Zapino

I need to replace my aging batteries in my Zapino. I presently have the B&B EVP35-12 batteries. If anyone has any information on better lead acid batteries, or info on good battery deals please post the info. I believe the current market price of the B&B batteries is about $100 each but I can't even find one source in San Diego CA for these batteries.

I am considering buying a 2008 Zapino. (Is there a 2009 model Zapino?) There seem to be many comments and issues discussed on this site that make it difficult for me to determine if this is a good product or not. So, i thought a survey might helpful. I appreciate the feedback...

ZAPINO OWNERS PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING:

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Please rate 1 to 5 (1 low/bad and 5 high/good):

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So, for those of you who are calculating this stuff, what kind of watt hours per mile are you getting on your zapino?

I finally dug out my WattsUp Pro and did a calculation of my ride yesterday. I rode about 10.7 miles (all flat, but with a good sized headwind for about 25% of the ride and riding full throttle ungoverned most of the way, oh yeah, i weigh just over 200lbs too), and the WattsUp shows i used 1366Wh. That works out to 127.13 Wh/mile. That seems a bit high to me, and i'm wondering if i did my math wrong, or if that's a reasonable number.

I've been researching doing conversions on other motos, and i've heard people talking about getting faster mph using 70-90Wh/mi (but those were motorcycles, though one is using a hub motor as well).

Thanks.

...tango...

If it's not one thing, it's another with this scooter, I swear.

They replace the batteries after 2 months/500km (charged me a prorated fee). Now, the rear brake light is stuck on.

We took it apart, checked the connections. No problem there.

The advice I now get it "mess around with the headlight buttons; that's worked on another scooter".

On off on-off, off off, on, high beam, low beam, on-high beam, off.....you get the picture.

Anyone have another suggestion?

Patty (the frustrated)

Does anyone know what the controller in the Zapino is?

So, i'm looking ahead to when the batteries go poof in my 2007 zapino. it's likely that it'll happen within a year given it's age (though it has very few miles on it).

In any case, i wish it went a little faster, so when the batteries die, i'm wondering if it'd be possible to get a different set of batteries (maybe 72V instead of 60) and run faster/longer. I figure it may take some hacking on the controller, or a different controller altogether.

If anyone knows anything about the controller in the zapino, i'd like to hear about it.

Thanks.

...tango...

Hey folks.

So, i'm riding my zapino a fair bit more these days (yippee!). I've only had it about 2 months, and previously had only been riding it to two locations (3.2 and 3.9 mi each way respectively) and charging it in between each ride.

Yesterday, i went from home to location 2 (3.9mi) and back, and then immediately from home to location 1 (3.2mi) worked an entire day and then rode home (3.2 mi, total 14.2 miles). I ride it in the "unlimited" setting and pretty much have it going full throttle for most of all rides. On the last quarter mile or so of the ride, the throttle started acting funky. When i would apply the throttle, the scooter would accelerate normally, but after about 2 seconds, it would stop accelerating as fast and would accelerte much more slowly, and would not go faster than 25mph or so (almost as if i had flipped the limiter switch).

During the time it was doing this, i noticed that the battery gauge would dip into the red when first applying the throttle, but then after the acceleration slowed, the gauge would be in the yellow.

I didn't see where the gauge was (under load or at rest) before this acceleration issue started happening.

One other note is that I bought the scooter used, and he only put 150km (yes, 150, not 1500) on it. he said he took good care of the batteries, though i don't know exactly what he meant. I looked at the batteries are the green silicone type.

My question is: Is this behavior (acceleration cutting out) normal when the pack gets low? If not, is it an indication of another problem?

Thanks.

...alex...

I've had the little Zapino since June, and have already had to replace the batteries. Not very pleased about that. They were all at approx 12.37 amp with a load. The shop told me that they couldn't tell how long the batteries had sat around before I bought it, and they prorated the charge for new ones.

NOTE: Anyone buying a new EV should get a detailed report on existing battery amp on the vehicle before purchasing. If they are not at 12.9, don't buy it!

The prorated charge was a source of contention also. I ended up paying him $87.50 for 3 months worth of sub-optimal battery. Not so great.

So, now I have new batteries, and they gave me instructions on "seasoning" them: 10 miles, charge, 10, 10, then 20 and charge. Well, I pushed it and barely got the 20 miles. I probably went too fast ;-). Do you think I should start the process over, or just go slower for the next 2 20 mile legs? Or maybe drop it to 15?

What is the purspose/science behind seasoning the batteries?

Thanks for the input.

Patty

Hey folks.

I was wondering if anyone has any info about adjusting the rear suspension on my zapino. I bottomed mine out today going over a pothole :-(

It looks like it's a simple twist mechanism, but i've never worked on anything like this before, so was wondering if i need any special tools or equipment.

Thanks!

...alex...

Where can I find the fusebox on a Zapino?
Where can I buy replacement fuses?

Ok, so I've been reading all about string chargers vs bank chargers, wiring diagrams and the like (and am getting super confused about it...but I digress...).

At some point i'll probably setup bank charging for my 2007 zapino, but for now I have a string charger (I think it's the standard one, but I bought the scooter used, so I'm not certain). In any case, I've read that I should charge it to full charge after every ride, but I'm only riding once a week for now (until I take the moto safety class...yes, I know I technically don't have to, but I ride bicycles a lot, and have a healthy respect for the multi-ton rapidly moving objects that will be occupying the same road as me, so I figured the added skills and info wouldn't hurt. But I digress again).

My question is: should I leave the string charger plugged in and turned on even after the light turns green (indicating full charge)? If I should leave it in and turned on, for how long? Hours? Days? Always?

Thanks.

...alex...