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[yugi]

Hi,

I'm currently in a process of revamping my stable. I have 2007 BMW R1200S and 2012 Sym Wolf Classic 150. Had a 2009 Buell 1125CR for 6 years, but sold it now. My plan was to sell Sym Wolf too, and to buy something light and inexpensive like KTM Duke 390, Honda CB300F, Kawasaki Ninja 300 or Suzuki DRZ400SM. But then I saw this new model from Zero. I use Sym for the city and commute to work, occasional highway. Sym is not fast. It can go up to 70-75 on a highway, but for the city it's fine. My commute to work is 5 miles one way, with occasional errands, which will not exceed 20 miles round trip, mostly city, occasional stretch on a highway, but only for a few exits. I test rode FXS 6.5 and liked it, but I think that 3.3 will suffice me for everyday use. I can use BMW for longer travel.
The only problems are the price and the range. My local dealer wants $10200 OTD, but I can get $850 federal, $900 California (uncertain), and $650 from Zero. Even after all that, the price comes to $7800, considering I can buy any of the above mentioned bikes below $5-6k after taxes (some used).
Should I go for it, or just skip for now and go with a nice used DRZ for under $5k? What do you think?

[mrrshotshot]

Factor in gas for a year and see where that gets you.  That was the deciding factor for me when buying my SR.  If the comparative cost of electricity to gas is what they say it is ($0.01/mile) then by using my SR over my car to commute daily saves me almost a gallon of gas a day which adds up over the year.  It may not be worth it to you if your commute is only 5 miles, but mines is about 30 so to me its helping.

[laramie LC4]

1- do it
2- get the 6.5, you will kick yourself later if you don't
3- stop worrying about price and instead focus on the fun!

i just rolled 1000 miles on my new FXS and have to say it was the easiest 1000 miles ever on a new bike. then you add in the speed, acceleration, low costs, no maintenance, it's exclusivity, and it's FUN level, it's a winner in my book.

laters,

laramie 

[Richard230]

Also factor in the cost of dealer maintenance (especially on a bike like the KTM Duke). I would go for the two-brick FXS as the one-brick version might not qualify for the CA rebate.  I think they may have a lower limit on battery capacity in order to get that rebate and the same may be true for the Federal income tax credit. 

[Kocho]

For commute, I see absolutely no reason to go gas and not electric. Get the 6.5 if you can - you do not want to be emptying the battery too often and you will enjoy the added range for errands and such. Yes, the FX is expensive, you can't really justify the price with savings - it just ain't going to happen unless you ride a lot and keep the bike many years and it is trouble-free. It's the fun factor and ease of use and maintenance, but the savings I don't think will ever add-up to justify double the cost of something comparable in a gas bike.

[yugi]

Also factor in the cost of dealer maintenance (especially on a bike like the KTM Duke). I would go for the two-brick FXS as the one-brick version might not qualify for the CA rebate.  I think they may have a lower limit on battery capacity in order to get that rebate and the same may be true for the Federal income tax credit. 

I checked, and it does qualify for both rebates. I don't care about dealer maintenance, as I do it myself.

[yugi]

1- do it
2- get the 6.5, you will kick yourself later if you don't
3- stop worrying about price and instead focus on the fun!

i just rolled 1000 miles on my new FXS and have to say it was the easiest 1000 miles ever on a new bike. then you add in the speed, acceleration, low costs, no maintenance, it's exclusivity, and it's FUN level, it's a winner in my book.

laters,

laramie 

I can add another brick later, right?
Speed - maxspeedwas 82 ona  freeway
Acceleration was OK, but not spectacular.
no maintenance is an important criteria of course, as I don't have that much time lately.

[yugi]

For commute, I see absolutely no reason to go gas and not electric. Get the 6.5 if you can - you do not want to be emptying the battery too often and you will enjoy the added range for errands and such. Yes, the FX is expensive, you can't really justify the price with savings - it just ain't going to happen unless you ride a lot and keep the bike many years and it is trouble-free. It's the fun factor and ease of use and maintenance, but the savings I don't think will ever add-up to justify double the cost of something comparable in a gas bike.

No, gas savings are not going to happen. One fill up on Sym Wolf costs around $6 and it's good for 175-185 miles of  city riding. In another words, I fill up around once every 3-4 weeks

[mrwilsn]

1- do it
2- get the 6.5, you will kick yourself later if you don't
3- stop worrying about price and instead focus on the fun!

i just rolled 1000 miles on my new FXS and have to say it was the easiest 1000 miles ever on a new bike. then you add in the speed, acceleration, low costs, no maintenance, it's exclusivity, and it's FUN level, it's a winner in my book.

laters,

laramie 

I can add another brick later, right?
Speed - maxspeedwas 82 ona  freeway
Acceleration was OK, but not spectacular.
no maintenance is an important criteria of course, as I don't have that much time lately.

Yes, a second battery brick can be added to the FX/FXS later.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Say10 15FX 16FXS]

It depends on what is most important to you, some paper with a face painted on it or having a blast every time you turn a key.

[yugi]

It depends on what is most important to you, some paper with a face painted on it or having a blast every time you turn a key.

Yeah, that what was happening when I was riding a Buell.

[Shadow]

My two cents worth of opinion:  I've never ridden the FXS. I went to the shop to convince myself not to buy a Zero Motorcycles vehicle, or really any motorcycle, ever. I'd never had a bike before. In the shop they had base models S, DS, and FX. I sat on the bikes there to see what the sizing was like, and I laughed when the general manager started a sales pitch about buckets of money I would save riding electric versus gas engine... You are not going to save money because the game is rigged, we never pay the full up front cost of gas fueled vehicles, it's all externalized to somewhere else.

Here you've got an electric vehicle that's order-able, right now, and if you've got the means to buy one well...  I did put a deposit down for a 2016 DSR that day, even though I tried really hard to come up with reasons why it would be stupid to buy an electric powered motorbike, or even a motorbike!  I've never had a motorbike before.

What I've come up with is that if you've got cash ready to go, and you're willing to put miles on it, then Zero Motorcycles model year 2016 vehicles (specifically anything with the new improved IPM motor) are a practical and reasonable means of getting around when you want a vehicle that can also do 0-100kph in about 4 seconds.  I might sell mine after the Tesla Model 3 becomes order-able but right now I'm going electric and not waiting for someday.

I just laughed reading my electric bill today, it's increased about $10/mo. I've put 3000mi+ on my 2016 DSR in the two months I've owned it, and never been to a gas station with it.

[NEW2elec]

Yugi I would also say get the 6.5 believe me you WILL want to ride this bike more than just 5 miles.  The Zero specs show the 3.3 has half the horse power so it will affect the over all feel of your ride.  But the two biggest reasons are money from the tax credit and money on the resale.
You can add another brick later but they will be at least a little out of balance and the longer you wait the worse it would be.  The tax credit is a % of your total purchase cost so get as much as you can up front.  Top case, hand guards if you want phone holder anything you think you might get, get it up front.  One other thing it's great if you can work on your gas bikes yourself and yes it doesn't cost you as much money as a dealer would charge but you have to factor your time working on the bike as a cost.  For the resale you may not "need" much range but the guy you try to sale it to might have a 40 mile each way ride it just really limits your field of buyers.
Good luck

[yugi]

Yugi I would also say get the 6.5 believe me you WILL want to ride this bike more than just 5 miles.  The Zero specs show the 3.3 has half the horse power so it will affect the over all feel of your ride.  But the two biggest reasons are money from the tax credit and money on the resale.
You can add another brick later but they will be at least a little out of balance and the longer you wait the worse it would be.  The tax credit is a % of your total purchase cost so get as much as you can up front.  Top case, hand guards if you want phone holder anything you think you might get, get it up front.  One other thing it's great if you can work on your gas bikes yourself and yes it doesn't cost you as much money as a dealer would charge but you have to factor your time working on the bike as a cost.  For the resale you may not "need" much range but the guy you try to sale it to might have a 40 mile each way ride it just really limits your field of buyers.
Good luck

For 6.5 I'll need to pay $12961, and I'll get back $250 more, so after all the rebates it's gonna be $10311. No, this is out of question, too expensive, and I think that resale value of these bikes is junk anyway, regardless of the capacity. I'd rather buy a used DRZ or a new Ninja 300 instead. I can hardly justify spending $7800 on 3.3.

[Kocho]

The S with the 9.8kWh battery is a better value, as long as you can live with it vs. the more fun factor of the FXS. A lot more battery, and in MD at least the rebate was bigger as it is per kWh.