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[RZ]

I've ridden the SR/S & F and found the bikes to be a great on-road experience. Now that there are some used/ ex demo models coming to market (I'm in the UK)
at more affordable prices I'm seriously considering purchasing an SR/S. However, reading through posts on this forum I'm worried about reliability and wondering
if some of the issues around charging, firmware and weatherproofing with the older bikes have not been fixed on the new generation of bikes.  What do owners
of current bikes think?

[SandyGnomes]

I have owned a 2021 sr/s premium for a few months now, bought with 720 miles on the clock and on about 3500 now.  It is fantastic to ride.  I do have 2 fairly big issues with it. The first is I got the premium for the 6kW charge but only realised once I took delivery that it is 2 x 3kW on different phases. Only really makes a difference in the uk with our 7kW single phase chargepoints and 3kW is enough most of the time but I think it is misleading. Second issue is there is definitely not enough weather proofing and it does cause issues. I washed it a couple of weeks ago and the charge socket filled up with water. Also there is a drain hole in the side of the charge socket which seems to aim at a bunch of wires and connectors underneath.  I connected a tube to the drain hole and use the rubber cap from a charge cable to cover the charge socket.  Not seen an error since but I haven't really been out in heavy rain for a while.

Part of me wishes I'd gone for an older DSR.  Then I get on a nice bit of road and decide the sr/s was the perfect choice.

Strangely one of my favourite things about the sr/s is the mirrors, odd plavement but hey work brilliantly.

I can't see myself ever going back to an ICE bike.

[princec]

Just tripped over 10,000 miles on the way home this evening - it's taken me 15 months - on my SR/F Premium, with extra 6kW Charge Tank fitted.

What's gone wrong with the bike so far:
1. Brake discs warped @ 2000 miles, replaced under warranty. Still slightly juddery now but that might be pad compound build up. May replace discs and pads with EBC. Haven't changed pads yet, probably due soon.
2. Rust in places the sun don't shine. Zero appear to make some parts out of mild steel, and despite living under a thick rain cover and being slathered in XCP Rust Blocker and ACF50 I had still managed to get rust on several parts. Can't be bothered with warranty - they will simply replace with the same parts that instantly rust again.
3. Belt snapped totally unexpectedly at 7k miles. Suspiciously only a few hundred miles after tyre change, but we'll never know. I never found the belt again so I don't know quite how it snapped. There was no debris on the road, which was also relatively smooth at the time it snapped. Replacement was ~£200 ish and trivial to do at home. If I had the presence of mind I'd take a small collection of tools with me to do it by the roadside (and a spare belt...) if I was going to do any long distance stuff.
4. It refuses to connect to my new phone via Bluetooth. It worked fine connected to my previous two phones (one of which was literally identical to my current phone). This is a minor irritation in the grand scheme of things but it may be related to ...
5. It refuses to update its firmware.
6. Very occasionally it has just randomly stopped charging after I've wandered off. This has only happened at home on the official 2kW 3-pin Zero cable. I think maybe 4 times? It hasn't done it for over a month now though. Being at home means it wasn't a big deal - I just turned it off and on and reinserted the cable and it resumed charging. The bike never thought it had stopped charging - just it was drawing, like, 0.1A, for unknown reasons. It might actually be a fault in the fancy Zero cable.
7. After I wash it, it throws up a ton of fault codes and the CEL comes on sometimes. Clearly water getting places it shouldn't. It's always recovered after 24hrs and never been immobilised. I've ridden it in the rain (but not for too long!) and had no problems.
8. Quite often when I switch it on to remove the charging cable it throws up a another bunch of (harmless but irritating) error codes complaining the charger is disconnected (well, duh) and there's a CAN bus error. I think Zero could maybe do with polishing this aspect of the firmware a bit...
9. It does that magic charging thing that MVetter will tell you about in great detail. However... I don't seem to experience it nearly so badly as everyone else (so far?) I get to work after 25 motorway miles and I'm typically at about 65% SOC. 8 hours later I get on it to go home and how strange, SOC is now 75%. And when I ride off, it doesn't plummet back to 65% in 2 miles or anything, it's like it genuinely was at 75%. There is undoubtedly a combination of slightly iffy firmware calculation going on and unforeseen battery chemistry shenanigans. However, the range estimate on the dash is actually pretty accurate for me.

Mods:
1. Sport screen
2. Raised handlebars (1" higher)
3. SR/S footpegs (1" lower)
4. Charge Tank

What's good:
1. I love riding it. Like it's a total revelation just how much I love riding it. I've had gazillions of bikes in many kinds of engine configuration and I think this is the nicest.
2. Range is 70-120 miles depending on how you go, the weather, and wind, which it turns out, is enough for 95% of all my journeys.
3. I managed a 240 mile trip to North Wales using my charge tank and it was barely any more inconvenient than having to stop for petrol on the same route that I did the year before.
4. Range has not noticeably degraded in the 10,000 miles I've had it - as in, it still gives me the same range of estimates it did from new.
5. OEM rear lasted 7k miles. I'm hoping for more out of the new rear PR5 which is still looking mostly round after 3k miles.

I don't plan to sell mine for another 3 years at least though... and even then I suspect Mrs. Prince will inherit it instead.

Cas

[Eicas]

I have a 2021 SR/S Premium that I have owned for about a year and have some 4,000 miles on it now.  I have had one problem with the rear brake rotor coming loose and doing some damage but the dealer quickly fixed that under warranty.

I am a local town and country rider with my average ride being under 50 miles.  Ride several times a week if the temperature is 40 deg F or above and do not mind light rain.  Usually I charge to 70% since that gives me more than enough range, if I am going for a longer ride I will top off the charge to 100% before leaving.  Around town or on the freeway the bike rides and handles great, only need to remember that higher speeds really kills the range.  I enjoy cruising in the 40 to 60 mph range and bike computer says my rang is around 80 miles with a 70% charge and I often beat that in real life.

I am not a super aggressive rider so spend most of my time in 'Street' mode and flip to 'Rain' if it gets slippery.  My bike was low mileage 'demo' when I bought it and I have left all of the dealer settings in place, it works great for me so why change anything?

Not the bikes fault, but last summer I drove through a construction zone and picked up some debris that punctured the belt.  The belt did not break, dealer thought it was OK to use, but I changed it anyway so now I have a spare.

No bike is perfect, and that also applies to my Zero.  The rear brake is flackey in that it does not bite well unless warmed up, then it is good.  Maybe different brake pad material?  The horn is typical motorcycle, in other words not loud enough.

The good things are handling, power curve, great ergonomics and comfort for me, mirrors, controls, ease of use, no gas station visits, no tuneups or oil changes, reasonable quick charging at home.  For reference my previous bikes were a Buell XB12Ss, Triumph Thruxton, BMW K100RS and the Zero SR/S replaced them all.

Riding as I do, I have no issues.  Plan to take it in to the dealer next winter for a general check-up just to make sure my warranty is maintained. 

In summary I am very happy with my Zero and plan to keep it as my only bike for a long time.

That is my experience so far.

[RZ]

Thanks for the info. Looks like I'll have to try and make a decision