Driving in Wintertime?

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    • #1608
      AxelAxel
      Keymaster

      Ok, this is not a usual post… it’s more a kickstart for a thread which more or less affects all of us: Wintertime! It’s getting cold, slippery and w
      [See the full post at: http://www.myniu.org/driving-in-wintertime/]

    • #1609
      Sunny BSunny
      Participant

      I use the scooter just the same, even though it is well below 0°C at the moment.

      I have a “blanket” covering my knees, and tucano protectors on the handlebar to keep me warm. I take the battery inside all the time, so there is no problem with the power delivery once I ride.

      The battery still heats up enough even in these temperatures – after 20 minuts of riding I am at 35°C according to the app.

      I don’t have winter tires, but am definitely doing that next winter!

    • #1610
      Johan GunverthJohan Gunverth
      Participant

      We have studless winter tires on our N1s. Adding an extra high beam soon. Charging it inside the house when below 0°. The neighbourhood is flooded with Volvo electric propulsion engineer and they told me that charging in minus degrees C should be taken care of by a decent charger (slowing it down). Is the NIU charger a decent charger?

    • #1612
      Iwan Van der ValkIwan
      Participant

      Good question about the charger! Which brings me to another one: I keep my motorcycles on a trickle charger during winter. Is the charger on the Niu a tricke charger or not? So, can I leave in on the charger when I’m not using it for a longer period?

      (BTW: the size of that charger brick is crazy)

    • #1613
      Sieghart MichielsenSieghart Michielsen
      Participant

      At NIU, we listed some tips & tricks about taking good care of your battery (especially during winter time)

      You can read about it here:

      English 

      French

      Italian

       

       

      Cheers

      Sieghart

      NIU Team

    • #1614
      Johan GunverthJohan Gunverth
      Participant

      Thank you, Sieghart!

      The battery should always be charged at higher surrounding temperaturs than 0° C then. Like I suspected.

      I looked at my neigbours Renault Zoe and it actually starts the winter time charging by heating the battery compartment.

    • #1615
      Peter RönnlundPeter Rönnlund
      Participant

      Hi Sieghart,

      I am still a bit confused on how to treat the battery the best way. My battery is stored at room temperature. I removed it Nov 12 with 77%. It now is 73%, Dec 17. Not much charge lost. I will keep monitoring but it looks like it will still be above at least 50% March 1 when I will start driving again.

      – So, if above 50% I will be ok to not  charge it until March 1, then charge to 100% and start driving?

      – Or, as on the battery, the text information says that it should be charged to 100% at least every two months. For me that would be about now.

      Regards,

      Peter

      • #1616
        Sieghart MichielsenSieghart Michielsen
        Participant

        Hi Peter,

        You’re doing it correct!

        Even if it goes under the 50% it’s perfectly fine to not recharge it until March 1st. Just make sure it does not go under 20% and you’re safe.

        my own personal opinion: The main message is that you should be aware of the battery and it’s status. Some people forget about it, leave it drain empty and then trouble starts as BMS system goes into sleep mode when battery is drained, and cells might be damaged when recharging from 0%

    • #1617
      Peter RönnlundPeter Rönnlund
      Participant

      Thanks Sieghart!

      I will monitor it and recharge in March, good to know.

      The battery is such a huge cost on the NIU so I would like to be sure I treat it in the best way.

      Merry Christmas!

      /Peter

    • #1618
      martina pixelmartina pixel
      Participant

      Personally I didn’t notice any valuable battery loss, before dawn temp was here 3-4C but we’re expecting -3C in late Jan early Feb. The manual says it all from -10<0C the power will be around 70%, between 0-10C it would be 80% and over 10C would be 100%. I found my M1 very reliable, I never fell on wet streets with its small wheels as I did with its competitor Askoll with bigger wheels. Just wish from NIU to have the chance to replace the decorating useless micro wind shield with a slightly bigger one using just the two screws already there, a click on-off winter wind shield, doesn’t have to be big but just to blow the air over the helmet, and the slow speed won’t affect it, no need to be reinforced with additional brackets, just using the two screws I’m pretty sure will work fine.

    • #1619
      C SjostedtC Sjostedt
      Participant

      Hi Sieghart,

      Tesla owners charge their vehicles to 80% most of the time in order to get best lifetime of the batteries, unless they need max range. I also charge Niu to 80% by calculating charging time from current charge and put a timer on the charger.

      Would be nice if you could set ”charge to %” in App or on the Niu?

      /Crocco

    • #1623
      Johan GunverthJohan Gunverth
      Participant

      I noticed the battery compartment lock sometimes gets stucked/frozen when riding in wet weather and it gets below 0° the following night. The key turns, but lock is stuck. Will check if the locking mechanism needs som penetrating oil to prevent this,

    • #1625
      martina pixelmartina pixel
      Participant

      @Johan Gunverth That’s why I stopped trusting scooters with the battery settled under the feet platform as I had countless damp problems with the electric system of my Yamaha Majesty 250 in the past years. I also see the N-gt will store its spare battery under the saddle, so no room to store the helmet…

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