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[gyrocyclist]

(if this has been addressed before, please point me in the correct direction ...)

I've had my SR for close to a year and 4K miles. At 600 miles I called the dealer
and asked to schedule the 600 mile check. I was told "there's no maintenance on
the Zero."

I called the factory and they said (since it's in their manual), of course
there is -- and they would talk to the shop from which I bought the bike. (And no,
I'm not going to tell you the name of the shop, since this could have been an
innocent novice mistake).

I called a second shop (I live in the Bay area and there are two shops within ~40 miles
or so), and they said to bring it in. They did a checkup and, though the diagnostic sheet
they gave me didn't exactly match up with the manual, I had confidence that they knew
what they were doing.

So, what do you gals/guys do (if anything) for regular maintenance? Do you follow the
schedule in the manual? Do you do it yourself? Do you take it to a shop? If you take
it to a shop, what's been your experience?

[Richard230]

I maintain the chassis parts the same way I would do with any IC motorcycle.  I don't touch the motor or electrical parts of my 2014S and haven't done so since my bike was first placed into use.     I haven't been back to a Zero dealer since my local selling dealer closed its doors a couple of years ago.   

[Shadow]

...They did a checkup and, though the diagnostic sheet
they gave me didn't exactly match up with the manual, I had confidence that they knew
what they were doing...

The key things you want the shop to do are to re-commission the motor especially if it's an IPM type motor (2016 DSR SR maybe FXS, or 2017+) and to update the bikes' MBB and BMS firmware. I had to try several times to get my local shop to agree that these maintenance items would be worked on.

[domingo3]

  I haven't seen any resolution on what the "motor commissioning and timing" does that is prescribed in the manual for newer models.  At least one person on the forum speculated that this was put in, at least in part, to get people to bring their bikes back to the dealer and spend a little on service.  I think a lot of people are not necessarily following that one pending hearing of problems with not doing it or benefits to doing it.
  Other items like belt tension adjustment and brake maintenance should be kept up with, but don't necessarily require a dealer to service.

[JaimeC]

Like any vehicle with moving parts:

Brakes (pads, fluids)
Tires
Wheel bearings
Steering bearings
Fork fluid
Shock
Drive Belt
Fasteners

Unique to the Zero would be to get the latest software flash which (prior to the 2017 model year) is a dealer-only part of the maintenance.

I skipped the 4,000 mile service and brought it in for the 8,000 mile service.  I did bring it in for the 600 mile service.  I'm undecided as to whether I'll bring it in for the 12,000 mile or just wait till 16,000.

[Richard230]

  I haven't seen any resolution on what the "motor commissioning and timing" does that is prescribed in the manual for newer models.  At least one person on the forum speculated that this was put in, at least in part, to get people to bring their bikes back to the dealer and spend a little on service.  I think a lot of people are not necessarily following that one pending hearing of problems with not doing it or benefits to doing it.
  Other items like belt tension adjustment and brake maintenance should be kept up with, but don't necessarily require a dealer to service.

That is my thought, also - at least until I hear a logical explanation why the "motor commissioning" is necessary.  That seems to me to be kind of a "politically correct" term to me - certainly not very descriptive.     However, I will add that motor encoder timing might be something that needs to be checked occasionally for optimal performance. When I had my power tank installed by my dealer in 2014, shortly after I bought my bike, the Zero technician who performed the work said that he "tuned" my encoder timing and that would make the motor more efficient. 

Regarding software: My 2014 Zero has never had its software updated and it runs perfectly.  So my opinion is that if you are happy with your bike and nothing is wrong with its performance, don't mess with it.   

[MrDude_1]

If I were to ride a bike home from the dealer one weekend, I could commute for 4 days, then drive back to the dealer and hit the 600mi mark before I got there. The dealer is just too far for such a short scheduled checkup... 389 miles round trip.

[tamjam]

I've had my '16 DSR for 6 months and 2,000 miles and was wondering about this too. I also have two dealers within ~40 miles of home (Bay Area) and the one I bought it from is just a little out of round-trip range (not that they'd complete the service while I waited, probably) while the other is very close to my office and could be convenient but I am not a big fan of the shop. So bottom line is I haven't worried about service yet and they bike is behaving just fine.

[gyrocyclist]

...They did a checkup and, though the diagnostic sheet
they gave me didn't exactly match up with the manual, I had confidence that they knew
what they were doing...

The key things you want the shop to do are to re-commission the motor especially if it's an IPM type motor (2016 DSR SR maybe FXS, or 2017+) and to update the bikes' MBB and BMS firmware. I had to try several times to get my local shop to agree that these maintenance items would be worked on.

The shop I went to said (without my asking) they would check for any software updates,
which make me think they knew what they were doing.

[Shadow]

The shop I went to said (without my asking) they would check for any software updates,
which make me think they knew what they were doing.

What I'd like to see is some kind of graph or printout that says the previous motor commissioning settings versus the new ones, if there was a change etc. Also some indication of the firmware revisions prior to and after updating. Without that kind of information (which a shop may or may not be equipped nor willing to give to their customer) I have some serious trust issues just believing that software work has been completed.

[gyrocyclist]

The shop I went to said (without my asking) they would check for any software updates,
which make me think they knew what they were doing.

What I'd like to see is some kind of graph or printout that says the previous motor commissioning 

I keep googling ... and still have no idea what "motor commissioning" means. Can someone explain?
thanks!

[hubert]

Hello, my '14 S has the firmware version 38 (according to the log), and the unofficial service manual says there is a version 44. Anyone knows what's the difference between those versions, and if it's worth going far to the dealer to get the FW upped?

[Richard230]

Hello, my '14 S has the firmware version 38 (according to the log), and the unofficial service manual says there is a version 44. Anyone knows what's the difference between those versions, and if it's worth going far to the dealer to get the FW upped?

I guess I should ask, how do you determine what firmware version that you have and how do you access a "log"?  I have been hearing about this for years, but I can't recall reading an explanation how to access that information.   

[MajorMajor]

Use the online log parser to read the logs
http://home.hasslers.net/zerologparser/log_parser.php

[gyrocyclist]

Use the online log parser to read the logs
http://home.hasslers.net/zerologparser/log_parser.php

Also, you need the zero bluetooth app for iPhone or Android to download the logs from your bike