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[RZ]

It's that time of year when I re-visit my 'shall I buy that Zero SR-S' process.

Does anybody know if the water ingress issues which afflicted the earlier SRS & SRF
and have been discussed in detail on this forum have been fixed on the 2022/ 2023
bikes? 

Several dealer/ owner fixes have been described -  have Zero built that knowledge
into subsequent models? 

I live in the UK. The occasional wet ride is virtually unavoidable.

[princec]

Allegedly fixed on the 2022 onwards models, but the specific problem that was described to me (the cooling fans on the OBC were not insulated) was the only officially problematic part. The two other things that went wrong on my bike - a bus bar that cracked and slowly shorted, and the famously not-waterproof spider bus - don't yet appear to have changed.

Unfortunately (fortunately!) I've not actually been able to ride the thing in the pissing rain since I got it fixed quite late last year, so I don't actually know if it's really fixed or not yet...

Cas

[electrictwowheeler]

I have a 2020 SR/S with 26,000 miles on it and live in Oregon which is famous for rain. I do not ride in the rain on purpose but have been caught many times while taking day rides. The bike is kept in an unheated garage so when I get home it is stored in the dry. The farthest I have ever ridden in rain is probably 60 miles on the highway. I have also towed it about 1,000 miles on a trailer in the rain with a Geza brand half cover on it which is only water resistant but keeps it from getting soaked. The only problem I have had is after a week spent towing the bike from Portland OR to San Luis Obispo CA in the recent storms without taking the cover off and the bike sitting on the trailer outside the whole time was some minor condensation in the speedo that evaporated in a couple days of sunshine. I don't let the bike sit in the rain without the cover and never wash it with a hose except the wheels. So they can be ridden in the rain up to a point. I suspect that commuting in the rain day after day with no time to dry out would not be good as several people have reported but that is not how I use the bike. Maybe I am just lucky?

[princec]

I think you're just lucky... the fan insulation thing is an actual known defect to the point Zero are quietly replacing them all under warranty when they go wrong with a part that is apparently actually waterproof. The spiderbus issues are well documented here and on Facebook and likely other places - whether the latest models are improved in this respect I don't know.

Mine lives under a cover - not absolutely waterproof but essentially dry most of the time - and it started playing up within a few thousand miles - every time I washed it (with a gentle hose, and staying away from anything that looked remotely electrical or greasy) it would throw up all sorts of error codes and not work properly for a few hours. Then it went funny in the rain on every occasion I rode in it, till it finally went tits up and limped me home one night and I decided it needed sorting properly.

Cas

[electrictwowheeler]

Luck is highly underrated, lol. Yes, I have read all the posts about the isolation faults and was super paranoid about riding the bike in the rain when I first got it. I learned allot about where not to let water get in and how the bike is constructed and that has helped me avoid those issues so far! Thanks to you and everyone else who has shared their experiences. The Geza cover is the only one I could find that was designed for towing and I am sure that without it I would have had problems. Keeping my fingers crossed!

[AsHperson]

I really wish they had the fix in time for my 2020 model, I don't have it anymore.

[DonTom]

Luck is highly underrated, lol. Yes, I have read all the posts about the isolation faults and was super paranoid about riding the bike in the rain when I first got it. I learned allot about where not to let water get in and how the bike is constructed and that has helped me avoid those issues so far! Thanks to you and everyone else who has shared their experiences. The Geza cover is the only one I could find that was designed for towing and I am sure that without it I would have had problems. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I was carrying my Zero DS in pouring rain during the start of my RV trip two weeks ago when I was near Wasco, CA.  Anyway, it got soaked about as much as if were under water. The rain came suddenly so I just let the bike get wet. I did NOT put the cover on, because I didn't expect to need it. And it's best to NOT cover a Motocycle that is already wet.


When I went to use the bike the next day, after it dried out, there was no problem at all.


So did they screw up on the design of the SR/S and SR/F? Can't be used in the rain without fear of the motor going dead?


-Don-  Auburn, CA

[princec]

Well, yes, now in theory it can. And yes, they did screw up the design - two critical components - the fan circuitry apparently had no waterproofing at all, and the infamous spider bus. Oh and the dash, now replaced with a much fancier one that doesn't mist up any more.

Cas

[princec]

BALLS.

Went to switch it on this morning (dry, no rain for a couple of weeks, though it lives under a cover).

Isolation fault. Battery ineligible. Almost late for the dentist as I had to de-gear and clamber into the car. Extra cross.

Cas

[2020_SRS_Commuter]

My guess about how water gets in is it goes through the gap at the top of the plate on the rear of the battery pack. I just finished sealing mine up with silicon sealer. I dont know yet if that solves the problem. Here are two pictures, one of the gap Im talking about ( actually two , a smaller one behind it as well ) and one of it sealed up. The charger has been moved out of the way, so you can see it better. The HV cables from the chargers go down in there and that battery top makes a nice pan for water to pool up on, then drain down through the crack onto HV connections.

[2020_SRS_Commuter]

Sealed

[electrictwowheeler]

Nice job and good to hear your charger problem is not the bike. After reading and studying all the posts about the isolation problems I also think that gap is the most likely point of entry. The foam is just to keep the dust out. They have made an attempt at waterproofing the connections on the back of the battery but it is quite a mess to try to make waterproof. A bad attempt at waterproofing could actually hold water in. When I worked for VW in the early seventies they came out with a new dual diagonal brake system with two pressure switches on the master cylinder. It was totally exposed under the car on the bugs. There were rubber boots on the switches but they would fill up with water and cause the brake warning light to come on! The factory fix was to cut the boots off and that fixed the problem. Here is a pic of the battery. Notice the temp sensor taped to the main fuse with electrical tape and a wire tie. Sweet! I think water from the rear wheel can also get in the plastic upper cover because it is not sealed in any way. A real rear fender might help here. I would never run a hose on the top of the tank or anywhere around there and water could come through the charge port area also, especially when charging. It is what it is

[2020_SRS_Commuter]

That's a great picture, helps me understand how this is put together a little bit.  I'm guessing the two black connecters at the lower left are to connect to the motor driver.

[electrictwowheeler]

Yes, I think you are right about the two largest cables going to the motor controller which sits under the battery. The two smaller cables are just connecting the two long bricks in Parallel. The other connections are all using buss bars.