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[Reddy Kilowatt]

This is my first post here. Greetings everyone. I live in Avondale Az, a suburb of Phoenix. I currently ride a Suzuki 650 V-Strom, a great little bike that gets around 55 mpg. Not bad, but there is always room for improvement. I have recently become very interested in electric motorcycles, particularly Zero motorcycles. I am here to learn from those who are already on the electric bandwagon. I am trying to get a sense of,
1. Reliability ( more important to me than price or range )
2. Your experiences, are you folks happy you made the leap to electric.
3. Real world range
The vast majority of my riding is commuting less than 20 miles one way, and short hops around town. I would love to wash my hands of expensive service trips to the dealers, and the whole concept of just unplugging your bike and going for a ride is appealing to me. So I shall see you around the forum. Thanks, Bob

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I also own a V-Strom and used one as my primary vehicle for years. My 2013 Zero DS has been a great replacement for commuting. The 2013+ models have been generally reliable. Mine has had two services under warranty in its first year but has been trouble free since then. I am totally happy with my DS, and only wish I could ride all day on it sometimes, but the V-Strom is still great for that.

Real world range for me with a windshield and cases is 100 miles, with no hesitation. This is on an 11.4 battery.

What's probably not a clear benefit to outsiders is how relaxing the bike is to ride and what difference it makes to do less maintenance.

I do envy the 2015 improvements and might upgrade to 15/16 models, particularly if they're easier to set up for touring.

[Doug S]

Hi, uh, "Reddy".

I think you'll find pretty much overwhelming happiness among this community that we made the leap. EVs in general are pretty marvelous machines, and ours are some of the best.

I agree with Brian that the reliability among the more recent years has been decent. I've had my 2014 SR for 18 months now, and have put 16,000 miles on it. I've had two failures, both covered by warranty: my rear shock failed prematurely and the onboard charger failed. In addition, there was a recall for the early SRs, my bike failed their test, and wound up with a new motor, which was also under warranty and didn't cost me anything. It's not a great record, but considering it's a small manufacturer and a relatively young market, I'm not complaining.

In my experience, and I think most peoples' experience, the manufacturer's claim about range is very achievable. My daily commute is ~53 miles (round-trip) of 90% freeway speeds, and I get home with 30%+ range still left; that calculates to an honest 70 mile range. I don't do much low-speed riding, but I believe it would also achieve what Zero says it will under those circumstances.

But the EV experience has a lot of intangibles going for it as well. Because of the lack of a gearbox, an SR doesn't have quite as much torque off the line as the latest sportbikes, but the quiet, smooth and effortless way it delivers that torque is just plain delightful. You'll never have to worry about throttle lag, lean stutters, being in the wrong gear or (smile) stalling your bike and looking like an idiot again. Creeping through traffic is much easier on an electric; very small throttle openings will give you an easily controllable amount of thrust down into the sub-walking speed range. I've always enjoyed stirring the gearbox on both cars and motorcycles, but it's surprised me that I don't miss it on the Zero. Honestly now I marvel at how we've adapted ourselves to powerplants that can't run at 0 rpm...it just doesn't seem right to me now.

Finally, you mention your V-strom's economy, and that's maybe the one downside an electric does have. It's still pretty hard to make a purely economic case for riding electric. The price of the bikes, coupled with the pretty low cost of operation of other bikes (like yours) makes it difficult to justify buying an electric bike just to save money. Don't underestimate the amount of money you'll save on maintenance, though....in my 16,000 miles my only maintenance items have been front and rear tires and front brake pads. No oil, no plugs, no filters, no coolant, no valve adjustments, it adds up quicker than you might think it does.

[Reddy Kilowatt]

I also own a V-Strom and used one as my primary vehicle for years. My 2013 Zero DS has been a great replacement for commuting. The 2013+ models have been generally reliable. Mine has had two services under warranty in its first year but has been trouble free since then. I am totally happy with my DS, and only wish I could ride all day on it sometimes, but the V-Strom is still great for that.

Real world range for me with a windshield and cases is 100 miles, with no hesitation. This is on an 11.4 battery.

Brian since you and I both own virtually the same Suzuki how about a little thumb nail comparison? The model Zero you bought is exactly the one that caught my attention. Same battery size and everything. I was wondering if that size battery would realistically be enough.
Also I was aware that post 2013 the Zeros saw significant improvements but you made mention that the very newest models seemed to have some improvements that you thought were important.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I also own a V-Strom and used one as my primary vehicle for years. My 2013 Zero DS has been a great replacement for commuting. The 2013+ models have been generally reliable. Mine has had two services under warranty in its first year but has been trouble free since then. I am totally happy with my DS, and only wish I could ride all day on it sometimes, but the V-Strom is still great for that.

Real world range for me with a windshield and cases is 100 miles, with no hesitation. This is on an 11.4 battery.

Brian since you and I both own virtually the same Suzuki how about a little thumb nail comparison? The model Zero you bought is exactly the one that caught my attention. Same battery size and everything. I was wondering if that size battery would realistically be enough.
Also I was aware that post 2013 the Zeros saw significant improvements but you made mention that the very newest models seemed to have some improvements that you thought were important.

The Zero and V-Strom are very different. The Zero is small and low centered, 400 lbs "wet". The frame and luggage rack are pretty small but will carry a normal day trip cargo. I always get groceries on the Zero now, and can use it to get to the airport if my luggage is light.

The Zero makes a happy commute even in stop and go traffic on hills in the rain: I live in Seattle and ride year round. Perfect smooth torque control without shifting just makes working in traffic a breeze. Riding in gravel is also pretty natural - any slippage can be tweaked very easily back into grip. There is a danger of fish tailing because of the torque when oil is on the roads, but the level of control reins it in easily.

The mirrors are a bit small and you'll feel like you're riding on the bike rather than in a cockpit. The instrument cluster is below my field of view normally.

It also takes off like a rocket when you want to. The SR is even more impressive but I have no use for its torque.

As for newer models' improvements, the ABS and suspension and brakes top my list. I've used the 14 rear brake upgrade at least. There's discussion about charging limits on the 13 versus newer years because of a 30A fuse, but I haven't committed to a fast charging solution yet so this is theoretical. Also, battery capacity, of course, but range won't be critical for me until I really commit to full day rides. 100 miles a day covers almost every need I have.

I would definitely like a fairing at some point, for both comfort and range.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Oh, and passengers love the Zero. It's easier to throw a leg over, and super quiet. I can chat up to 45 mph. Also, the bike hauls up the steepest hills easily with a passenger, but Sport mode is recommended.

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Hi, uh, "Reddy".

I think you'll find pretty much overwhelming happiness among this community that we made the leap. EVs in general are pretty marvelous machines, and ours are some of the best.

I agree with Brian that the reliability among the more recent years has been decent. I've had my 2014 SR for 18 months now, and have put 16,000 miles on it. I've had two failures, both covered by warranty: my rear shock failed prematurely and the onboard charger failed. In addition, there was a recall for the early SRs, my bike failed their test, and wound up with a new motor, which was also under warranty and didn't cost me anything. It's not a great record, but considering it's a small manufacturer and a relatively young market, I'm not complaining.

Don't underestimate the amount of money you'll save on maintenance, though....in my 16,000 miles my only maintenance items have been front and rear tires and front brake pads. No oil, no plugs, no filters, no coolant, no valve adjustments, it adds up quicker than you might think it does.

Doug, the  Reddy Kilowatt character was the advertising mascot for Salt River Project, our local power company in the 1960's, Haha I guess it just popped in my head when I was coming up with a moniker for the site.

Anyway, yeah I was reading your trouble in paradise post elsewhere in this forum, it does sound like a fair bit of problems you've experienced, I haven't been around long enough to tell if that was an anomaly or a pretty common experience. I had a brand new Triumph in 2007 that was in the shop constantly with one problem or another, it can happen I suppose to any brand, but it has made me a little touchy about being stranded. As you yourself have experienced it's no fun to be away from home with a bike that won't get you home.

Regarding my current bike, the Suzuki, it could not be more reliable and it is fun to ride and pretty economical. It is the service work at the dealerships that kill me. My service agreement just expired. A major service that would include a valve adjustment is over $500, a minor service that includes oil change and a general going over including throttle body synchronizing is over $120. An air filter alone is over $50!!!

Well I appreciate your comments and I will be around, trying to broaden my knowledge. Hey by the way I noticed another forum just for Zero motorcycles but man it looks like a ghost town over there.

[ultrarnr]

Another V-Strom owner here who also owns a SR. I love the SR for commuting (60 miles RT) but definitely like having the V-Strom for a back-up. Last Thursday morning my SR lost power three times before I walked home and then rode the V-Strom to work. Of course when I drove my truck to pick up my SR it powered right up! My SR had this problem back in January, turned out to be the ignition switch was bad. But it took 5 weeks to get fixed. Hard to say if the ignition switch is the problem again or if it is something else. The SR is a great bike and I love the torque but as far as reliability goes I would never have  it as an only motorcycle.

[kensiko]

Reliability is not the same for all Zeros here. Some have extremely resilient Zeros and a few have unexplained issues and glitches and it seems those will have more issues over time.

Here I have had my 2013 S for 1.5 year, of course low km (2500km) but I was never left stranded. All I did was inflate the tires twice, tighten a mirror and a firmware update, I also had my encoder recalibrated.

[bartle_man]

I'm in Gilbert AZ and I traded in my BMW 1200GSA and a Vespa to get my Zero and I love it! Every once in awhile I wish I could go take a nice 500+ mile loop and camp on the bike but I don't regret buying the 2015 DS one bit.


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