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[Richard230]

I was surprised this morning to see Zero up at the parking lot across from Alice's Restaurant when I arrived for my usual Sunday breakfast with some friends.  They had a couple of pop-ups and were doing a brisk business answering questions and providing test rides to anyone who wanted to give an electric motorcycle a try.  If I had known that they were going to be there, I would have ridden my Zero today. I'll attach a couple of photos to this thread.

However in the "news" department, I spoke to a Zero staff member about a few subjects.  Now I don't know if this nice fellow was a Zero employee, a hired gun to herd riders, or a salesperson from a Zero shop - so his comments might be a little suspect.  But I asked him how many Zeros were sold each year and he told me that they sell about 1000 bikes in the U.S. and another 500 in other countries. I then asked about after-sales parts supplies and he told me that they had a good selection of parts at the factory and could air freight them just about anywhere in just a few days. He mentioned that Ducati did the same thing and they didn't have a warehouse in the U.S., but air-shipped any parts that their dealers needed and their customers were happy with that arrangement. (That was never my experience when I owned an Aprilia.) One of my friends asked about the replacement price of a belt drive and was told that it only cost $36 and they typically lasted 24 to 36K miles, depending upon usage. (When I heard that I started to wonder a bit about the responses.) Anyway, that was the end of our conversation as he was needed to get another group of riders moving.

I'll do my best not to comment on this information.  But if you want to, go right ahead. 

[Richard230]

Here is a photo of the test ride bike lineup.

[MostlyBonkers]

Thanks Richard. Plenty of B.S. in what that employee said.

It's good to see them getting out there and selling their product.

From what I hear, Europe could overtake the U.S. in the sales department soon. For private sales that is. They had better get their customer service up to scratch soon. We're used to much higher levels of customer service on this side of the pond. At least for our motorbikes.

I'm really surprised at how tolerant other customers have been with the appalling service they've experienced.  Now I know how it works, I'll pounce on them immediately from as many different directions as I can muster. I'll keep on and on at them until the issue is resolved.  We could even keep a spreadsheet recording everyone's experiences.  I may give that idea some more thought as it might be a good one.

Forgive me for hijacking this thread a little. People need to know what they're letting themselves in for when buying a Zero.

[Erasmo]

Interesting choice holding a Zero event at a non-EV friendly place.

[nevetsyad]

Unfortunately, yes, there's a 10% chance that you get a flawed Zero and it spends months in the shop, going nowhere. At 5 months now on my 2015 SR. Fingers crossed that this firmware update stops the voltage from dropping to 92v and slowing me to 28% output while at 68% charge. Hey, at least it hasn't shut down while I was riding it for a while now.

[Richard230]

It occurred to me last night that the $36 (which seems kind of precise) cost of a replacement belt might actually be the price that Zero pays for the part. That would seem about right, considering that the last belt that I bought from a dealer cost $80.  (Still a lot less than BMW's $450 price for their belt as used on the F800GT.) Maybe the fellow that I spoke with works in the parts purchasing department? 

[hubert]

Neither a purchaser nor any employee of a company is allowed to reveal purchase prices to the public. This is the most "top secret" part of any business. If nevertheless he did that, he may fly out of the company quickly...

[nevetsyad]

I waited almost 2 months at a dealership for plastics after the previous dealer ruined mine with an unwanted brake fluid flush. Now I'm waiting for them to be installed this week.

6 weeks she sat at the first dealership waiting for a charger after mine blew just after purchase.

They have a warehouse full of parts and can air freight? Say what now? This is all US ship times. My bike still has electrical problems after three visits to three dealerships, how about they "air freight" me a battery and controller instead of yet another firmware update?

[Killroy]

Interesting choice holding a Zero event at a non-EV friendly place.

The only unfriendly thing about Alice's is the lack of charging.  The roads, the good eats and the moto culture is great.

Zero does not need to convert people that are already hanging around charge stations.  I bet there was plenty of motorcycle riders there that have never seen a electric motorcycle.  That is the customers that Zero needs.

The rumor number of bikes that I head zero is making is ~2500 a year right now and they have good % increase is sales year over year.   

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I recommend not trying to quote what a random employee says in public like this. Or at least not taking it as representative. By random, I mean someone who doesn't readily identifies themselves as customer service, marketing, etc. And no matter who says something, consider the narrator.

I hear a lot of things and wind up having to cross check a lot to get a reasonable picture. I am very interested in the servicing frustrations and how to improve it so the bikes are better products, but I think these problems have to do with how the system and organization are structured rather than being obvious from a particular person's role.

[JaimeC]

My philosophy:

If it isn't in writing from a verifiable source, take it with a grain of salt.  When I worked at a BMW dealership many summers ago, I had the regional sales manager tell me things about upcoming models that turned out to be flat-out untrue.

[MostlyBonkers]

I waited almost 2 months at a dealership for plastics after the previous dealer ruined mine with an unwanted brake fluid flush. Now I'm waiting for them to be installed this week.

6 weeks she sat at the first dealership waiting for a charger after mine blew just after purchase.

They have a warehouse full of parts and can air freight? Say what now? This is all US ship times. My bike still has electrical problems after three visits to three dealerships, how about they "air freight" me a battery and controller instead of yet another firmware update?

Nev, if you feel motivated enough, you could start up a section on the unofficial Zero manual around customer support. That would be a good place to record some of this stuff. Unfortunately it all gets lost in the forum to a certain extent.

Considering you are in the U.S. there is no excuse for what you've suffered. In fact, in this global economy there is no excuse no matter what country you live in. It's a good thing I wasn't at the Alice cafe because I would have had some strong words with all of them. In my more angry moments I feel Zero have no right to do any sales promotions when their customer support is so lacking. It's little different than a stock market trader dumping bad shares on an unsuspecting investor when you think about it. Grrr!

[E-Luke]

$36 for a belt? Ha!

I'm at 3600 miles, and have had two belts snap on me. Granted, the second one snapped while I was on a smaller front sprocket to "up the torque" on my 2016 DAR, but still, I am so freaking hesitant to use full torque in case I get stranded again.

It was super unsafe as I was between traffic! The towing, labor, and pats is definitely more than $36 each time. But I do ride heavy. No point being on such a torquey bike if you can't exploit t though, right?

[buutvrij for life]

Well, when my onboard charger went titts, my dealer installed a new one in 1.5 days and added a software update. In the Netherlands that is..

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I waited almost 2 months at a dealership for plastics after the previous dealer ruined mine with an unwanted brake fluid flush. Now I'm waiting for them to be installed this week.

6 weeks she sat at the first dealership waiting for a charger after mine blew just after purchase.

They have a warehouse full of parts and can air freight? Say what now? This is all US ship times. My bike still has electrical problems after three visits to three dealerships, how about they "air freight" me a battery and controller instead of yet another firmware update?

Nev, if you feel motivated enough, you could start up a section on the unofficial Zero manual around customer support. That would be a good place to record some of this stuff. Unfortunately it all gets lost in the forum to a certain extent.

Considering you are in the U.S. there is no excuse for what you've suffered. In fact, in this global economy there is no excuse no matter what country you live in. It's a good thing I wasn't at the Alice cafe because I would have had some strong words with all of them. In my more angry moments I feel Zero have no right to do any sales promotions when their customer support is so lacking. It's little different than a stock market trader dumping bad shares on an unsuspecting investor when you think about it. Grrr!

I know you all are frustrated, but the manual is not a suitable place for complaints.

What we need are high-level lessons on how to avoid problems and work around the sore spots in the system. Sometimes it might be "what are the magic words" that help them understand exactly what to do or to get it done as fast as possible. Often, it's "well, after all that, it turned out that X and what we needed to look at earlier was Y to understand that".

I do want to write there about the situation but it has to be really high level and almost anodyne in nature.