottom of
the motor in about 100metres while I was on my way to a job interview)
Blown
head gasket. 1
Kick
starter broken. 1
And, not
exactly something that stopped me but annoying all the same,
Standing
in the rain, unpacking my camping gear only to discover that the hot
exhaust had melted my tent and sleeping bag. 1
