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[MajorMajor]

I've been interested in the ZEV scooters since before I bought my Zero FXS.
They seem to have a very small media foot print, I hardly ever see them being discussed despite their vehicles having impressive specs.

They recently launched a three wheeled tilting scooter, similar to the Piaggio Mp3.
http://newatlas.com/zev-lrc-t15-electric-tilting-three-wheeler/47432/


Specs:
    Range of 125 miles at 55 mph
    Range of 70 miles at 70 mph
    Top speed 80 mph
     Battery 12.5 KWh
      MSRP $13,990

Zev also have, what they claim to be, "The worlds longest range and fastest production electric scooter", the ZEV LRC-X.

Specs:
Range of 185 miles at 55 mph
    Range of 100 miles at 70 mph
    Top speed 93 mph
    Battery 13 KWh
    MSRP $16000

Both scooters have a reverse button, which I really wish Zero had.

[benswing]

We have seen other companies claim "impressive specs" before and have always come up short.  ZEV makes a lot of bold claims, but I have never seen any evidence to back them up.  Wouldn't count on the quality either.  There have been complaints from unhappy customers on various blogs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MajorMajor]

Yea, I'm definitely skeptical at this point.

Can you share links to some of the complaints?

[MajorMajor]

I did some googling and it looks like the user  dhzehrbach, on this forum, represents the manufacturer ("I am the designer of the bike, the head engineer and the President of ZEV.").

For example, this thread http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=4572.0

[Shadow]

I did some googling and it looks like the user  dhzehrbach, on this forum, represents...

Note that person was last active on the forum over a year ago. Good find though to be able to search their posts and the discussion around them.

[Seeth]

I'm an owner of a ZEV.

If you value your sanity, absolutely do NOT buy one.

A lot of claims were made, and I even went out to visit them, but I was so caught up in those claims that I missed a lot of really shady things.

Let me call a couple of specifics for you:
--Double sided tape used to attach reflectors.
--A capacitor (I think) caught on fire while it was at the mechanic (not sure that was the piece that it was, but...FIRE.  ON FIRE.)
--Quit running when it got rained on
--Lights went out and wouldn't come back on again. Can't find why.
--Windshield is attached by two screws, and not to a frame, just plastic to plastic
--Mechanic's quote: "It looks like every new year more things just got piled in," in reference to "improvements".
--When I pointed out that the clock on the dash wasn't working, I was informed "It's a riding timer."  No, it's a bloody clock. It just resets every time I turn off the scooter.
--PLastics internally are very cheap, I literally brushed the blinker and the socket broke off.
--Customer service is actually customer assault, I was maligned both directly and via the mechanic (who was a really nice guy and didn't understand where the vitriol came from)


So, I have feelings about that brand!  I Do Not Recommend.

[Starpower]

I'm an owner of a ZEV.

If you value your sanity, absolutely do NOT buy one.

A lot of claims were made, and I even went out to visit them, but I was so caught up in those claims that I missed a lot of really shady things.

Let me call a couple of specifics for you:
--Double sided tape used to attach reflectors.
--A capacitor (I think) caught on fire while it was at the mechanic (not sure that was the piece that it was, but...FIRE.  ON FIRE.)
--Quit running when it got rained on
--Lights went out and wouldn't come back on again. Can't find why.
--Windshield is attached by two screws, and not to a frame, just plastic to plastic
--Mechanic's quote: "It looks like every new year more things just got piled in," in reference to "improvements".
--When I pointed out that the clock on the dash wasn't working, I was informed "It's a riding timer."  No, it's a bloody clock. It just resets every time I turn off the scooter.
--PLastics internally are very cheap, I literally brushed the blinker and the socket broke off.
--Customer service is actually customer assault, I was maligned both directly and via the mechanic (who was a really nice guy and didn't understand where the vitriol came from)


So, I have feelings about that brand!  I Do Not Recommend.

Sounds like good avoidance advice! They lost me with the sketchy numbers - a 4% increase in battery capacity claims to increase speed by 14% while increasing range by 33%. Amazing!!

[hubert]

And increasing your confidence by -100%, right?

[Seeth]

Sadly, the concept behind the ZEV is good. But, building amazing work out of s*** still means you have a motorbike made of s***.
I didn't even give you a full rundown of the issues with that machine. I'm trying to sell mine for a tenth of what it cost me. I'll probably wind up donating it, assuming someone can take it. the five hundred write-off is worth more than the money sink it turned into.

[f3flight]

Another ZEV owner here, LRC-10 (the author of the older aforementioned post).

I'd say everything noted above is more or less valid, but the claims they do on their website are also valid or close to that.
The biggest problem I find in ZEV is it's production quality - including weather protection, body fit, suspension.
But it will most likely drive you their claimed range if you drive at moderate speeds on a flat surface during summer with light winds. In worst conditions or with bad usage habits it's normal to expect 50% or less but that's the same with all other EVs.
I really like the giant compartment under the seat, and if I could go back in time I'd probably still buy a ZEV - there's just no competition in their price range within electric maxi-scooters - BMW is quite more expensive and has worse performance. But it's build quality *may" be better.

I managed to improve my ZEV's weather protection by covering all the internals (I took the body apart to do that) with a plastic tarp-thing.

Bottom line - if you're enthusiastic, do not care about good finish and quality of details but want to enjoy the range ZEV provides (and 3-wheeled factor in the case of T15), and ready to fix some design flaws - ZEV might be a reasonable choice. Esp. if you manage to get some discount from their listed price. If you want a well-made and finished product - avoid.

[boytitan]

They also offer a motorcycle and are working on a new model.

Shame for the bad quality because spec wise its pretty good. 10 kilowatt below a zero s but it offers more range.

http://zelectricvehicle.com/30.html

9kilowatt battery to zero 6kilowatt. Factoring in the lower nominal power and you are looking at more range.

[MajorMajor]

Oooo they're launching the new model this April.
Very nice.

Are there any reviews of the previous motorcycle model?

[ctrlburn]

Maybe LowonCash could "Volting" his way over there and talk aerospace/UAV with the chaps and share an independent review with us.

[Seeth]

I cannot stress enough about my poor experience with ZEV.  The owner tends to come across as a bit bigger-than-life, which can be very compelling if you buy into it. However, he orders his parts from China and assembles them himself, with the aid of 2-3 other folks, in a garage. Specs are compelling, but they do not actually reflect reality.

And, frankly, stupid decisions get made. When I ordered my ZEV, I whimsically thought of picnics by the lake with my wife, and had a stereo mounted. Zehrbach thought it was a good plan to mount them on the footpads, because they were "solidly placed" there.

Is that the man you'd want to give 15k?  If you can get at least the LRC 15 for 5k or less, and you don't mind routinely working on it, you'll be fine, I'd say that's a fair price point. It took me weeks, and I sold my ZEV for $1000. Less than the batteries were worth, just to get it out of my home.

Now, that is on me, I'm aware. But what led me to that is an extensive story, one that I pointed toward in above posts (and not in it's entirety at all--I'm really being quite restrained here).

I would have preferred a cruiser or scooter to picking up a Zero, honestly. I want a commuter ride. But the ZEV isn't safe, isn't well built, and is also expensive, plus you will receive some remarkably poor "customer service", judging from my experience.

If you don't want a Zero, and are looking at other options, you should probably wait. ZEV will not be a happy choice for you.

[boytitan]

Made from china means nothing in a quality sense.  Most electric vehicle parts come from china. The hub motor from china, The controller from china.  Until you get to zero level where you build everything in house its stuff from china. That doesn't give much info for quality like what was actually wrong with it ? Was the suspension adequate, was the battery holding its charge can someone describe that kind of stuff.