Modifying a ZEV 6100 maxi-scooter

Recently I finished some modifications to my Z Electric Vehicle Model 6100 and thought it was time to document all the modifications I have made. General stats on the 6100 can be found in my signature or on the ZEV company website.

The first and probably the most important modification I made was to add a Cycle Analyst computer to the scooter. I mounted it in the middle of the handle bars and it perfectly matches the bike (looks like OEM equipment). The Cycle Analyst is an amazing tool and widely used on e-bikes, e-scooters and DIY e-cars. For this scooter, the main advantages are: accurate speed, mileage, current, voltage, WH/Mile, AH used, charge cycles, total AH, and total mile readings. The AH reading is a great tool for knowing range left, no matter how many opportunity charges have been made in a single trip. I have it set up to decrement AH back toward zero as the scooter charges. I typically use 1AH/mile, so it makes range calculations super easy.

Next I swapped out the standard headlight bulbs and replaced them with Halogen bulbs. I wasn't really using the scooter for night rides, but a friend had some extra bulbs, so I bought the bulbs thinking that they could only help. I have to say, I wasn't that impressed with the high-beam pattern that the Halogen bulbs produced.

I'm not a fan of voiding warranties on expensive items, so 2 1/2 years later and 6800 trouble-free miles, I made the following modifications.

I was told by the manufacturer that after the first year of use, I might want to adjust the steering head bearing ring. That seemed like a pain, and I wasn't experiencing any steering issues so I waited until recently to adjust the bearing. I bought a 40mm hook wrench and very easily adjusted the bearing. Just remember to loosen the notched ring first, then the lock nut on top of it.

While I had the plastic handlebar cover off adjusting the bearing, I took care of a few modifications in that area. The first modification was to remove an unnecessary switch. When I first installed the CA, I installed a DTDP switch to select between the OEM throttle or the CA virtual throttle for controlling the throttle voltage sent to the motor controller. This turned out to have been a huge complexity that never needed to be done as I always used the stock throttle to control the motor controller. My recommendation to anyone adding a CA - disable the CA from controlling the throttle and your installation will be very easy.

Next modification was to add the TNC Scooter model #101100 throttle. One of the first things new ZEV scooter owners do is complain about the throttle being too abrupt - providing too much current on initial acceleration. I really didn't mind this -I kind of liked feeling the strong acceleration. ZEV had mentioned to me that you could make the scooter crawl at walking speeds on startup, and I have to say I initially didn't believe them. But to prove them wrong, I went out into my large driveway and tried to make it initially crawl. It turned out they were right, but it wasn't intuitive on how to use the OEM throttle. There is an odd slight delay in turning the throttle and when the scooter starts to move slowly. Most folks just turn the handle until power is delivered and hence get more power than expected. So after understanding how to use this throttle, I happily put thousands of miles on the scooter.

Years ago I had bought the TNC throttle because so many other owners seemed happier with it. So with the handlebar cover off, I proceeded to install it. I found a slight modification to the throttle was needed. I cut a hole in the end of the throttle so it would slide into place on the handlebar and allow the use of the OEM handlebar end cap. It works great and the abrupt power surge is gone.

The next modification was to get rid of the halogen lamps and add a LED projection bulb headlight assembly. This headlight assembly is much more efficient with the low or high beams using only 4W or 12W total respectively. The pattern is much more like that of a car than the puny pattern I was getting off the Halogen lamps. I expect this headlight assembly will fit the ZEV standard scooters as well as the XM-xxxx scooters as they seem to use the same front body panel. Contact ZEV for details on this assembly. I'm very happy with these new lights.

I then took off a couple body panels to get access to the batteries and to inspect the frame welds. All frame welds were intact. The reason to get to the batteries was to add balance leads to each cell. Out on HobbyKing.com, they have inexpensive battery monitoring devices that display the voltage on up to eight cells at a time (Cell Log 8M/8S). Great battery cell diagnostic devices. These devices also can supply redundant LVC/HVC alarms. I like the idea of having a redundant BMS even though my existing BMS is still working great.

To install the balance leads, I took three 10 conductor, 24AWG cables, cut off one of the wires and installed each 9-wire cable to a group of 8 cells. The reason for the 9 wires for 8 cells is you need the most negative terminal plus the 8 positive cell terminals to measure all 8 cells. The other end of the cable was terminated in a 9-pin female connector with .1" spacing between lines. This connector mates to the Cell-Log devices.

Now I know the voltage of each cell while charging, discharging or resting. I can use these Cell-Log devices to provide redundant HVC or LVC functions. Much more information on and modification of these devices can be found out on www.endless-sphere.com.

I have to say I'm very pleased with my 6100 for what it is. Yes I would like the added range and faster charging current that a larger capacity pack would give, but the 6100 does handle the vast majority of my needs.