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Just happened on my 2015 SR. I stopped for dinner on the way home, but got no throttle response when I returned to the bike.
Luckilly I was not out in the middle of nowhere ;-)
And even more lucky - there was a 120V outlet in the parking lot where I was stranded. I plugged the bike in and left it there overnight. Upon returning the next morning the charge had reached 100% and everything started working again.
The local dealership checked the logs, did some test-rides, but could not reproduce the problem, so the bike went back to the factory.
Zero found a combination of problems with the onboard charger and the BMS module - and replaced both.
I just got my bike back yesterday - seems OK - I'll check in again after putting some miles on the new parts.

Hmm... getting the bike back to the factory could be a problem. Its around 12,825km from here, if you go direct. Already had the MBB replaced a couple of months ago and was out if action for 3 months while that took place. Let's hope it's not the same this time.


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Oobflyer, I remember when something like that happened on the way to the Vetter challenge and Jeff Jolin from Zero called me asking if I could help you.  I figured that is the same thing PhreaK experienced.   If that ever happens, and I have no idea why, but plug it in. 

With the PT being higher voltage than the monolith, meaning the PT somehow lost connection and opened up while riding and didn't discharge, but the monolith did.  Now on startup, it sees the PT higher so cant close the contactors on both.  And although it can run on the monolith only it can't run on the PT only I think is the problem.  If you are key cycling, it must mean you stopped somewhere originally for a reason.  And hopefully almost everywhere has electricity, I would say plug in and let the monolith charge. 

If for some reason wherever you stopped has no electricity and you can't even push the bike to a spot with an outlet, use a 3 mm allen and a small ratchet 90 degree phillips screw driver and remove the tank plastics and just unplug the giant Anderson connector to the powertank.  then key cycle, and you should be fine as it will now see only one BMS not 2, and so will run off the lower voltage monolith until you can get home to charge them both to full.  This is not an official Zero procedure, just my recommendation on what I would do. 

Just like when a computer locks up, or your wifi router can't connect to the internet, or anything.  First thing you do is reboot, which many of you try I can tell.  I seem to remember another thread where someone towed their bike just to have it work fine after getting it home.  First start with a key cycle on the Zero to see if it fixes it.  If not, plug it in and come back to it later.  Especially if you have a powertank.   Letting it sit and charging to full somehow magically fixes things I can't explain.  Just like there's no explanation why every week I have to unplug my router in my house for a minute and then replug it in and wait 5 minutes for it to reconnect.  I can't explain it, but it works.

 

I'm entertaining the thought of getting one but it sounds like there are several bugs that still need to be worked out in the bike itself. I wouldn't want to buy one wondering when something like this would happen leaving me stranded. With it being all electric just a small issue could mess up the whole bike. Granted a power draw on a regular bike could kill the battery. I'm curious if you guys are still happy with your purchase overall?

I'm entertaining the thought of getting one but it sounds like there are several bugs that still need to be worked out in the bike itself. I wouldn't want to buy one wondering when something like this would happen leaving me stranded. With it being all electric just a small issue could mess up the whole bike. Granted a power draw on a regular bike could kill the battery. I'm curious if you guys are still happy with your purchase overall?

Yep
Ok there are a few things that I would like to see a bit stronger on the bikes but Zero has been good about improvements on high problem areas.  They have pretty great warranty service but you have to keep in mind that it is a small company and that fact has its' pros and cons.  Time will tell on 2016 models but as long as you go 2013+ you should be ok maybe not perfect but good.  If you ride one and are open minded to the differences to ICE bikes I think you would really want one.  There a a lot of You Tube videos and very very few people that don't simply smile and laugh and say how much fun they are to ride.  Do some homework and go for a test ride.

I'm entertaining the thought of getting one but it sounds like there are several bugs that still need to be worked out in the bike itself. I wouldn't want to buy one wondering when something like this would happen leaving me stranded. With it being all electric just a small issue could mess up the whole bike. Granted a power draw on a regular bike could kill the battery. I'm curious if you guys are still happy with your purchase overall?

In 14 months I have put over 10k miles on a 2014 S.  I love the bike and don't regret the purchase one bit.  I am seriously considering upgrading to a 2016 SR after winter.  I have had only minor issues and none have prevented me from being able to get where I needed to go.  One of the main functions of this forum is for people to get help with their bikes so of course you will see plenty of examples of issues that people have run into.  Don't let this skew your perspective.  There are many satisfied customers and you can find lots of examples of people that have upgraded one or more times and examples of people that own more than one Zero at one time.  And out of all the people that are owners you will find very few that wouldn't recommend one to a friend.

If you ride one and you like it then you should get it.  They are great bikes and they get better each year.