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[PhreaK]

For anyone that missed the Livestream Zero did, interesting (albeit a little death by powerpoint) break down of their history and high level overview of their tech by Abe Askenazi (Zero CTO).

*edit*
Link that actually works.

[DesignerDan]

The link just takes me to the homepage.

[GambitDash]

EDIT: No really...

Here's the actual link: Livestream | Broadcast & Watch HD Live Streaming Video Events

[thelastdeadmouse]

It was an interesting show.  A good overview with a bit of technical detail.  Hopefully in future shows they'll get a bit more into the details.  During the question and answer he wouldn't answer questions about future models, but it definitely seemed like they'll have news on the charging front coming up.  He did say that Zero's battery voltage is currently too low to use Tesla Superchargers sadly.

[Richard230]

I finally finished watching the "show".  I agree it was interesting and I also agree that Abe didn't even hint about what improvements might be made to the 2016 models.  It was also interesting that he said that Zero checks out various electric motorcycle forums to find out what we are all thinking about their product.  I also note that nothing was mentioned about any service, reliability, parts availability, or dealer/factory interface issues.  Also, I was not happy to hear that the pre-2013 models were apparently not going to be supported by Zero.  I had hoped that 2012 year replacement parts would at least be available for some time.  It appears that Zero is making available replacement motors for the 2012 bikes, but that was not mentioned, either.    It was clear that if your pre-2013 model battery pack dies you are SOL, though. I sure hope that the 2012 S that I gave my daughter doesn't develop any problems.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I finally finished watching the "show".  I agree it was interesting and I also agree that Abe didn't even hint about what improvements might be made to the 2016 models.  It was also interesting that he said that Zero checks out various electric motorcycle forums to find out what we are all thinking about their product.  I also note that nothing was mentioned about any service, reliability, parts availability, or dealer/factory interface issues.

I'm assume there's a relation between the ... uh, colorful, implications about Zero on this forum and their desire to webcast to the public. This is also their first webcast so they should speak in a guarded way.

I think they alluded to having a little over 100 employees at this point, and when you divide that up into sales, marketing, HR, and product development, you'll realize how few people there are to really deal with customer service at an engineering level. I've been in software companies that small, and seen inside some hardware companies, so I have a certain empathy for their situation. They have to balance keeping their boutique (pre-13) customers happy while growing the platform they want to highlight (13+) so that not only the lights stay on, but they can hire more people to improve product robustness and quality.

Also, I was not happy to hear that the pre-2013 models were apparently not going to be supported by Zero.  I had hoped that 2012 year replacement parts would at least be available for some time.  It appears that Zero is making available replacement motors for the 2012 bikes, but that was not mentioned, either.    It was clear that if your pre-2013 model battery pack dies you are SOL, though. I sure hope that the 2012 S that I gave my daughter doesn't develop any problems.

"not going to be supported" is uncharitable and possibly obtuse. What they said is that they can't adapt future powertrain improvements to it or place a 2013+ monolith battery in it, and that was contextualized by explaining what the 2013+ platform does for them. I have a 2013 model and realize that my charging desires will have to bypass the circuit they installed for that year if I want a certain charge rate. That sort of issue is the deal struck by committing to a rapidly changing product.

A dead battery pack probably has a few options for repair, including a cel rebuild. The batteries are not cheap, and it'd require a trained technician to assemble a battery pack, which costs for man-hours on top of the cels. You have the bike; just ride it into the ground if you want your money's worth out of it.


Here's the deal: you have the best bang for the buck of any electric motorcycle on the market, and the company is small but growing, and they're clearly thinking about all the issues you've complained about. If a 2012 model feels unreliable to continue with, trade up or trade out. If you're not close enough to a dealer that you can handle service gaps, figure that into your risk profile.

Give them some credit; it's not like you can get better support from another electric motorcycle vendor.

[Richard230]

There is nothing wrong with my 2014 S.  I am just concerned with my daughter's 2012 S.  She doesn't have the money or the ability to work on the bike.

Abe mentioned that the company has about 130 employees and that varies as their manufacturing needs change.

[Erasmo]

Just watched it, I loved how it wasn't a super smooth produced stream and you'd begin with a person that's not sure if he's on air and then accidentally create a infinite loop while switching over to the presentation. Made it much more nicer to watch imho.

For the people that don't have too much time on their hands, the first 40 minutes are a short history and some technical details about the batteries and such. Q&A starts at the 40 minute mark.
TL;DW:

- Yes they also think DC fast charging is the future but they keep their powder dry until the smoke settled a bit on the DC-standard battlefield
- No they didn't give any information about the 2016 models but it was hinted at that there would be something nice
- Speaking about the 2016 models, they will be revealed at the AIMexpo
- They do actively scout the internet for feedback and consumer thoughts about their products
- As mentioned above battery upgrades for the pre-2013 models won't be produced because the major changes that where implemented from that year onward, however they do still produce spare parts

[steven_first]

Learned a lot and feel much more like a part of a team now that I have seen this (didn't get to chat live).  It is nice to see that the people at Zero are normal people just trying to make a great product.  I may need to move to CA and see if I can get job there!