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[Fifty3]

I bought it from a car dealer, who bought it from an auto auction, who got it from a bank that had repo'd it from .  Good luck getting any history from that mess.  I assume that Zero would have original sales and commissioning information, but I also assume that info would not be available to me.  PM me if you want to discuss buying it.

[Fifty3]

Well, then name the dealer.

Neither we nor Zero can know which dealer is being a twit about it unless someone stands up and says.

-Crissa

That information was in my first post in this thread.

[Auriga]

If it's a Zero dealer someone there should be trained.  More serious issues they will call and a Zero HQ tech who will walk them through what needs to be checked and done.

Zero does not train, by design. Trained techs repair bikes. Repairs require parts. Repairs cost money. Zero doesn't like to pay.

First off, Zero does train dealers. They've hosted multiple training sessions at their HQ and areas around the country. I've been to them. It's difficult to force a dealer to go though, and turnover is pretty high at motorcycle shops. And it doesn't always make sense with very low volume shops. But to sell the new FST platform bikes, Zero required dealers to send people for training.

I understand the frustration when you take a bike in, you expect someone to look at it. You can always call Zero Technical Support and complain, they'll lean on the dealer to get the job done.  Zero keeps a record of all warranty work done on the bike. If you know the VIN, you could call and ask.

Buying a bike from a small company is sometimes an audition of the dealer as much as it is of the bike itself. I'm sorry they're not working out, and I'd encourage you to take it to another if possible. If no one complains, Zero can't do anything about it. 

[Fifty3]

Auriga:    Very good response.  I'll take your advice and try to contact someone at Zero tomorrow.  Thanks.

[NEW2elec]

Oh good I was just about to write a long post trying to get you to do that.

I'm going off what you posted which seems to be the dealer said we'll get right on this and then didn't so I hope you see that (at this point) it's all on the dealer.
If they say Zero couldn't figure out what is wrong and they are giving us the run around then the thread can go in a different direction.

Truly good luck with it man.  I don't want to see you shoot yourself in the foot and loose a lot of money when it might be a simple fix.

[Fifty3]

Actually, I just got off of the phone with Zero customer support and I'm sure I was smiling.  They are GOOD!  I got all of the service history, registered myself as the current owner, confirmed that it is probably nothing more than timing/alignment/commissioning.  I also learned that Zero says they have NOT BEEN CONTACTED by the dealer about the bike.  They will be calling the dealer tomorrow morning to try to expedite the service work.

So,,,,,, If it works the way it should, I'll be right here "eating crow" and, hopefully learning to contribute to the forum.  Many thanks to all of the people who have been trying to help. 

[NEW2elec]

Great man glad to hear it!

You don't need to eat anything just when you get it back go out and enjoy the ride.

[Fifty3]

It has been another week and the dealer told me this morning, they haven't touched it. 

[Crissa]

Augh, so frustrating, man.

-Crissa

[NEW2elec]

Well it may be worth calling Zero again or just getting it and ruin their reputation (Dealer not Zero) as much as you can.  Yelp, BBB any where they have a customer base.

At this point I would order them to do a commissioning, 1 hour at most, and go get the bike.  If your very very far away from another dealer then sadly this may not be a good bike for your situation.

I hate it isn't working out for you like it SHOULD, but if the carrot of money won't make them work the other option is the rod of shame because  there are laws against the other options.

Good luck man.

Edit
Good point Curt thanks

[Fifty3]

Here is my experience.  Everything here is purely my opinion and may be right or it may be wrong, but this is the story from my point of view.

At the request of the dealer. I took my FXS to him, July 20, 2020.
August 21, 2020 the dealer told me Zero had finally been able to connect to my bike and they believed that it needed either a controller(~$1500) or motor(~$3000), but we had to wait for Zero to have a meeting the following Monday to decide for sure.  Not being able to make an immediate decision, based on the diagnostics report does not give me a feeling of confidence in Zero.  It feels to me like they are just guessing and wanting to throw expensive parts at it in the hope that something might fix it.  Somehow it had been determined that commissioning or alignment wasn't the problem.
August 26, 2020 I picked the bike up from the dealer and paid them $160 for their time (Actually, that was a low price for the diagnostics effort on their part.)
At that time, the dealer told me it had been decided (by Zero) that a new motor was needed.  Because of its age,(2016) the bike is no longer covered under warranty.  So,,, now I have a bike with 1707 miles on the odometer that Zero says needs a $3000 motor replacement.  It does not make good business sense for me to spend the additional money on a bike that I paid $4500 for when I bought it.  Rather than spending more money on the Zero, I have invested the $3000 in a beautiful Honda CRF230L that has 1450 miles on it.  It will be reliable and will serve me for many years and, if it breaks, I can fix it myself!!!!!! 

What have I learned?  A used Zero might look like a good deal, but if it breaks, you might have a very expensive pile of useless junk.  BUYER BEWARE!!!

[NEW2elec]

Fifty3, first let me say that's a bad turn of events.  Enjoy your Honda if that works for you.

Here is my take away on from what I get from your comments and my opinion.

First of a quick search of Cycle Trader will show the lowest priced FXS is $6999.
Next lowest is like $8k "Firm" so even replacing the motor puts the bike on the lowest end of pricing for any future owner.
If a dealership (car) only wanted $4500 then they got the bike for like $2k maybe and someone had to know the bike wasn't running right to take that much below book value. 
That should have been a clue but moving on.

The key to these bikes is always putting miles on the bike to save in gas and routine maintenance.  A short term owner will get burned.
 
I still put 90% of the blame for the wait time and feet dragging on the dealer.
A motor commissioning should only take 30 mins and either that could have fixed it or been ruled out as the issue.

I would like to ask, did you trade it in?
If so I'd love to know what price they put on it compared to what they gave you for it.
Dealers always seem to think you have the worst piece of junk in the world at trade in but once it's on their lot it's a great gently used, whatever.

[Fran K]

Fifty3, first let me say that's a bad turn of events.  Enjoy your Honda if that works for you.

Here is my take away on from what I get from your comments and my opinion.

First of a quick search of Cycle Trader will show the lowest priced FXS is $6999.
Next lowest is like $8k "Firm" so even replacing the motor puts the bike on the lowest end of pricing for any future owner.

here is one A double battery version with the quick charger for $6000.  2016
https://raleigh.craigslist.org/mcy/d/cary-2016-zero-fxs-electric-motorcycle/7182668606.html