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[emotofreak]

I see some folks are receiving their bikes, yet no reviews yet? Come on, spill the beans...

[Richard230]

Well, Ultimate Motorcycling has a few comments about the 2012 Zero line, but it sounds an awful lot like a press release to me.

http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/2012/zero-celebrates-start-of-2012-line

[RickSteeb]

I see some folks are receiving their bikes, yet no reviews yet? Come on, spill the beans...

Don't want to be redundant...   

After three days commuting to work, and taking brief lunch-time excursions, I'm a happy camper with my DS.  Can't seem to exceed 70MPH on level pavement, which caused a need to relinquish the diamond lane a few times...  The 160 MPH speedometer mocks me!    The optional low seat was a good choice, as my heels only touch the ground one at a time!

Compared with commuting to work daily in my VW Rabbit, I save about $5 a day in gas cost.  The Kill-A-Watt meter says it costs 2 cents a mile to commute [mostly WFO], which is economically like 200MPG if gas costs $4/gallon.  Around town, its even cheaper!  Ten years of commuting thusly would completely pay for the thing in saved fuel, assuming gas prices stay the same that long, as if!

[Biff]

After three days commuting to work, and taking brief lunch-time excursions, I'm a happy camper with my DS.  Can't seem to exceed 70MPH on level pavement, which caused a need to relinquish the diamond lane a few times...  The 160 MPH speedometer mocks me!    

Are you sure you are in "Sport" mode on the switch? I think Eco mode has limited the top speed to about 70mph on the DS.  The 160 reading on the gauge is because the speedo can read Miles/hour and kilometers per hour, but there is only one set of numbers.  The top speed of 88mph on the S is something like 140kph and the gauge needs to be able to indicate that for us Canadians.

[RickSteeb]

Ah, thanks; 165 km is much less ludicrous!  Makes sense, as the digital indicator toggles between mph & kmph, so does the analog!? 

Will see how fast it will go in "sport" mode tomorrow...

[dkw12002]

I own a 2011 Zero S which I love, but the stock mirrors do not extend out far enough. All I could see in the mirrors was my shoulders. Luckily, there was a good replacement that the dealer put on for me.  The other thing on the 2011, and it appears to be true of the 2012 as well, is that if you need the lower seat, you may have a problem getting on and off...especially off cause the rear end sticks up considerably higher than the seat. I have a standard seat which is fine for me at 5'8", but I do have to do some considerable flexing to bring my leg over that raised back end. Then I look underneath it and see all that empty space and have to ask why they would design it that way? I do wish they would drop it an inch or two and still maintain the look. Some of us aren't getting any younger....I suspect a lot of us. Young kids won't be able to afford Zeros. They buy the Ninja.

[zap mc]

i also wondered why they didnt make the seat lower considering the empty space underneath it and considering that the seat company "custom made" the seat for them it seems kinda weird.

we also had the problem of just seeing your own shoulders in the mirrors and added "mirror extenders" which were produced in the USA and available worldwide via  e bay

[dkw12002]

Mirror extenders huh? Sounds good. I found out about the mirror problem when I test drove one and made new mirrors part of the purchase deal. Usually I negotiate for a first service..oil change, filter, etc. but that wouldn't apply with an e-motorcycle. My dealer is AF1 Racing and they are a dealer for Vespa/Aprilia/Ducati so they borrowed a set of black triagular mirrors from another sports bike, (I think a Ducati) and they are larger and extend out just right and look like they were made for the Zero too. I still have the set of Zero mirrors and if I ever need a new set, I might go for some extenders. Thanks for that info. It would sure be nice to have a little storage or at least a good place to attach some bungie cords too.  The only storage I've found is that 2-in tube in the frame where they keep the charging cord. I leave that at home and put my morning newspaper in it.

[Richard230]

My dealer offers a seat modification service performed by one of their staff. The take the stock seat and cut it down and re-contour it so that it is lower and more supportive. They had a modified seat on one of their 2011 demonstrators and it seemed to be a big improvement over the stock seat when I sat on it in the showroom.  What is nice is that they only charge $100 for this modification.  A much better value that the Zero accessory Corbin-manufactured low seat. 

They also have recommended the mirror extenders and have them available for purchase.  It kind of baffles me why Zero didn't run the stock mirrors out wider.  I guess their test riders never look back.   

[Brammofan]

The mirror issue is not just a Zero problem. The first mod I did on my Brammo was to get bar end mirrors. I got CRG lanesplitter mirrors and never have regretted spending the money on the premium product

[manlytom]

The mirror issue is not just a Zero problem. The first mod I did on my Brammo was to get bar end mirrors. I got CRG lanesplitter mirrors and never have regretted spending the money on the premium product

Aside the limited rear view I like the stock mirrors as they keep the bike slim -- needed to get through standing traffic on our roads quite often. On my Harley I have mounted the mirrors upside down (underneath the handlebar) and that way I stay not to wide and have an OK view. Wont work on the Zero though (and not look good either).

T

 

[zap mc]

[ 

They also have recommended the mirror extenders and have them available for purchase.  It kind of baffles me why Zero didn't run the stock mirrors out wider.  I guess their test riders never look back.   
[/quote]

zero didnt run their mirrors out wider becasue they just bought off the shelf mirrors from an italian manufacturer. We told them about the mirror problem in 2009 but they couldnt care less. We told them about the seat height issue in 2009 and again they ignored the problem. Their ability to use customer feedback to improve the product is extremely poor.

[dkw12002]

Right zap mc, cause I saw the stock Zero mirrors (minus the "Z") in a catalogue as I was looking for a replacement. They don't need to come out much, but I think they probably were chosen to keep the mirrors inside the handle bars for moving between cars in California and maybe that's why they don't put on wider mirrors. Mine extend just past the handlebars.

The other thing that would be nice, but I have no idea how to do it is to create a little storage area. I like to at least keep my ins. and regis. papers onboard. Now I have to keep them in my wallet. I use the two little holes...tubes in the frame for my storage. The charging cord was in one of those tubes, but I leave the cord at home and put other stuff in there like newspapers.

[Richard230]

Ultimate Motorcycleing has posted a short blurb on the 2012 DS ZF9.  It doesn't say much. They don't mention the narrow mirrors, high hard seat, or lack of storage space, but here is the link anyway:

http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/2012-zero-ds-fz9-quick-look

[trikester]

For tools and registration I put one of those little water proof plastic boxes, that backpacking stores (REI) sell, under the seat of my 2010 DS. Now I have it under the rear of the seat on my 2012 DS and there is actually more room for it. I replaced the seat mounting bolts with ones I can remove by hand in case I need to get to the box out on the road/trail. It wouldn't be good to need tools to get to the tools 

I was able to move, with some minor modification to the brackets, the low profile Corbin seat from my 2010 DS to the 2012 DS and the high profile seat from the 2012 to the 2010. I definitely want to ride with the lower profile seat especially in loose dirt/sand.