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[lolachampcar]

Zero continues to impress........

First, the 2013 bike is simply amazing and that is saying something since the 2012 DS was a darn good bike.  The 2013 is simply better.

About the title-
My 2013 DS started clicking towards the rear after a few miles.  My average power consumption was 180 WHr/Mi so something was amiss.  The problem was diagnosed as a rear wheel bearing failure (actually, failures as there are three 6409 bearings, one on the caliper side and two on the drive side).  By the time I got everything apart, the inner race on two of the bearings had buggered up the axle and two of the spacers were machined on the end from the rotating bearing race.  The inner spacer had also gone off center and worn on the wheel hub ID.

So what does Zero do about it?  They pack up an axle, spacers and a wheel and get it shipped out proto.  The bike is back together and all appears to be in fine working order.

Many thanks to Harlan and Chris Langlois for putting in the extra effort to get me back on the road.  It really is more a matter of how you handle problems then if/when a problem will crop up.

[Richard230]

One nice thing about Zero, they seem to really value their customers and if there are any quality control or design issues, they want to catch them ASAP and before they affect any more owners.  Can you imagine the big manufacturers responding like that?  You would be lucky to just get the run-a-round (BMW or H-D) and not a letter from a lawyer (something Honda has done in the past) telling you to get lost.

Every time I hear about Zero rapidly responding to a reliability issue, I feel fortunate that (as an early adopter) I bought one of their machines.

[trikester]

Another common response from some companies is: "We have never seen this happen before". Implied meaning: "We haven't seen it before, therefore it isn't happening to you".

Fortunately for us, Zero is not one of those companies!

Trikester

[Richard230]

My favorites are:  "They all do that" and (BMW's favorite) "That is a wear-item (such as wheel and steering-head bearings) and is not covered by our 3-year, 36,000 (which used to be unlimited) mile warranty".

[Harlan]

Glad to hear you are back on the road!  Happy to help!

[Marshm]

That certainly is a nice change in the motorcycle industry.  Honda recently gave me the "who cares, it's your problem, so go away" response on an obvious factory defect, and they would not even sell me the broken part.  The higher assembly was $800 more cost.  I hope Zero's good service is a future trend and not a 1 time occurance. 

I agree with lolachampcar.  If my bike had a problem and the factory stepped up with a good fix and did it fast, I would not be negative on the company because the problem occurred.  I would keep them on my list of places to buy from.  I have taken Honda off of my list now because they were so lame. Maybe forever, I don't know.   

Of course there is a limit to this theory.  Riding offroad you can be in places where you cannot really get much help if something breaks.  So if broken things happen often, then I would be looking for a different brand because the bike would no longer be meeting the requirements of my use.  Reliability is still a huge factor that I look for wen buying a new bike. 

[Richard230]

Reliability is still a huge factor that I look for wen buying a new bike.    And that goes double when you are an early adopter of a new technology.

[lolachampcar]

WRT to quality, I had zero problems with Zero #1 and one infant mortality problem with Zero #2.  At this rate, there will most certainly be a Zero #3

[trikester]

Certainly enjoying my Zero #3!!!

Trikester

[lolachampcar]

A life spent trying to catch up to Trikester is a life well spent

[manlytom]

well on my zero #2 and wanting #3 - not available here in coal and oil country of Oz. at least for now. we need to change that.