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[AFM24]

Hello,

New to the forum and to e-bikes.

I've started looking into buying a used SR/S and have found a few 2020 Premium models within reasonable distance. Mileage on the bikes varies from a few hundred to a few thousand. What are the important things to consider when looking at used Zeros? Not so much the things common to any used bike but what's specific to the SR/S?

I've read some of the past posts that describe problems with charging rates/accuracy/magic charging/charger failures but can't get an idea of how prevalent those were. For example, should I expect to have the battery pack and/or on-board charger fail prematurely?

We have an EV car now and I'd expect that I'll usually charge the Zero with the J1772 adapter.

[stevenh]

Hello,

New to the forum and to e-bikes.

I've started looking into buying a used SR/S and have found a few 2020 Premium models within reasonable distance. Mileage on the bikes varies from a few hundred to a few thousand. What are the important things to consider when looking at used Zeros? Not so much the things common to any used bike but what's specific to the SR/S?

I've read some of the past posts that describe problems with charging rates/accuracy/magic charging/charger failures but can't get an idea of how prevalent those were. For example, should I expect to have the battery pack and/or on-board charger fail prematurely?

We have an EV car now and I'd expect that I'll usually charge the Zero with the J1772 adapter.

If they have an original battery, avoid them.  Many have been replaced at this point with '22 batteries that should be more reliable.  If they have the original battery, it will probably fail very soon.  Other than the battery issue with the 2019/2020 models, I think they have been fairly reliable (my 2020 SRF has been anyway, since it got the new battery).

Steve

[DonTom]

If they have an original battery, avoid them.  Many have been replaced at this point with '22 batteries that should be more reliable.  If they have the original battery, it will probably fail very soon.  Other than the battery issue with the 2019/2020 models, I think they have been fairly reliable (my 2020 SRF has been anyway, since it got the new battery).Steve

Is Zero's 5-year battery warranty transferable to the new owners?


-Don-  AUburn, CA

[gadgetgirl]

The owners manual says the warranty is transferrable. Dealers are required to register the original buyer, and each seller needs to use the contact info in the manual to contact Zero to transfer the warranty to the new owner.

@AFM24, I would expect the main pack to fail if they have original packs. If you get the warranty transferred to you, that would be a huge stress reliever. Otherwise, my SR/F has been very nice to ride. Fit and finish are subpar compared to something like Harleys (plastic panels, crap buttons, no keyless security/start). The electronics, traction control, and power are great. All to say, my opinion is getting a SR/S for way less than retail price makes for an excellent bike. $20k retail for these isn't great value.

[AFM24]

Thanks to Steve, Don and @gadgetgirl for the additional info.

The bikes I've considered were under $10K, so a lot more reasonable than new. Even so I'd want to ensure warranty coverage for the battery pack so I wouldn't be hit with an equally-large replacement fee. I'll be checking into that with my local dealer.

Kevin

[NEW2elec]

You can get the VIN and call Zero HQ and they will tell you what warranty is left.  They are the only ones that matter and the dealer is trying to sell a bike.

That said I don't know how the 2020 bikes didn't get a full battery recall as they had the magic charging issue.  Thing is, the new battery will only have a six month warranty so keep that in mind too.

[Motoproponent]

AFM24..like...your AFM number is 24!!?!?!? holy shit, are you ancient?

I know AFM109 and he's like 80 years old.

 

[CagivaRider]

I bought a used 2021 S and was able to transfer the warranty by contacting Zero.

[AFM24]

AFM24..like...your AFM number is 24!!?!?!? holy shit, are you ancient?

I know AFM109 and he's like 80 years old.

 

It's a logarithmic scale...

I'm not that ancient though it sometimes feels like it. That was my racing number but I retired from active racing a few years back.

[2020_SRS_Commuter]

Perhaps I got an outlier, but my 2020 SRS has around 48k miles on the battery and its capacity is so close to what it was when it was new that I dont see a difference. Its used hard too, each way back and forth from work has extended high speed riding with me and 50 lbs of gear
BUT, there is a way it degraded, which is that its less resistant thermally to high speed. When new i could ride through a whole charge going as fast as the bike would go, so fast that the motor thermal limit would kick in sometimes. Sometime around 30k miles it changed so that just riding at a steady 95mph will overheat the battery and make it cut my speed. 90 is ok. Not a big issue, but there it is.

The second thing I would look out for is warped/cracked front brake disks. I went through 4 OEM disks in the first few 1000 miles before switching to a set from EBC, which then lasted 40k+ and are still fine.

The third thing is that at least some of them have a flaw where if water gets into the air cooling channels of the charger(s) it can cause an isolation fault. I didnt want to take mine in for that because its in daily use, so I made a little shroud over the air intakes from coroplast that keeps the rain out. Some people say they had theirs replaced with chargers that dont have that problem.

The fourth thing is try to see a paired app and see if the cellular reports. Mine quit, but I dont care. I ride back and forth from work. I know where it is.

And lastly in general look it over closely. They are made with a mixture of high quality and low quality parts. The plastics are brittle, the paint is cheap, etc. Look closely.