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[Electric Terry]

trikester, how did you get to the nuts to break them loose?  mine were on with loc-tite and my 24 mm wrench was to thick to slide between the clearance available.  Did you get to it from underneath?  i put the motor in this morning in less than 10 min. So either way I guess, I tried to hold the nuts still and break them loose with the 10mm allen and it spun the insides of the bolt round .  After the motor was out, a 24mm wrench with 2 foot extension handle and it still felt like about 50 to 75 pounds of force I needed at the end if not more, so over 150-200 ft lbs to break the loc-tite glue.

Although I didn't reinstall loctite or the set screws cause knowing myself, I'll have the bike apart again in a month or so to play with more sprocket changes.  So next time I'm gonna try it your way.

[manlytom]

17" wheel change: In reply to BSDThw: I changed to a 17" rear wheel so that I had a choice of street legal tires that were better for dirt riding. The tire manufacturers must assume that if you have a 16" rear wheel you must be riding pavement most of the time, because that is what those available 16" dual-sport tires are designed for. The 17" wheel allows me to use a Kenda model K270 on the rear as well as the front (which was already 17"). I have a K270, 5.1" x 17" on the rear and a K270, 4.6" x 17" on the front. And they work well on the pavement also, but I'm sure the knobbies must reduce mileage some, since the factory tires are so much smoother.

Hi all,
how about simply changing an S to dirt tyres ? both wheels are 17" for a start. At least on my now 2011S (after 2010S) I can consider this. Ok, slightly shorter suspension but for Dual Sport dirt the S seems well enough capable.

[trikester]

There was some loctite on them but I was able to break them loose, after mild heating with a propane torch, and with a short extension on the wrench handle. Did you have the set screws backed out? I was careful heating so that I didn't get them hot enough to damage the bearings. However, these bearings are not as critical as bearings on a high speed rotating shaft. I inspected the bearings before re-assembly.

I worked from the back with the wheel off of course and the bike jacked up. Everything had been removed from the swing arm including the shock before I started removing the pivot bolts.

I'm surprised that the "S" has 17" wheels, as you say. I thought it had 16" both front and rear. The specks I have read in the past have listed 16" for the "S". Maybe they changed, but it is strange that they wouldn't change the DS if they did change the S. If the S has a 17" rear wheel then it means that is also has a different swing arm than the DS, because the DS swing arm can't fit a 17" without cutting away some of the cross brace tube, which is what I did. Possibly, a 17" would fit with a really low profile road tire. I notice that my 2012 DS has a flat on that side of the cross brace tube that my 2010 does not have. Maybe that flat allowed a 17" rim with a low profile street tire to fit on the S where a high, 17" knobbie, tire wouldn't fit on a DS without the mod that I did.

[manlytom]

Hi trikster
front and rear 17" on the 2011 model. Improved cornering and handling in general as well as better tyre choice over the 2010 that had only 16" front and rear.
http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-s/2011/specs.php

obviously converting a S towards dual sport means to think about the belt drive and the front fender. On the 2011S we have still spoked wheels - somehow I believe that is favoured for dual sport as well.

[trikester]

Thanks. I didn't notice that when they went to the "rigid spoke" rims that they were also 17". These wouldn't work on the DS with tall knobbies and an un-modified swing arm. I hope ZERO produces a new swing arm in 2013 with clearance for a good dual-sport dirt tire (like the K270) on a 17" wire spoked rim. If they do, then I will purchase the new arm - if it is compatible with the 2012 mounting and frame.

[manlytom]

Hi trikester

yeah - as for upgradability the frame, front fork, swingarm seems to be pretty consistent throughout the model generations so far. so in part the initial objective that you can upgrade still holds.

obviously would like to put the better battery and motor/controller into my 2011 at one stage -- likely to be hard or expensive "upgrade".

cheers