Towing my new Zero electric bike with the Tesla

[SwampNut]

 

[CyberGus]

Supercharging with a trailer attached? That's un-possible!

 

[SwampNut]

LOL, yeah, I forgot that.

But unfortunately, it is never possible in Buckeye, and that's a 100% required stop for me going to CA with a trailer. There's no way to make it from Quartzsite to the Glendale charger with a trailer. And Buckeye is always heavily used so I can't park sideways, and no trailer spots. Still, removing the trailer is not horrible. I carry a light floor jack and some wood blocks.

Some very interesting aerodynamics observations...

The trailer with the plastic wrapped motorcycle actually took LESS energy than the empty trailer.

Removing the plastic wrap cost me 6-9% in power!!

Therefore, next time I trailer anything, I plan to wrap the entire trailer or tarp it.

I should have popped the big windscreen off the bike, it only takes 90 seconds.

The Zero is a kickass bike, and I'm glad to finally find the right deal. It's a long story, but I went from months of vague shopping to making a deal on Wednesday morning when they announced new rebates and some pressure on dealers to move the 2023 models out NOW. $6250 off.

 

[ÆCIII]

For a second there I thought you meant the Zero bike had some regen capability and you were towing it on the road to recharge it

- ÆCIII

 

[SwampNut]

Well, when the car was at 1%, I was thinking about how I could hang the back wheel off the trailer and run a string from the throttle to my window...

There's certainly no reason you couldn't tow the bike and regen charge it.

 

[CyberGus]

There's certainly no reason you couldn't tow the bike and regen charge it.

I can think of several reasons lol

 

[SwampNut]

I can think of several reasons lol

Meh. The difference between stupid and an adventure is whether you made it.

So there we were, towing a CR500 with a Jeep because it wouldn't start, when it suddenly fired up....

 

[Crissa]

I test-rode an Energica a week ago! I still prefer the Zero for its ergonomics.

When you said tow, I was thinking of this set up:

Or maybe

I was thinking about whether this will work for my Cybertruck:

I'm still on our summer road-trip, so my posting will remain light. Tho now we're at the beach for a week so there's at least some time with internet ^-^

-Crissa

 

[SwampNut]

When you said tow, I was thinking of this set up:

I've kicked this around as an option. I'm not sure I'd be happy doing 500 miles with it. (Bought the bike in San Diego, towed to Los Angeles, rode, then towed to Phoenix.) I bet that with the windscreen off and the bike wrapped in plastic, it would do little to the Tesla range.

I was thinking about whether this will work for my Cybertruck:

I would expect yes. I can't recall which model Zero you have. I have put adventure and sport bikes on that kind of carrier on vehicles that could handle more tongue weight. I expect the CT wouldn't be any issue at all. Or ride it into the bed, that's my plan.

 

[mhaze]

Well, when the car was at 1%, I was thinking about how I could hang the back wheel off the trailer and run a string from the throttle to my window...

There's certainly no reason you couldn't tow the bike and regen charge it.

I think something could be worked out with the bike on a roofrack. Set the bike's rear wheel free to spin and using a long v belt connect to the driver's side rear wheel extended v belt pulley.

There wouldn't be any problem riding that bike way up there, would there?

 

[MikeInTheWoods]

Nice! I plan on getting a Zero DS myself, hopefully at the end of next year

 

[Rutrow]

Well, when the car was at 1%...

I guess it's a little reassuring when you get close to 0% knowing you have an escape pod on the trailer behind. ?

 

[Crissa]

I would expect yes. I can't recall which model Zero you have. I have put adventure and sport bikes on that kind of carrier on vehicles that could handle more tongue weight. I expect the CT wouldn't be any issue at all. Or ride it into the bed, that's my plan.

Yeah, but if I'm out adventuring, I expect there's stuff in the bed.

-Crissa

 

[SwampNut]

Yeah, but if I'm out adventuring, I expect there's stuff in the bed.

-Crissa

A great point. I typically pack around bikes, but it depends on what is going of course and how many people. But here's an example of me using a rack for a medium bike, and while not ideal, it wasn't totally horrible.

I used a wild amount of energy. Towing with a sedan is not a good everyday thing.

Also, I need a RADAR/LIDAR detector/jammer. I'm riding this thing like, well, a sport bike. It would also be great to have a dashcam, so I could post the video of my close call. So I blast it up to 80 from a light, in a 45 zone. Half a mile ahead, I see a motorcycle cop zoom out after another car, probably doing 60. So close.

I'm considering an Escort MAXcam 360c.

 

[Crissa]

I use an Insta360 One-R, but its resolution isn't so great, but it does have the advantage that it sees everything I go past ^-^

-Crissa