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[MadScientist]

Hi everyone,
Stumbled across this site while researching the possibility that my next bike will be electric.  Been riding for about 15 years now and currently ride a Honda VFR and 599.  My motorcycle is my primary means of transport when the salt and snow are off the roads, so my main concern is reliability.  Though my commute is short (~7 miles each way, no freeway), a good portion goes through neighborhoods that I would feel unsafe breaking down in.  I have access to charging equipment at both ends.

Maintenance and repair do not bother me, however.  I have performed pretty much any task on a vehicle/internal combustion engine and have troubleshot electrical faults to the circuit component level on multi-million dollar weapon systems (ex-USAF).  I also build tube and solid state audio amplifiers for fun.  I have access to an old manual milling machine and a vast assortment of tools, though I don't weld.  I considered building my own rig, but I don't have the time while working on a Ph.D. (molecular biology).

I plan on testing a Zero S this spring, since there is a dealer nearby (SE Wisconsin).  Any other suggestions are welcome. 

So, greetings all, looks like some good information here.

-J

[WindRider]

Welcome Mad Scientist,

I have found Zero Motorcycles to be extremely reliable and easy to ride.   Maintenance is about 1/10th of an ICE motorcycle.  No valves to adjust, no oil or filters to maintain.   

Your commute is very short and will pose no problems for any model that you may want, even if you could not charge at work.   

Test ride a Zero if you can find a dealer with a demo bike and you will be hooked.

[Justin Andrews]

14 miles a day? Assuming you don't go at main road speeds (60-70mph) then you'd probably only need to charge once a week...

For comparison, I've easily done 75 miles on my ZF9-S at around 45mph average.

Or to put it another way, my communte is a 42 mile round trip, which my Zero handles very well.

[Richard230]

Zero's have had some reliability issues in the past, but I believe all of those problems have been solved and a 2014 Zero should be just as reliable, if not more so, than most any ICE motorcycle on the market.

[ctrlburn]

2013 is to me the watershed with the Zero's for range and the 2014's warrantee has them agreeing it the reliability is ready too.

Your penchant (and well qualified) for tinkering might be under fulfilled as I see little call for maintenance interaction. The dealer opened nothing when asked for a marketing demonstration - all buttoned up.  (no hood to pop, no peeking under the seat, no side panel accessible anything without a socket wrench)

With a mere 7 mile commute and an captive ICE cycle for longer trips I think the entire line is your choice... even the discounted 2012's.

I'm aiming for a 50 mile commute and expect only to charge at home (though we have free charging in Madison on the ChargePoint network at the MG&E stations).

Schlossman's in Milwaukee has a 2013 FX 5.7 and should be restocking at least an "S" (once mine's recall service is done) because I am only slightly less of a new guy.
The 2013 DS 11.4 at Pro Motorsports in Fon Du Lac might still be around (among some very appealing 2012's)
I do not know what is available in Northern Illinois.

The recall was probably the "reliability" issue which could concern some - I was on-board just before the fix was released so the concern did not deter me.

[MadScientist]

Dealing with Schlossman's is probably the most questionable aspect of this venture for me.  I haven't heard anything good or bad about dealing with them for warranty work.  They haven't been around for that long and I know they (fairly) recently acquired the Triumph and BMW franchises from Southeast Sales.

Oh and I will tinker, from what I can tell the stock suspensions are somewhat lacking (not that anything could be much worse than my 599), and I will probably pursue some kind of swap.  The engine and whatnot are probably more than adequate for my purposes.  I can also forsee some changes to ergonomics (seat/bars). 

[MadScientist]

I went and looked at the Zero over at Schlossman's today and think I might get it.  My final hesitation is that I won't be able to resell the bike in the future.  How is the used market from a sellers perspective?  I realize that the market on the coasts is drastically different from what I am facing in the upper midwest.  Anyone have experiences to share on this?  Thanks!

Oh BTW, this is a 2013 FX model.  Anything I should look out for?

[WindRider]

The 14s are available now so you should be getting a good deal on the 13.... It should be discounted from what you could get the 14 for significantly.

Buying it right will help with the resale a lot.    There are not enough used 13s on the market to say how they will resale but I would guess that they will resale well until there is another significant bump in battery tech.   Given your very short range to work requirements this should not be an issue for you and you will love the FX!   It an absolute blast to ride.

Personally, I am on the second Zero that I bought and I bought both of them low enough that I am happy with the resale of the first one.   I intend to ride the wheels off of the my current FX and keep it for several years so I am not too concerned about resale personally.   I will lose some money, it will cost very little to own and operate, and I will have a lot of fun riding it for the next several years.

[TargeT]

I love my FX, I've had it fully submerged in water, I've jumped it, I've put 3,000+ miles on it and ride it almost every day, I also have a short commute to work (there and back is maybe a quarter charge).

the 13FX 5.7 has PLENTY of power (that second battery adds a lot of "top end" power, I've ridden with just one when there were some battery issues earlier this year).

there's a couple of things to watch out for that I've experienced, listen for a "clicking" while riding, it's an easy fix and well known, but if you have it you need it treated. the rear brakes will probably squeel, mine still do it a little now, but I never tried to correct it.

if you're not carful with the throttle the front wheel will lift off the ground all the way to about 35-40 MPH, the bike is VERY light for it's power so be aware of that.

other than that, I think you'll enjoy it a lot!