I've been meaning to post this for a while...
The current situation is that if you buy an SRF you don't get any charging cables with it. At all... In order to charge from a domestic socket, we are expected to pay an extra £400 or so for the cable that Zero offers. It's a good cable, but I'm damned if I'm going to pay extra for it!
If we want to charge from a 7kW post we need to buy yet another cable that costs around £100. This is an absolutely ridiculous state of affairs. We're expected to pay £16,500 or £18,500 for a standard or premium version here in the UK. That is a very serious amount of coin. That's after the £1,500 subsidy too! To then not supply the cables required to charge the bike is taking the piss, big style!
I leased a Kia Soul EV and both those cables came with the car. It was a £25,000 car after subsidy.
What also concerns me is that people will try and find cheaper alternatives to Zero's wall socket to Type 2 adaptor, or EVSE as they are often referred to. The important thing that Zero's EVSE does is to provide the ability to adjust the current that will be drawn from the wall socket. There are three settings that result in a charge rate of 1.3, 1.7 and something like about 2.2kW from a 240v domestic outlet. I know from my experience that 1.3kW is enough to overheat the plug in the socket sufficiently that it starts to melt the plastic after a few hours. 1.7kW might work with better quality sockets and the highest setting might be ok for shorter charge times with the best hospital grade plugs and sockets. However, alternative cables probably won't provide that level of control and the on-board charger might just try and pull the full 3kW from a domestic socket. That will end badly.
Those charging cables really need to be included with the bike, just like they are included with all other electric vehicles. You wouldn't but a toaster without a power cable. I can't believe Zero made the decision not to supply these cables with the bike and it needs to be reversed. Please comment below and petition to get this decision reversed. I don't think it has come up much yet because customers haven't received their bikes yet. They're in for a nasty shock when they discover they can't use their brand new, very expensive bike without having to fork out another £5-600 on cables first. It wouldn't surprise me if some dealers didn't even have them in stock and the customer then has to wait a couple of weeks for them to come in. Frustration and a great source of ill will right from the very start of the ownership experience. Not a good first impression from a customer's point of view.
Just because early adopters are willing to push the boat out and pay a premium for new technology, it doesn't mean we're all rich and don't mind being stiffed like this. It's outrageous!
Please give your thoughts below and let's hope Zero are listening.
Author
Topic: Charging Cables for the SRF - Not included?!? (Read 1022 times)