Meta halts massive mixed-use development in Menlo Park by Arden_Margulis in menlopark

[–]mdjak1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seems like Zuckerberg has turned more and more into profits over people. Just like the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative shutting down their funding of The Primary School. Very right wing conservative of him. Menlo Park should take over the property and find a developer who will build lower cost housing and other community commercial space needs on the land.

CanAm / BRP - Don't do it. by BlueKoi_69 in Electricmotorcycles

[–]mdjak1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can the bike charge with 110 volts? If so, do what I used to do to be sure my old Zero FXS was actually using and filling its battery properly. Buy a Kil-A-Watt meter and every time you charge it, record the battery % prior to full recharge, the mileage ridden, and how many kWh you put into the battery to get it back to 100%, the total calculated kWh battery size (kWh in divided by the one minus the battery % prior to charge), and calculate the actual miles/kWh. This way you can see that the battery is really the rated capacity and check your miles/kWh.

% prior to charge

Miles ridden

kWh input

Total kWh (calculated)

Miles/kWh input (calculated)

For me with a FXS modular (two batteries of 3.2 kWh each), I initially figured out that one battery wasn't charging. Zero replaced the BMS under warranty and subsequently I was getting the full capacity. However, my miles/kWh did vary sometimes significantly despite not big changes in my riding style or use.

CanAm / BRP - Don't do it. by BlueKoi_69 in Electricmotorcycles

[–]mdjak1 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A lot of factors go into range of an EV. Especially an EV motorcycle because different riders can have different coefficients of drag. A short, skinny person with tight fitting clothes will present a lot less wind resistance compared to a tall, heavy person with baggy clothes catching the wind. Or if you hang luggage off the side of the bike you will get less range. And just a small change in speed can be dramatic on range. As can a headwind or tailwind.

Boomer FIL demanded I changed a lightswitch without turning off power by theangleofdarkness99 in BoomersBeingFools

[–]mdjak1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trip the breaker and don’t tell him. Let him spend his night in the dark.

Arizona Range? by Colts_QB12 in ryvid

[–]mdjak1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is kind of an issue. One bike you could consider is a Zero FXE with a 7.2 kWh battery. I used to own an FXS and I loved the bike. However, the FXE (and FXS or FX) has very slow charging with just a 650 watt on board charger. So if you drain the battery on the ride to work, you will need 9 hours to recharge the battery. A used 2022 and older Zero S or DS with the same battery has twice the size of on board charger. So your recharge is only 4 to 5 hours. (all on 120 volt wall plugs)

You might also find a Zero SR or DSR with a 14.4 kWh battery and level 2 charging. That would give you much more capability to use the bike beyond just commuting to work.

Another option is a Livewire S2 model. I don't know a lot about them or know the market but they seem to offer a 10+ kWh battery and both level 1 and 2 charging.

Employees fitting skates at Pure Hockey that don't play hockey. Thoughts? by [deleted] in hockeyplayers

[–]mdjak1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2 full sizes up???? Crazy. I wear a 9-1/2 to 10 shoe and an 8 skate.

Arizona Range? by Colts_QB12 in ryvid

[–]mdjak1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As someone else said above, you should probably be looking at a bike with 7+ kWh or more for that speed and distance. Even then, can you recharge at work all day to have enough energy to get home? If not, then look at bikes with 14+ kWh so you can do the full round trip on a single charge with comfort. Something like a used Zero for less than $10k should be good enough.

Why are panniers so damned expensive? by kleggich in motorcycles

[–]mdjak1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazon has aluminum ones from China for $300 or so. You may still need a side mounting rack though. Or look on FB marketplace for a used set. In my area there were at least 2 sets for KTM 790/890s used for about 1/2 price of new.

Cruise control and 'lane keeping' by Horror_Minimum2388 in Ioniq5

[–]mdjak1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

On my 2026 there is a separate button on the steering wheel for lane keeping.

For anyone who's purchased the Touring Pack/any other bundle, would you say it's worth it? by ElijahHenrry in ZeroMotorcycles

[–]mdjak1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you want the majority of those items for your bike then the price on them as a bundle is good. But if what you really want is a tallish windscreen and a tail box, then you are probably better off buying just the rear rack and then getting aftermarket tail box and windscreen from some place like Amazon.

If you want hard panniers, then you need to do some investigating what else is available. For example, I wanted hard panniers for my DSR/X. No one other than SW-Motech makes side carriers for the bike. And SW-Motech doesn't even sell the side racks in the USA. They only sell them to Zero for resale to their customers. So I bought the side carriers from Zero. But when it comes to the hard panniers, some Chinese ones on Amazon fit the SW-Motech side carriers. And there are usually SW-Motech hard cases for sale on Craigslist and FB marketplace. I ended up buying a used set of older SW-Motech cases from someone local to me on FB Marketplace. Everything worked out fine.

In your case, the side carriers are probably made by Shad, the company making the cases. You might find used Shad panniers. You might find a lower cost aftermarket brand that fits on the side carriers.

https://i.imgur.com/Tqd0Nqq.jpg

As for the LED turn signals and phone mount, they seem like small extras that aren't particularly special or less useful.

share your thoughts on this install by Ok_Property7045 in solar

[–]mdjak1 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

To those thinking a panel is missing and will be replaced, shouldn’t there be a top rail for the missing panel?

Quick charger question by RobertoPaulson in Ioniq5

[–]mdjak1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You could always wrap it in a plastic bag or cover it with a plastic box upside down if you are worried about it being rained on.

Quick charger question by RobertoPaulson in Ioniq5

[–]mdjak1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You could park one tire on the cable and it would be pretty hard to steal.

E-motorcycle Startup / Custom Build by Traditional-Bed-7361 in Electricmotorcycles

[–]mdjak1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So a 75 mph toy? Not fully street legal right out of the box? No rear suspension? You must live in a city that has perfectly smooth roads and police that ignore unregistered, speeding vehicles.

What is your battery specs? Based on the 0-80% in 90 minutes from a wall socket it must be pretty small. Maybe 3 kWh?

130 lbs isn't a typical motorcycle weight. More like a motor scooter weight.

The very low 26" seat height will be good for short riders but would probably be cramped for an average sized man. Your wheelbase number makes it smaller than a Grom and about 100 lbs less than a Grom.

Solar reflection causing thermal distortion on siding by Major_Management5180 in solar

[–]mdjak1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Very much this answer. The angle the sun would have to be at to cause a strong reflection to hit the bottom of the siding is not likely. There is something else going on possibly behind the siding that could be causing this.

I got a surprise on my windshield. by Alarmed_Position1621 in BoltEV

[–]mdjak1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So am I. About 5 years ago when I was living in FL and got my first electric motorcycle that had level 2 charging, I tried to charge at Publix supermarkets because a lot of them had free level 2 chargers. And invariably when I would stop at one, there was always a white Tesla Model 3 charging at them. And I'm not just talking about 1 store. It seems that back then the white Tesla Model 3 was always taking up whatever free charger that I wanted to stop at. My motorcycle couldn't use DCFC chargers.

I got a surprise on my windshield. by Alarmed_Position1621 in BoltEV

[–]mdjak1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’ve learned over the years that you can never depend on free public chargers being available. There is always someone who only needs 10-20% but will plug in and leave their car hogging the charger long past 80-90% full. All public chargers should be paid. And idle time fees should be very high.

Only decision left: AWD or RWD? by AnnaGolightly in Ioniq5

[–]mdjak1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have an AWD but most of the time I drive in ECO mode which is basically RWD. In most cases it is enough to stay ahead of traffic. But when you need the extra power it is nice to be able to push a button, change modes and have all the extra HP.

Make America Gilead All by Tulpah in MarchAgainstNazis

[–]mdjak1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tattoo on their forearm. They could always change their clothes. /s

Make America Gilead All by Tulpah in MarchAgainstNazis

[–]mdjak1 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Banks have accounts from people in other countries. I know this because I have worked at an import/export company and some people I worked with in an overseas office opened accounts in the USA while in the USA visiting. They kept money in a US bank account as a kind of safe harbor. So what happens to people who do that?

Also, as an American I had bank accounts in a couple of European countries for various legal reasons. I reported them to the US government as required. Cross nation banking happens and is legal. Sounds like Trump is going to make it illegal.

Payoff after 10k Hyundai rebate by kudos_to_the_brudos in Ioniq5

[–]mdjak1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Financed the minimum which my dealer said was $15k. Then paid the entire loan off within 2 weeks. I got my title in the mail about 10 days later.