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[Richard230]

The August issue of Friction Zone magazine , starting on page 18, contains a three page review of the 2013 ZF11.4 Zero S, written by Evans Brasfield.  Nothing new here, but the article did make some interesting comments and some odd comments.  They mention that the "The decision to go with a direct drive (read no transmission) and passive cooling for both the motor and controller, thus keeping the number of parts, complexity, and weight down."  Also stated is that "Long requested by Zero owners, regenerative braking also made its debut in 2013, which, according to Harden, in good for an additional 7-10% increase in range, depending on the settings and riding style".   

Range is listed as being 70 miles at 70 mph.  This caught my attention:  "Other than the occasional chassis lubrication and brake/tire maintenance, Zero claims on other parts need ever be replaced - not even the belt final drive."   

The review mentions that getting "a little too rambunctious with your steering input and you'll feel the frame flex around the steering head".  Mr. Brasfield comments that the suspension can become quite harsh if you try to firm up the compression setting for better ground clearance; sharp edged bumps get transmitted to the riders rear through the firm saddle; and the rear brake is under powered.

He also comments that the S pulls away with the initial feel of a 500 twin and at speed gives instantaneous acceleration comparable with an 800cc IC twin.  "In an impromptu roll-on race with a Tesla (guess who won), the warning light started flashing within seconds of reaching the 95 mph top speed.  The same will happen if the bike is ridden at a steady 80 mph for several miles."

Unfortunately, the reviewer suffered the "Glitch".  "While riding, twice the Zero simply ceased to function until the ignition switch was cycled off and back on."  "Zero's response was swift and came from Abe Askenazi, Zero's Chief Technology Officer, stating that the problem was "a defective motor encoder, which....tells the controller the position of the rotor within the motor". Since it was the first failed example of this 2013 part version, it was went to the factory for study.  Problem solved."   

(Please don't shoot the messenger.)   

[protomech]

Hopefully less prevalent for 2013 bikes than for 2012 .. I recall around this time in 2012 we had a ton of encoder errors showing up. The 2013 bikes have had other issues but it seems like few encoder problems.

Wishing Zero swift progress in putting a nail in the coffin for faulty encoders.

[Blotman]

Same here. I feel as though we who are excited about this technology are in the minority. With the above average sticker price, I wouldn't expect much leniency when a reviewer receives a glitched unit.

I'm loving how this magazine named itself after something that is entirely eliminated in a Zero motorcycle.

[trikester]

He was incorrect about regenerative braking, it came in 2012.

Trikester