[aaron]

First of all, thanks to all who have shared on this forum....I have learned most all I know about my new HD Livewire (note the original designation!! ha ha, I gotta get something for my money, right). It is my intention to contribute when I can. Im throwing his out to the veteran LW riders for opinions.

Commuting 42 miles each way to work.
Average speed just under 60 mph.
Consistently have 60% battery and anywhere from 58-63 miles range estimate remaining when arriving either way to and from work.

In a "perfect world" where one could simply do the math and expect that I should be able to complete the round trip with 20% battery and at least 16 miles remaining.
I have yet to try it....

Would obviously love to let my employer pay for my charging every day....

ANY STRONG OPINIONS ON WHETHER THIS IS COMFORTABLY WITHIN RANGE (84 MILES AT AVERAGE OF 60MPH WITH 30 MILES AT 75+MPH)

ALSO, AN AFTERTHOUGHT AS I WRITE THIS.....SHOULD 9 HOURS GET ME FROM 15-20% TO 100%?

AND, WOULD IT BE BETTER ON THE BATTERY AND CHARGING SYSTEM TO CHARGE FROM 60% TO FULL TWICE A DAY, VERSUS ONCE DAY FOR MUCH LONGER...

I LOOK FORWARD TO ANY OPINIONS, THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES.....1 MONTH AND 1000 MILES IN AND LOVIN IT!! HAPPY TRAILS!!!

 

[CaliforniaKiwi]

The obvious answer is it depends. You put a lot of the variables here that are in play, like average speed of 60, but what about how many of the miles are strictly highway without stopping? What about the temps or likely wind conditions?

My 100% advice is go for it. My range on about 40f with a lot of wind on 90% highway without traffic got me to almost this distance exactly. But, what I also had was 3 fast charge points in the middle that I could bail out to if I needed. All I would do if I was you is know 1 place you could stop on the way home if you at all feel scared and stop for 10 minutes or longer on level 1. You don't need much, just a little to ensure those last 5 miles.

Level 1 charge time is a little more than an hour per 10%, if you're doing over 60% add an hour. I (and quite a few riders on here) use a smart plug to time the charges (or set schedules for delayed starts to charging). This rule of thumb gets me within 1-2% everytime.

Bottomline, knowing this is possible will be a game changer for you. Even knowing its not. If you had an ICE with a small tank you'd still do this, but you'd stop for gas in the middle and wouldn't think twice about it as an inconvenience.

 

[aaron]

The obvious answer is it depends. You put a lot of the variables here that are in play, like average speed of 60, but what about how many of the miles are strictly highway without stopping? What about the temps or likely wind conditions?

My 100% advice is go for it. My range on about 40f with a lot of wind on 90% highway without traffic got me to almost this distance exactly. But, what I also had was 3 fast charge points in the middle that I could bail out to if I needed. All I would do if I was you is know 1 place you could stop on the way home if you at all feel scared and stop for 10 minutes or longer on level 1. You don't need much, just a little to ensure those last 5 miles.

Level 1 charge time is a little more than an hour per 10%, if you're doing over 60% add an hour. I (and quite a few riders on here) use a smart plug to time the charges (or set schedules for delayed starts to charging). This rule of thumb gets me within 1-2% everytime.

Bottomline, knowing this is possible will be a game changer for you. Even knowing its not. If you had an ICE with a small tank you'd still do this, but you'd stop for gas in the middle and wouldn't think twice about it as an inconvenience.

The obvious answer is it depends. You put a lot of the variables here that are in play, like average speed of 60, but what about how many of the miles are strictly highway without stopping? What about the temps or likely wind conditions?

My 100% advice is go for it. My range on about 40f with a lot of wind on 90% highway without traffic got me to almost this distance exactly. But, what I also had was 3 fast charge points in the middle that I could bail out to if I needed. All I would do if I was you is know 1 place you could stop on the way home if you at all feel scared and stop for 10 minutes or longer on level 1. You don't need much, just a little to ensure those last 5 miles.

Level 1 charge time is a little more than an hour per 10%, if you're doing over 60% add an hour. I (and quite a few riders on here) use a smart plug to time the charges (or set schedules for delayed starts to charging). This rule of thumb gets me within 1-2% everytime.

Bottomline, knowing this is possible will be a game changer for you. Even knowing its not. If you had an ICE with a small tank you'd still do this, but you'd stop for gas in the middle and wouldn't think twice about it as an inconvenience.

Wow....thanks for the thorough reply!! I think I just needed a little encouragement.. much appreciated my fellow pioneer!! The "range anxiety" is diminishing every day. After all, the worst thing that could happen is getting together with a buddy and strapping 'er to the trailer with some valuable info learned. That's part of my experiment here! I do still wonder about RESS healthy habits, like limiting fast charges....but more specifically, I wonder if it's better to do 2 level one charges 5-6 hours a day Versus 1 level one charge for 9-10 hours. Oh well, maybe another post. Again, thanks so much for your thoughtful, info packed reply....happy trails

 

[CaliforniaKiwi]

It's all a recommendation. I think the truth is they know fast charging causes more stress on the system.

I'll tell you this. I have a friend who has had a zero for over 5 years. He recently did a test to see if his battery was degrading and could not find any signs of degradation AT ALL. He doesn't have fast charge but he does the no no of charging to 100% every time. Against all advice. Again. No degradation experienced. Like all electrics, some will fail differently than others and all environment variables for us will be different, but my takeaway is that these batteries as a whole are more robust than we think. Happy trails.

 

[aaron]

It's all a recommendation. I think the truth is they know fast charging causes more stress on the system.

I'll tell you this. I have a friend who has had a zero for over 5 years. He recently did a test to see if his battery was degrading and could not find any signs of degradation AT ALL. He doesn't have fast charge but he does the no no of charging to 100% every time. Against all advice. Again. No degradation experienced. Like all electrics, some will fail differently than others and all environment variables for us will be different, but my takeaway is that these batteries as a whole are more robust than we think. Happy trails.

Again, great info to soak in! As an electrician I certainly see and deal with tons of scenarios and occasionally, the totally unexplained or expected. Good to share and gather here. Be QUIET out there!!

 

[aaron]

Well, we are a little closer to the goal of letting the employer pay for the commute energy!! Easing into a round trip of 84 miles daily, we rode avoiding all but 14 miles at 75mph, with the remaining 70 miles averaging approx. 50mph. This added a total of 20 minutes to my roundtrip (versus taking all highway).....YEAH, more ride time, bonus....Made it with 29% and 31 miles remaining..more than comfortable. Now we begin exploring different combinations of highway and non-highway routes to know what range we got. Having a blast discovering

 

[LiVE]

First of all, thanks to all who have shared on this forum....I have learned most all I know about my new HD Livewire (note the original designation!! ha ha, I gotta get something for my money, right). It is my intention to contribute when I can. Im throwing his out to the veteran LW riders for opinions.

Commuting 42 miles each way to work.
Average speed just under 60 mph.
Consistently have 60% battery and anywhere from 58-63 miles range estimate remaining when arriving either way to and from work.

In a "perfect world" where one could simply do the math and expect that I should be able to complete the round trip with 20% battery and at least 16 miles remaining.
I have yet to try it....

Would obviously love to let my employer pay for my charging every day....

ANY STRONG OPINIONS ON WHETHER THIS IS COMFORTABLY WITHIN RANGE (84 MILES AT AVERAGE OF 60MPH WITH 30 MILES AT 75+MPH)

ALSO, AN AFTERTHOUGHT AS I WRITE THIS.....SHOULD 9 HOURS GET ME FROM 15-20% TO 100%?

AND, WOULD IT BE BETTER ON THE BATTERY AND CHARGING SYSTEM TO CHARGE FROM 60% TO FULL TWICE A DAY, VERSUS ONCE DAY FOR MUCH LONGER...

I LOOK FORWARD TO ANY OPINIONS, THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES.....1 MONTH AND 1000 MILES IN AND LOVIN IT!! HAPPY TRAILS!!!

Sounds about the same as I am tracking. My commute is ~42-45 miles round trip, depending on route and I end up with anywhere from 58-63% charge when I get back home. It is a miix of highway and city streets, more city streets and better battery performance. If I am going to be riding in a urban or dense suburban environment, this is now the only bike I want to be on. The zip-zip and no engine heat at stops is now an expectation

 

[aaron]

Sounds about the same as I am tracking. My commute is ~42-45 miles round trip, depending on route and I end up with anywhere from 58-63% charge when I get back home. It is a miix of highway and city streets, more city streets and better battery performance. If I am going to be riding in a urban or dense suburban environment, this is now the only bike I want to be on. The zip-zip and no engine heat at stops is now an expectation

I know, right!! I am loving the ride everyday....I am getting up about 45 minutes earlier to explore different routes to work, AND amazingly arriving way early....kinda surprised that several different routes get me to work within minutes of each other. For nearly an hour on the bike and I totally forget that I'm going to work! Love love love it.... Enjoy and be safe