ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ => Topic started by: ATM on September 29, 2016, 05:50:21 AM
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I'm interested in hearing from folks that currently have or used to have a 2013 XU. What's good, what's bad, etc? How much would you pay for one today given the improvements over the past few years? Also, to my novice eye the XU resembles the current FXS. The frame, battery mounts, and rear fender appear to be identical. Are they really similar at all?
Thanks in advance!
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I think that it is pretty much a street version of FX.
I have a 2013 FX set up as FXS that I love. My
only complaint is that the FX ( probably XU as well )
was left out of the forward compatibility. 2014 forward
can use newer batteries. 2013 can't.
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I have a 2013 XU and use it all the time for local trips. The main difference to the FX is the lower riding stance, which I appreciate because I wasn't gifted with the longest legs. (Also, I don't see the point in owning a dirt bike when there's nowhere to legally ride it.) It doesn't have the range you might like on the freeway -- about 35 miles, but it easily gets 60+ around town on both batteries, and can hop on the freeway in a pinch. I agree with KrazyEd's complaint about forward compatibility, but I seriously doubt I'd consider replacing the batteries before the bike, since they're so costly.
I'd buy my bike again over the current offerings, mostly because I like the lower-slung frame and the flexibility with charging. (Great if you live in an apartment.) It's a sweet ride and handles really well. Still worth to me what I paid for it a few years back, which was around $10K (US). I could have gotten it for cheaper at the time had I been willing to have it shipped from another part of the country.
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The bike I'm looking at is relatively "new" for a nearly four year old model. Did either of you need to have any bugs get fixed under warranty during the first couple years?
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I had a 2012 XU that I Loved as much as my 2013 FX until someone ran me over. Smaller, even lighter than my FX. but, lower voltage and only 3 kw battery.
When I went to pick it up, the dealer said that I would have to wait because they noticed during delivery prep that the fork seals were leaking. I talked them into
swapping out forks with another unit they had. Road it for a while until new forks came in. Not sure why they didn't just let me keep the forks and put new ones
on other bike. At that time the turn signal relay had also gone out. Brought bike in and waited as work was done. Went through 3 or 4 sets of forks until
a set finally worked more than a few weeks. Unfortunately, this was the last Zero that this particular dealership sold. Shortly after completion of my
fork issues, they stopped selling Zero. Fortunately, that left Hollywood Electrics as the nearest dealer. At this point, i became acquainted with Harlan.
No further issues until just before the warranty went out. The bike died a couple times and went to Hollywood. Harlan replaced motor under warranty.
The night I picked it up, I was run over on the way home and the bike was destroyed. Otherwise, I believe that I would still have it today. Same reason for
not purchasing one today as the 2013 FX, it is now an orphan. Would keep one if I had it, but, would buy at least a 2014 as replacement. If I were going for
an S, I might consider a 2013 because I believe that the monolith batteries are forward compatible. I believe that I read where Harlan used the 2013 XU
in the first 24 hour endurance race that they entered.
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I have had a couple of issues with my 2013 XU. My rear brake locked up in the first week do to improper adjustment during assembly (I think) and the whole unit including disk had to be replaced under warranty. A bit later, I had the same issue mentioned in previous post with turn signal relay failing. That was an easy do-it-yourself fix. Other than that, in the 2+ years I've had it, I've ridden about 8K and had to replace the rear tire once, and I think it needs it again. I wish those didn't wear out so quickly, because they aren't cheap.
There are a couple of recalls out on this bike. One for the 2013 XU/FX on certain batteries units that weren't sealed properly. You probably need to have it inspected to determine if its a problem on a particular bike -- mine didn't have one. You should check, but that should be covered independent of warranty, since it is a potential fire hazard in wet conditions. (I know, lithium is weird, right?) The other recall is minor and involves a firmware update to avoid a potential engine stall issue if the position sensor gets too far out of calibration. I don't think that's as much of an issue with the XU as its motor runs cooler than the FX due to the more modest inverter amperage.
Which leads me to my final point about the XU, which is that it is over-engineered relative to the other bikes from Zero. It has the same motor, but the inverter can never push it as hard, so the motor doesn't suffer the heating and potential breakdown issues of their other offerings (the newer internal rotor magnet motors excepted). The downside of this is that it doesn't pack quite as much torque during lift-off, but still plenty for a street bike, and lots more that my old Honda PC800 had.
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I got in 2014 an XU, One of the last one in Europe , used it for weekend conmuting to my country house, 70km One Way, to the City and within the City, top case and side bags, little modifications. have One 14.000km and still very happy with it.
Had to change the dcdc once and did not get any new spokes, but used ones.
Sometimes i miss a little bit more range and it is slippery over wet meadows, but in the city its great, Even over Small stairs and especcially Heavy slow Traffic to Pass and drive through 60cm doors to get to yards for charging and komfortable to cruise.
... I am sorry they stopped the urban series with XU.
Gesendet von meinem S60 mit Tapatalk
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The XU I'm looking at is 1100 miles away so I'm trying to compare the XU to the FXS which my closest dealer doesn't have in stock. Looking at the 2013 XU performance specs and the 2016 FSX it looks like torque 42 ft-lbs vs 70 ft-lbs, max power 28 hp vs 44hp, and curb weight 267 lbs vs 289 lbs are the most notable differences. I don't see an acceleration spec for the XU but the FXS 0-60 is 3.8 seconds (which is probably pretty scary on such a light bike). Compared to the FSX will the XU feel "slow"?
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The XU I'm looking at is 1100 miles away so...
You'll probably not going to get that home on a single charge.
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You'll probably not going to get that home on a single charge.
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My commute is pretty short, less than 4 miles. Two stop signs and two red lights. If I'm lucky I can hit 50 mph for about a two miles.
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ATM check Cycle Trader I posted two 2016 FXS's that are listed for under $8000 for 6.5 bikes.
I don't know how much they are asking for that XU but I wouldn't pay over $4000. Even at that price I'd go with the faster, more fun, 2 year warranty, better brakes, better suspension, more range, custom mode of the FXS. Remember just because a bike can go 0-60 real fast doesn't mean you have to, you can dial it down to what ever you want with the app.
Good luck.
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ATM check Cycle Trader I posted two 2016 FXS's that are listed for under $8000 for 6.5 bikes.
I don't know how much they are asking for that XU but I wouldn't pay over $4000. Even at that price I'd go with the faster, more fun, 2 year warranty, better brakes, better suspension, more range, custom mode of the FXS. Remember just because a bike can go 0-60 real fast doesn't mean you have to, you can dial it down to what ever you want with the app.
Good luck.
NEW2elec - Thanks! Asking price is $5K for the XU, it has 3.8 miles on it and 4 months left on the warranty. I thought $5k was too high, plus I'll need to get it shipped from MN to NJ so that's probably another $500. I'm planning to go test ride an FXS this weekend. I just saw a 2013 FX with 1600 miles on eBay for $7999!! I'll keep checking cycletrader.
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I ended up buying the XU. I got it for about 60% less than the price of the 2016 FXS demo. I think it was a fair price and it should serve me well for a few years until I can afford a new 2019 or 2020. Or maybe I can get a good trade-in amount for it next year on a 2017 leftover. :)
Hopefully it will get here before the warranty runs out. :-\
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I hope you'll be satisfied with it. My 2013 XU has been a great bike. Very useful around town, and lots of fun to ride on country roads. With my shorter legs, I appreciate its lower-slung suspension and the bike handles the curves really well. Plenty of power for the open highway as well.
Happy riding!
-Greg
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My new 2013 XU arrived yesterday with only 3.8 miles on it. Even though it's only 36 degrees outside, this thing is crazy fun to ride. I got some interesting looks from a couple taking a walk. I can't wait until spring!