Long story short I bought a brand new 2017 FXS that had 1/2 modules dead. The repair has been very slow going so they gave me a FX loaner which I switched out today for a 2016 DSP.
Here are my thoughts on that bike, since many Zero enthusiasts may have seen but not ridden one.
First, the bike says "Police" and has blue running lights on the plate. So those had to be dealt with before I wanted to take it on the road, since I'm not police. We covered everything up with tape.
Second, the bike has a extremely loud siren. It's way better than the stock horn and comes with a warning sticker not to use it around people without hearing protection (lol). There is also a PA with microphone. Loud pipes ruin rides and don't save lives, but maybe a selectively enabled alert noise might. Or, it will just scare the crap out of the person next to you at a light. Conclusion: all street motorcycles should come with a extremely loud siren, and optionally a PA. This is the best part of the bike by far and now I want a siren and PA on my FXS.
Third, the bike has flashing red and blue lights, either front and rear or just rear. They're very bright just like police lights on the road. Since these are illegal for me to use on the street, I haven't. The main problem with the lights is the front side lights hit my knees when I'm up on the tank. So clearly this bike either wasn't ridden hard during development (really?) or it was made by / for people with short femurs. Either way, it's extremely annoying.
Fourth, the bike has crash bars, which I don't mind since it's very heavy and not really good for riding motard style, leg out. The bars actually keep you from sticking your leg out and forward motard style, so that's a moot point. Previously I had been interested in these bars for my FXS, but now I definitely do not want them since supermotos are best ridden motard style.
Fifth, the bike has a switch to cut out all lights so you can go stealth. Good if you have night vision.
Sixth, the bike is a little slow for pursuits but since most American motor police already use Hardly Ableson and don't wear gear this is probably not a big point.
I think that's about it. Lesson learned: quiet motorcycles that can play really loud artificial noises are awesome.
Have you ridden a DSP? Especially interested to hear from actual police riding this thing.
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Topic: Who has ridden Zero DSP? Mini DSP review (Read 356 times)